½ûÂþÌìÌÃ

am not sure and my apologies if i have got this wrong to both you and wol... but i remember something from the past on this forum and i think he might well have been the one that posted it.... if it was him it was full of useful information about this form of insurance.. if not sorry for the wrong steer

Hi Douglas,

The following information others may find useful as well.

If you are to bring your classic over here from the UK, there are a number of things you must consider.
a) You would have to eventually re-register it. If your classic car is modified in anyway as mine is (I own a '63 T’Bird convertible which is due to be imported here to Marche later this year), then there would be a number of "homologation" problems. It would also be quite expensive, even if all the technical solutions could be found. They also require the full technical data for the car, which can be difficult to obtain. In theory, you are obliged to reregister the car within one year of taking up
formal residency (residenza anagrafica). This would tend to mean that if you never took up formal residency you would not have to reregister the car.
This is one route you could take, but if you ever wanted to sell the car in
Italy, the fact that it has a UK numberplate would be a problem.

b) MOT or ½ûÂþÌìÌà equivalent: Italy now follows the EU rules and any car
over 4 years old has to be tested (a process called 'revisione') every two
years. The requirement depends on the number plate. It may be possible to
have the car tested even if it has a UK plate, though it would certainly be
an anomalous situation that some garages might refuse and some policemen
contest. But at least the car would have proof of having been tested without
you having to trail it back to the UK.

c) Road tax (or ownership tax as it is in Italy - i.e. you still have to pay
even if the car is off the road). This is where the car's status as a
classic car starts coming into play, because a car is considered vintage
once it is 30 years old. At this stage, most regions allow you to pay a
reduced car tax ('bollo auto'). Lombardy Region,recognises vintage status for bollo purposes once the car is over 20 years old, allowing you to pay a substantially reduced bollo, (the tax is calculated on Horse Power, and I believe here in Marche it is around 2.74 euro per horsepower, which would make the 300 horsepower in the T’Bird very expensive! Again, the obligation to pay the bollo depends on you having an ½ûÂþÌìÌà numberplate. So paying it with a UK plate would be a bit anomalous.

d) Insurance: vintage status can reduce your insurance premium, but usually
this has always depended on the status being certified by you becoming a
member of the local ASI (Automobili Storiche ½ûÂþÌìÌÃe) club. They, however,
tend to be very strict (and not cheap either), so you have to see if it's
worth the saving. Again, the fact that a modified car isn't in its original state
may be a problem.
An alternative on this front is to contact one of the insurance companies
that are beginning to offer time-related insurance policies. One of these is
SARA, which belongs to ACI, the ½ûÂþÌìÌà Automobile Club. There you can pay
50% of a normal policy and then pay by the day that you actually use the
car. Another is RAS, which let's you insure the car for weekend, holiday and
August use. AXA, on the other hand, insures you according to actual use
(followed by satellite). These do not depend on vintage status, but may fit
the bill as a back-up. However, they may refuse to insure a car with a
foreign numberplate. Another company worth contacting is Direct Line, which
recently bought out Royal Insurance (also operating by telephone). They at
least are British.
If you do find that importation and re-registration is either impossible or
prohibitive, then keep it registered in the UK, but don't do what some
people do which is to think they're being clever and successfully avoiding a
whole series of taxes. The risk is that (a) if the police stop you and take
a poor view of the situation - perhaps knowing that you live in Italy more
or less permanently - then they can confiscate the car and make you pay all
the taxes evaded plus fines and interest. Or (b) if you have a serious
accident causing damage to third parties, you may find that the insurance
company refuses to reimburse the costs because you are not 100% legal.
Either of those risks is not worth the money you might save up front. So
best to be 100% legal in Italy, or 100% legal in the UK, even if the car is
in Italy.

I’m afraid this is all the information that I have at the moment, but I will post any new or additional info on this forum when it becomes available

Good luck

Wol

thank you very much Wol for your very detailed reply it gives me a few things to think about. We have made friends with people associated with the motor trade in italy and they think they will be able to help too. Will post more news when I get it.

Doug