Last year (2007) I already tried to register my English van over here, but after spending a lot of time having friends check with local garages and having my wife call various government offices I discovered that I can’t. You can’t register right-hand-drive (RHD) vehicles in Poland. Don’t let anyone tell you different – you will not be able to get the technical examination certificate (badanie techniczne) which you will require.
Now you might see right-hand-drive vehicles over here or know someone who knows someone who’s got one. This is perfectly possible because a number of years ago you could do it if you were able to demonstrate that you had experience of driving RHD vehicles on the right of the road. But that was stopped a number of years ago (I don’t know when exactly).
This seems unfair to me given that you can register LHD vehicles in the UK, or register English RHD vehicles in France, but that’s the rules I’m afraid.
So if you have a car here from England you have 3 choices (to stay legal):
- Continue to pay your UK insurance, return once a year to do your MOT, renew your tax disc on the internet. This is the simplest solution but with two catches – the first is that insurance in the UK costs a lot. The 2nd is that technically you are not allowed to have your car here for more than 12 months. But if you return every 12 months for the MOT then the clock starts again.
- Convert your car from RHD to LHD. I don’t know anyone who’s done that because the cost of it probably isn’t justifiable. Labour is cheap in Poland but I am sure that would still be a big garage bill, not to mention that cost of new parts (dashboard, steering rack etc..)
- Sell your car. Buy a local one.
If you don’t stay legal (i.e. your insurance runs out while your here) then if you are stopped by the police and can’t produce your documents there and then (you do always carry them with your right?) there is a chance your car will be impounded. Also I don’t think it’s worth the risk of driving without insurance anyway. It’s one of those things that you don’t need when you have, and always need when you don’t.
I have now given up on the idea of registering my RHD here and am returning to the UK in a couple of weeks to sell it. I actually found a UK company that has offices in Frankfurt and Hanover and they would have sent a buyer to me in Poznan and taken the car. Obviously they have considerable expenses and need to make a profit on the deal but the price offered was over 2000 pounds less than I have been offered in the UK so I’m gonna ‘bite the bullet’ and take the drive to the UK.
RHD and English registration, yes it’s legal for 12 months and a good excuse for a visit back to Blighty once a year to get the MOT. There are a few other plus points though. Speed cameras which are very prevalent now are ineffective as the DVLA currently do not pass on details plus if they did it would be a UK address so would go knowhere. If stopped by the Police well you should have valid insurance and the MOT plus licence so no problem plus they do not have the power to put any points on a UK licence. I got a 100 zloty speeding on the spot fine recently and that was it. How long the situation will be the same I do not know but enjoy. The only problem with a RHD car is the toll booths on the motorway and pay booths in car parks and a little visibility problem which I solved with a camera mounted on the left side and a monitior on the dash. The big advantage is the cost of the car which is around 1/3rd of the cost of a Polish equivalent plus it has not been hammered to death by the crap state of the roads here. Every car I have had here starts to fall apart after 2 years, usually it’s electrical problems first then the suspension next. My Peugeot Boxer van though failed after just 3 months, the shock absorber magically appearing through the top of the dashboard after a bit of rough road.
I also have the same problem, i have a perfecltly good Uk car and want to move to poland for a while, i would love to use this car due to the fact i would rather use my money elsewhere. We dont have any problem in the Uk with all the american cars used around the American air bases in East Anglia. Poland please give in and play by the EU rules!
There are a number of options, none of them very exciting.
The advantage of driving on Polish plates is the insurance. It is half the price (probably because they do not pay up). Next is the visibility factor, you blend in more on Polish plates – perhaps not so much of an issue as it was 15 years ago. Furthermore thanks to Schengen, you are not going to be stopped at every border and subject to a thourough search because you are on Polish plates.
BUT…… unless you buy a new car (which in general are a bit cheaper in Poland), a second hand car will have more damage because of the state of the roads – although once again they are not as bad as they used to be by far.
If you buy a car in Germany or elsewhere, the car is subject to excise which works out at around PLN5,000 – so it is going to take you five years to get your insurance money back (approx.)
Theoretically you have the right to sue the Polish government over their refusal to accept your RHD. And you would win – but you would have to be an eccentric millionaire or something to have the time and resources.
The most sensible option therefore is to buy a used car and get a garage to give it a good checking over first. I can recommend the place where my Mercedes is serviced – and if the seller does not allow a check then don’t buy it!
Further to the above, if you can read Polish then this will be useful:
http://www.money.pl/archiwum/poradniki/artykul/jak;zarejestrowac;sprowadzony;samochod,234,0,241898.html
It gives the example of a PLN10,000 Vectra on which PLN2,600 excise is payable plus a pile of hassle.