Best country to buy a bike for non-EU resident?
 

I plan on doing a 3 month tour of Western Europe later this year and was going to buy a bike in the UK using Ebay.

Is there a better county to buy a bike in regards to price and ease of getting it registered?

Apparently you'd have huge problems getting your bike insured if you're not a resident of the UK. Have a look here :
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...-austria-91184

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Hi Khabel - as Donmanolo suggests, in the UK is not easy to register a machine in your name (and subsequently get insurance) if you are not a resident - it's a quirk of the British insurance system.

My suggestion if you want to buy (rather than rent) is to contact: https://motofeirme.com in Ireland. They can actually buy a bike on your behalf - even from the UK if you have your eye on a particular model/Ebay listing, and also sort out European insurance cover for you, for when you arrive.

They can also store the bike for future return trips and/or even sell it again on your behalf if you wish.

By all accounts it is an excellent service, although not one I have personally had to use myself.

Hope that helps you, and anyone else with a similar enquiry.

Jenny x

I can use a friends residential address in the UK if that helps with the process.

From what I've read the UK seem to have the best second hand prices, better than what Ireland offers from what I can tell

Hi Khabel - the address isn't the problem, the problem is that you are not a registered resident at that address...

Even if you lie say you are, UK insurance companies will want your UK driving licence number, and the date you passed your UK motorcycle test before they can offer you insurance... and I don't need to point out that if you did manage to obtain insurance fraudulently, if you did ever need to claim (or were even just checked by the police), it would be null and void, and the penalties for that are severe - and do not bear thinking about in the event of a serious accident with a 3rd party.

The only way you can buy and 'own' a motorcycle in the UK is to get your friend to register it in their name at their address, and then for them to take out an insurance policy on the machine that has you listed as a 2nd named driver/rider, who is a forign licence holder and non-resident.

It is possible - certain* specialist UK motorcycle insurers/underwriters will do this - I have a friend from the US with which we did just this a few years ago, and now I own a lovely 2002 model Serow here in the UK - although she actually paid for it of course.

*Carole Nash - but the UK resident needs to phone them and organise the policy in person.

My point is, it probably not worth the hassle for a 3 month trip...

Martin at Motofeirme is apparently a very helpful guy (and is an American ex-pat), so do get in contact with him and discuss your options first - as I say, he can even buy a bike in the UK for you, and bring it to Ireland.

The reason for doing it this way is that you as a non-resident in the UK will be able to arrange insurance though an Irish (EU) broker that covers all of Europe including the UK - that's why he does what he does, where he does.

Hope that helps...

Jenny x

ntv
 

you want a cheap reliable bike: honda 650 ntv quiet cheap in germany and lots of people to help with insurance
all the best geri

Despite one of my passports being German, I cannot register a German bike in Germany, as I'm not registered (angemeldet) there. I live in England.

I did once buy a German bike in Germany, but registered it in the UK.

The most hassle free is indeed via Martin at https://motofeirme.com

I think I can help you, through a friend of mine who does a sell and buy back scheme here in France. He will find the bike you want, buy it, and then register it in your name at his accommodation address in France. The bike is then registered to you and you insure it for where you want to go. At the end of your trip he will buy it back at a pre- agreed price.

Talk to Laurent Dozias at Ride in Tours. He speakes fluent English and provides this service as a Registered French company, so it's all legit!

https://www.ride-in-tours.com/fr/


HTH

Thanks Pongo, I've come across his website before but the 40-50% buyback makes me hesitant for the type of bike I'm looking at, a Ducati Multistrada 1200. If the bike was a lot cheaper it would be more economical to use his service

So what are you going to do with the bike at the end of your 3 month trip, sell it? It's not a sellers market and you'll lose at least 30% of the purchase price especially if you've bought it retail and put on a significant mileage round Europe in 3 months. Have you spoken to him ? he does negotiate deals, and is experienced with hi end bikes. Your choice of course, but I think you're going to struggle registering such a bike in any European country.

( Little anecdote- I know someone from South Africa who bought a bike on line in the U.K. to do 6 week trip in Northern Europe. He arrived in the U.k. intending to use his cousins address as an accom addy to register the bike. The registration transfer request ( V5c) had gone off to the DVLA for registration before he left SA, but nothing came from the DVLA until 10 days after he arrived, and then they wanted more information from his cousin. He did manage to register it two weeks later, but insurers refused to cover him for outside the U.K. as he didn't have a U.K. licence and they also demanded an IDP which he didn't have. He went back to SA without having ridden the bike and his cousin sold it.)

Thanks, I'll have a talk with him as a 30% loss is much better than a 50% loss when I'm talking a $10000 bike, if the bike was only $5000 I wouldnt be so concerned

The other option I was exploring is https://motofeirme.com as he is able to handle all the paper work and the purchasing of the bike on my behalf

That's not true, just register it as an export and then buy a green card after the first month if you're driving longer than that.

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I went to the relevant Behoerde and that's what I was told. Clearly you know better. Can I quote you as a source of factually correct information next time?

I wrote "register in Germany", not buy in Germany and export to elsewhere. I've done the export thing (bought in Germany and registered permanently in the UK), as already mentioned.

I wrote this on another website a few days ago:

I checked the legislation in Belgium.

It is possible for a foreigner to register temporary a vehicle (temporary plates W, see below)
https://mobilit.belgium.be/sites/def...sitplaat_1.jpg

By temporary, I mean:
- max 3 months if you needed a visa to enter the country, can be extended to a total of 6 months,
- max 6 months if you didn't need a visa.

You will need to show up personnaly at the DIV office : City Atrium – Rue du Progrès, 60 in 1210 Brussels, and only there.
You will have to show a proof that you have insured the vehicle; not every insurance company will accept to do it.
That will cost you 75 €. The plate is delivered by the belgian post (Day of treatment +1).

If you ask for an extension, a new plate will be delivered (as the date of validity is printed on it).

You will need a temporary address in Belgium and a proof of your foreign address.

The webpage where I found those informations is only available in French and Dutch:
https://mobilit.belgium.be/fr/circu...ules/plaques_dimmatriculation/immatriculation

You can see this table too:
https://mobilit.belgium.be/sites/de...eriods_short-term_temporary_number_plates.pdf, see third row, art 5 §1 6°

Does it help?

To be honest if you're doing a 3 month tour of Europe and reselling your bike at the end you will lose quite a lot of money doing it on a $10K machine. Maybe consider something a fair bit cheaper like $2-3K which makes the buyback from the French guy a lot more viable. There are plenty of bike shops and garages around to deal with any repairs, though if you buy wisely you shouldn't need them. It sounds like a good way to avoid quite a lot of administration to be honest.