Transfer of English car to Italian registration

[Italy4me]

Well, after our epic journey last time to transfer our UK car onto Italian plates (after which we promptly smashed up the car and wrote it off) we have just gone through the process for the second time.

We called into the ACI (Automobile Club of Italia) office in Diamante on Wednesday 9th of September and got our Italian targa (number plates) on Wednesday 23rd of September.
Just two weeks!

We still have to receive the log book and take a trip to the Notary to declare ownership etc but so far everything has been very simple and straightforward.

If anyone needs to do something similar I can recommend you speak to Salvatore Carrozzino at the ACI office in Diamante (opposite the ambulance station, near the cinema).

[Lynn]

Is it true that you have to be a resident in order to buy a car in Italy and if so, what qualifies you for residency?

Enjoy your new car.

Lynn

[Italy4me]

Lynn,
I have recently read to register a car in Italy that you need to be:

a) resident (and therefore for that I believe you must be registered as a resident with the anagrafe at your comune)

or

b) an Italian national resident anywhere in the world.

Obviously we fit the first criteria but I don't have any direct experience of the second.

[Doug]

Yeah Lynn,

That's what our research found too. The residency (permesso di soggiorno) is needed to buy a car or motorcycle/scooter. During the last visit we were told that obtaining the PdS, for Americans at least, could take 6 months. Reports from other forums indicate that new Italian rules require certain Provincial Capitals to expedite applications for residency. Cosenza is on the list of those supposedly doing it quicker -- like maybe 3-6 weeks. We'll be able to tell more this March when we arrive there for good. We cannot afford a standard car hire for multiple months, so will live with buses, hitch hiking and begging. We thought briefly of having a friend with residency buy a car for us, but it immediately came up that that same kind person would be liable for insurance on the car and if someone were to get in a nasty accident or worse -- your friend would be hanging out there with their name on every document.

Hope you're both well. Doug and Di

[Dermot Brophy]

Ciao to all.

I copy below an email which I received from the Italian Embassy in Dublin last year when I was beginning this whole saga. It's no use to you, I'm afraid, Doug, but it should be of intense interest to others who are EU citizens.

I have not yet got around to actually doing the business, for a variety of reasons, but I hope to shortly.

When I have anything to report I shall do so without delay.

Another interesting point is that Italsure, a UK company which deals with American underwriters, I think, are quite happy to insure a car which is not registered in one's own name - they just want the name of the registered "owner" for their records. Their rate for an old Fiat Punto is in the region of Euro 800.

Copy of letter:-

Dear Mr. Brohpy,
I spoke with the office of the Motorizzazione Civile in Cosenza.
Being a EU citizen you are entitled to register a car in your name. There is an application form you have to fill. This application form will be given to you at the desk of the Motorizzazione Civile. To complete the transaction, you need also to have your ID card, all the documents relating to the car and the purchase deed.
The office of the Motorizzazione Civile is in via Bosco Fottano, nearby the railway station.
The name of the person I spoke to is Mr. Saullo.
Kind regards,
Teresa Testa

If this does not put a cat amongst the pidgeons, it may be of help.

[Doug]

Greetings Dermot,

"When I have anything to report I shall do so without delay."

This sounds so pleasant, polite and British! I hope that does not offend your Irish senses. We'll have fun when we get to meet in person.

Your news about Italsure gives me hope about a side deal with someone whereby I could buy insurance for a car if another person registered the auto in their name or I could rent something from them and they would not be held liable. Another thing to look into on the short term until we can buy a car ourselves. Now, if Italsure takes an American carta di credito.

All of these international challenges are interesting and a learning experience for sure.

Grazie, Doug

[Dermot Brophy]

Hello again, Doug.

Firstly, don't worry at all about my "Irish senses" - jingoism has never been part of my make-up. After all, I have enjoyed teaching their language and literature to generations of schoolboys - so that has to have given me some degree of cultural empathy with my neighbours!

Re Italsure, I have used an Irish Visa card - so I doubt that there should be a problem there. You might like to investigate, in fact, if you could deal directly with the US underwriters. I think it is AIG - and they assure me that their insurance business is alive and well - (I had heard of some problems in relation to that company, as I'm sure, did you)

The relevant email address is:- insure@italsure.co.uk

I'm sure we'll swap a chuckle or two next Spring, Doug - looking forward to it.

Dermot

[Italy4me]

Doug,
We have just insured again with Italsure - the premium was paid via credit card in USD so I'm sure a US credit card will be just fine. 8-))

Dermot,
Keep us posted!

[Dermot Brophy]

Hi there. Cool.

Your quote is an awful lot cheaper than I've been paying. Must jolly them along a bit when my next renewal comes up.

Bear in mind that I have not, as yet actually registered a car in my name here - so, while it looks good on paper, I don't want to lead anybody up the garden path until I succesfully negotiate it myself.

Also, just be careful to get documentary proof that the annual tax is up to date on any car you might consider buying. I understand that you might otherwise be held liable for ALL unpaid tax to date. I have been told that the tax on a basic Punto is only about Euro 130 p.a. so it's not a huge expense, provided you dont have to pay a load of arrears.

As we both may be involving the embassy in Dublin, perhaps we might meet and have a chat sometime. I'll be back in Ireland at the end of this month. Why don't we exchange emails? What part of Dublin are you in? We are just outside the Pale, in Co Meath.

Ciao for now.

Dermot (never thought of inventing a pseudonym - not much point now, I suppose!)