Way to Russia Talk Lounge

qwaal · Posted: Mon Jul 25, 2005 11:03 pm Post subject:

We took our Russian-made Russian-bought car to England when we moved back last time with no problems, however in the end we took it back to Russia and sold it there, after about 6 months in England, so we didn't finally export/import it, we just used it in England on Russian plates for a few months. If the car is owned in your own name, or in a Russian friend's name with a power of attorney giving you all rights over the car (our situation), you can just drive out of the country, no problem.

But if you import it to the UK, if the DVLA does contact the Russian authorities to de-register it in Russia, I have no idea what if any fee they might ask for at that point.

With our Niva, we actually had a couple of random offers to buy it as we drove around Western Europe in it; apparently there are a few enthusiasts and no more official Lada dealers in many countries. Some guy pursued us through the streets of Oslo, eventually drawing up level with us at traffic lights and making an offer through the car window! On the other hand, since second-hand cars are much cheaper in most other countries than in Moscow, you will probably lose quite a lot buying a car in Russia and then exporting it.

With a new Russian car, you get a two-year 'tax disc' (except it's a rectangle) when you buy the car, and after that you need to renew it annually by getting something like an MoT certificate.

I'm sorry I can't tell you exactly what the method of working out the fee you pay for the customs paper you get every 6 months for using a foreign-registered car in Moscow is. It is based on the nominal value of the car (the value of the car they use is not the actual market value in Moscow, but the value according to the officially recognised book of car valuations). In our case it seems to be about 5%.

For us, compared to the loss we'd make if we decided to sell our car in England and buy a replacement in Russia, we would need to stay a lot of years for the six-monthly 30-pound fee to make up the difference! So we stick with this method. I'm not sure why Intourist is so down on it, as it is not that much hassle, provided you don't turn up late to renew the customs document! There is one other disadvantage though, which is that it is not possible to let anyone else drive a foreign-registered car in Russia -- only the person named on the registration document for the car.

Hope this all helps!

Intourist · Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2005 9:40 am Post subject:

qwaal · Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2005 11:02 am Post subject:

Intourist · Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2005 11:38 am Post subject:

RacingTeatray · Just Starting Joined: 22 Jul 2005 Posts: 3

Okay - cheers for all the thoughts on this.

Paul Varjak · Frequent Guest Joined: 30 Jul 2005 Posts: 37

I am looking to make a gift of my car (I live in the UK) to a friend living in Nizhny Novgorod.

I appreciate there seems to be a lot of obstacles to importing a foreign-registered car into Russia, including the following:

1. Completion of import documents at Russian border.
2. Import fees (50%-100% of car’s value)
3. Technical Inspection and any necessary modifications
4. Notarised translation of UK registration documents
5. Getting Russian registration plates
6. Re-registration every six months
7. Sales Tax upon Sale.

Assuming it is possible to register a Russian national as the keeper of a car in the UK, which of the above (1-6) would not apply if that Russian national exported the car from the UK to Russia for their own use in Russia?

neilrowland · Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2005 5:06 pm Post subject: vehicle export

I am so happy to have found a forum that is active and informative for a change! Smile

I am planning to travel to St Petersburg from London in the autumn (budget travel suggestions are welcome).

While there I intend to take in some of the sights that apparently are beautiful that time of year (Sight seeing suggestion welcome). But my main reason for visiting is to buy a Lada Niva 4x4 (no Lada jokes please, my mind is set and thats what I want) and then export from russia drive it back and import into UK.

I read in earlier posts that there is alot of red tape and paper work on the russian side, well let me tell you after a little bit of research, when importing a vehicle to the UK and registering it especially from outside the EU there is alot of paer work, tests etc...to go through before you can even drive the vehicle on the road without risk of £1000 fine.

My main concerns are,

1/ Getiing out the country and sorting all the paper work. I have someone who says they can do all this work for me for the sum of $1000. (this includes assissting to buy the vehicle, arranging accomodation, etc..)

2/ When over the boarder I will drive to Helsinki and get a ferry to Germany or UK (Cost of ferry un-known). My concerns are whether I can actually drive through these countries or not without additional paper work???

3/ My preferd plan would be to drive up to the North of Norway and watch the Aurora Borealsi! But again what implications and paper work are involved?

Any help on this topic will be much appreciated. Very Happy

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qwaal · Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2005 10:15 pm Post subject:

Neil: Assuming you have made it past the Russian border and you have insurance valid in the EU and the proper car documentation, you will be able to drive anywhere without problems, whether on Russian plates or transit plates.
We had a Niva for a few years, and we have driven it around. We used our usual route back to England (Russia-Latvia-Lithuania-Poland-Germany-Holland-Belgium-France) which avoids Belarus (recommended to avoid). But on another occasion we drove from Moscow to Oslo through St Petersburg and across the border into Finland (that area is beautiful, especially at night in the summer), right round the top of the Baltic Sea (we camped -- if you do, take lots of mosquito repellant), down through Sweden and into Norway. Coming back we took the ferry from Stockholm to Tallinn and drove back into Russia from Estonia.
However, we didn't export our Niva permanently, we just drove it on the Russian plates and stayed in England for the maximum allowed on foreign plates (6 months) then drove back to Russia and sold the Niva there (it was a great car to have in Russia, especially outside the city, but we didn't find it very practical or useful in England).
What you have planned is an adventure -- but you could just buy an Niva on ebay that's already in England, registered and so on! There are Niva owners in England (I sold my Russian-made tyres to one I met in a petrol station in Oxfordshire), both on-road and off-road.
Sorry I can't advise on the process of permanent export as I have never done this.

neilrowland · Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2005 10:38 am Post subject: vehicle export

Thanks qwaal.

An adventure is exactly what I had in mind.

However I would like to make it an as economical adventure as possible. So if any one can give guide prices on purchases and costs I am likely to encounter I would be deeply greatful.
For example; Cost of a new Lada Niva 2121.
Export costs.
Bribes!
Whether I can claim back tax at the russian border on exit.
Cost of ferry and train journeys.
Hotel costs.
Mechanic costs, if I decide to have mods done in russia.
Cost of LPG conversion in russia.

Every little helps.

Thanks in advance.

I like this forum Smile

Chregel · Just Starting Joined: 18 Jun 2006 Posts: 2

http://www.customs.ru./en/ftravelers/ietv/

IiLuSiv · Just Starting Joined: 25 Oct 2006 Posts: 1

I have a car. Japanese Car in the USA, I was planning on taking a freighter over to Russia and moving my car for two reasons.

Firstly, I'm Latino and American, and would really not like my head to be smashed in by a group of angry skinheads, sitting around on the metro.

Secondly, I want to sell the car in Russia from what I understand, I may not be able to make a huge profit but at least make my money back on the automobile, pay my Dad back for the few dollars helped me put into it, and maybe a eat a few hundred dollar loss at most, something I couldn't do in the USA.

From what I understand, a Japanese car fetches about twice the price tag in Moscow, especially since they have a huge foriegn used car market of enormous prices.

My friend Vladimir informs me that I can fetch almost double the price tag here but will have to pay taxes if I plan on selling, so it comes out to substantially less. I do not speak fluent Russian, but have quite an understanding, I will have much better proficiency by the time I go.

We have explored several situations.

One- Driving your car into Russia, a simple registration fee with a several hour wait.
Two- Importing a car, a large wait, paperwork and a huge tax fee.

Here is my question. If, I drove my car from Finland, into Russia, went to Moscow, did the whole border registration and payment. Could I then sell it while im in there, at least on the friendly market skipping the taxation fee? This is with the assumption, I'm connected with the right kind of people, and I think I am. My friend got deported to Moscow from the USA. While there, he has exercised some connections. Does anyone have any experience in doing something along these lines?

vox16 · WayToRussified Joined: 01 Jun 2006 Posts: 322

Rick · Posted: Thu Oct 26, 2006 12:22 pm Post subject:

What you are trying to do is nearly impossible these days. As an example: I met 2 guys in Turkey in April that were driving their car to Australia. They had a problem though. They could not get the car all the way there and therefore had to dispose of it somehow on their way. It turned out to be nearly impossible to do so, because every country they passed through registered the car on entry, requiring you to leave the country with your car again. Even for countries like Iran or India this was a pest.
In the end they only saw 2 solutions:
- Trash the car somewhere in such a condition that it was obvious they could not drive it out of the country again. (and deal with the resulting paperworks)
- Leave the car somewhere in a no-mans land between the Pakistani and Indian border, leaving Pakistan by car and entering India on foot...

What you are trying, importing a single car, is most likely not profitable in any way. I would recommend you to sell the thing in the USA and buy a new one in Russia. And then I hope you are ready to deal with Russian roads and drivers, it is probably not like what you're used to.

ps. The metro is not only cheap, but most people in it are middle age ladies and their daughters, grannies and other people that are most unlikely to smash your head.... No skinheads there and bears are not allowed in it either.

nikir · Posted: Thu Oct 26, 2006 2:28 pm Post subject:

IiLuSiv cars are not a rarity or scarce in Russia these days. If you're looking to make a buck that way you have missed the boat by a long shot. Sell your car in the US where it belongs and enjoy your trip. Use the metro as Rick suggests and take time to smell the roses

blaked · Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2007 4:58 pm Post subject: Importing cars

The difference in price between Russian-made foreign cars (like the Ford Focus) and foreign made foreign cars outside of Russia isn't what it used to be. More and more, foreign automakers are producing cars in Russia for the Russian market. The factory equipment used to produce the Dodge Stratus is being moved en masse to Russia. I was looking at cars over the weekend - you can get a new Mitsubishi 2008 Lancer here for about $19,000 with automatic - that's a $3-4,000 premium over what you'd pay in the US but import duties are more or less unavoidable. The Russian federal government, like most European governments, levies a Value Added Tax of 17-19% - analogous in many ways to the US sales tax (then again, property taxes are so tiny that many think they don't exist).