# Car breakdown cover uk trip



## tarelli (Jun 3, 2008)

I live in Ibiza & have a Spanish registered car. I'm driving back to the UK for just over a month in October (to get married!).

I've contacted my insurers, Abbeygate, about breakdown cover. I've discovered that their breakdown cover only covers mainland Europe...not the UK.

Most of my driving will be in the UK so this isn't much use. I've googled a few comparison sites but they all assume UK residency & a UK registered car.

Can anyone point me in the right direction?

My Spanish is still basic so an English-speaking service would be good but I can get a friend to phone for me.


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## extranjero (Nov 16, 2012)

Don't know if it applies to you, but I understand that you can't drive a vehicle in UK, that's registered to you in Spain, if you have a Spanish licence.


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## Aron (Apr 30, 2013)

tarelli said:


> I live in Ibiza & have a Spanish registered car. I'm driving back to the UK for just over a month in October (to get married!).
> 
> I've contacted my insurers, Abbeygate, about breakdown cover. I've discovered that their breakdown cover only covers mainland Europe...not the UK.
> 
> ...


I'm with Linea Directa and I get full European coverage including the UK. I have no idea of cost about other insurers, but my company is perfect for me.


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## Aron (Apr 30, 2013)

extranjero said:


> Don't know if it applies to you, but I understand that you can't drive a vehicle in UK, that's registered to you in Spain, if you have a Spanish licence.


My wife and I have a Spanish registered car and we both have Spanish driving licences and we go to the UK regularly. At all ports in the UK they have number plate recognition cameras. They would identify any vehicle that wasn't insured, even a foreign vehicle.


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## Aron (Apr 30, 2013)

extranjero said:


> Don't know if it applies to you, but I understand that you can't drive a vehicle in UK, that's registered to you in Spain, if you have a Spanish licence.


Further to what I said, why would my insurance company give me UK breakdown cover if I wasn't allowed to drive there


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Aron said:


> Further to what I said, why would my insurance company give me UK breakdown cover if I wasn't allowed to drive there


I think he's a bit confused.....

a *resident* of Spain can't drive a UK plated vehicle in Spain - so I would imagine that a *resident* of the UK can't drive a Spanish plated vehicle there......


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## Aron (Apr 30, 2013)

xabiachica said:


> I think he's a bit confused.....
> 
> a *resident* of Spain can't drive a UK plated vehicle in Spain - so I would imagine that a *resident* of the UK can't drive a Spanish plated vehicle there......


I'm not sure you are correct, but not sure if you are incorrect. My insurance stipulates that any other driver must be over 25, but it does not stipulate any other country.However I will try and find out. We should all try and be accurate with our comments, otherwise we just give everyone disinformation.
I do know that if someone is driving a UK plated car which is insured in Spain, then that car returning to the UK will not be insured through the Spanish insurance.

Please bear in mind that in the UK they insure the driver, whereas in Spain they insure the car. That may help, or confuse further, your first point.


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## Aron (Apr 30, 2013)

Aron said:


> My wife and I have a Spanish registered car and we both have Spanish driving licences and we go to the UK regularly. At all ports in the UK they have number plate recognition cameras. They would identify any vehicle that wasn't insured, even a foreign vehicle.


My apologies on this one, number plate recognition at ports can't determine whether a foreign vehicle is insured. There is a facility to find out, but not through NPR


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

It basically comes down to whether he is legal (i.e. officially a Spanish resident) or has been living below the radar and illegal (i.e. he is still officially a UK resident). 

If he is a Spanish resident, there is nothing on earth to stop him driving his Spanish registered vehicle wherever, he is insured to do so. If, however, he has been here more than 90 days and not registered as a Spanish resident and therefore is still a UK resident, then he will be breaking the law as soon as he goes onto UK soil.

w.r.t. the insurance implications, it depends on the insurance company. We took our car to UK and back covered by a Spanish insurance - you need to check what it says in the green card part of your insurance document. BTW you should always carry the receipt for the premium with the insurance document otherwise it is not valid!


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## CapnBilly (Jun 7, 2011)

Aron said:


> I'm not sure you are correct, but not sure if you are incorrect. My insurance stipulates that any other driver must be over 25, but it does not stipulate any other country.However I will try and find out. We should all try and be accurate with our comments, otherwise we just give everyone disinformation.
> I do know that if someone is driving a UK plated car which is insured in Spain, then that car returning to the UK will not be insured through the Spanish insurance.
> 
> Please bear in mind that in the UK they insure the driver, whereas in Spain they insure the car. That may help, or confuse further, your first point.


This is from the DVLA website

Driving with a foreign registration number
UK residents aren’t allowed to use non-UK registered vehicles on UK roads. The only exceptions are if you:

work in another European Union (EU) member state and use an EU-registered company car temporarily in the UK
lease an EU-registered car and use this temporarily in the UK


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## tarelli (Jun 3, 2008)

Thanks for all the replies!

Just to clarify, I'm a Spanish resident with Residencia etc. I'm no longer a UK resident. When I took out my Abbeygate insurance, I didn't bother with breakdown cover; it's not vital on a small island.

As a Spanish resident, my insurance is good for the UK.

The trip wasn't planned when I insured the car. My concern is about a breakdown while I'm away. I can take out Abbeygate breakdown cover retrospectively. It'll cover me while driving through France, but not when I cross the Channel to the UK where I'll spend most of my time.

I want to buy separate breakdown cover for the whole trip.

Thanks, 

Francis.


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## VFR (Dec 23, 2009)

tarelli said:


> Thanks for all the replies!
> 
> Just to clarify, I'm a Spanish resident with Residencia etc. I'm no longer a UK resident. When I took out my Abbeygate insurance, I didn't bother with breakdown cover; it's not vital on a small island.
> 
> ...


In that case Francis look here .....RACC.es - Seguros de coche, asistencia en carretera, telefonía móvil, autoescuela y cursos de conducción | RACC Automóvil Club
You can buy what you need for your trip (just like the UK AA) & next time insure with someone else.


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## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

A spanish resident cannot drive any foreign registered vehicle OWNED by themselves , just as a UK resident cannot drive a foreign registered vehicle owned by them . 
What they can all do though is drive a foreign registered vehicle owned by someone else.
Spanish insurance covers the whole EU but you must obtain a separate A4 green sheet from the broker & stamped before leaving. The green part at the bottom of most certificates is not sufficient on its own.


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

See this,

https://www.gov.uk/importing-vehicles-into-the-uk/temporary-imports


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