Bringing car to Hungary

This has been much discussed at this forum. Taxes on owning a car in Hungary are fairly cheap. But that is not the same as the tax you will have to pay to officially import the car into the country, which can be expensive. You can search this forum for "import car Hungary". Or see as one example:

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=125611

Good link there fluffy2560 knows what he is talking about it seems.

Bottom line is : it can be done but its not a piece of cake so rather HAVE it done by someone who knows what he has to do...

I found a hungarian step by step guide once but really just pay someone to do it. It can be quite a nightmare i guess. I can tell you i did easier missions but sometimes even if YOU know everything some clerk in the document office doesnt know what he is talking about and i had to go to another office to get the stuff done without harassments.

You need to provide a lot of documents about the buyer history of the car, translations etc...

About the costs, well thats easy :

kalkulatorlap.hu/regisztracios_ado_kalkulator_2012.html

If you dont speak hungarian just provide the data of the car :

Fuel type
Emission standard
Date of first registration
Engine displacement

The older the car the cheaper it gets for example.

Ill type the data in and let you know...

Id be really Interested to see how you get on , or what info you have !

Im looking at becoming a resident ( again )  , and having only just bought my vw T4 2 months ago , theres noway Im willing to giver her up just like that !

I remember some years ago speaking to a lawyer in Nagykanizsa , she said that you couldnt transfer a car that was older than ten years ??? Can this be right ? It dosent seem right , what about classic's and so on...

I know the usual stuff was mentioned, about chaning the lights permantly and stuff, for right hand drive , being from England !

The veichle is 14 years old now ! Im making a camper conversion , dont suppose there a difference in the laws for camper vans is there ???

No, the age of the vehicle won't be a problem but you will find it cheaper if you can class it as a van rather than a camper. Vans don't incur the pollution related import tax so they can be registered on Hungarian plates for about £300.

dont mean to hijanck the thread !!!

Thanks for the reply there ! Guess Ill start doing my research into the in's an outs and where to start......

HungryHeart wrote:

I remember some years ago speaking to a lawyer in Nagykanizsa , she said that you couldnt transfer a car that was older than ten years ??? Can this be right ? It dosent seem right , what about classic's and so on...

That law has been changed in 2007 i believe. Its allowed now. Laws change in every year or more often, its like a sport here.

From january 1st 2012 is also needed to mention the kilometer/miles readings in the sales contract. If this info is missing you can go home and come back another day with a new contract, new signature etc. because they wont register the car on your name.

Here is a link what is needed for the registration :

budapest13.hu/ugyintezes/okmanyiroda/forgalomba-helyezes-hasznalt

or

ujpest.hu/hivatal_ugy/122

or

euvonal.hu/index.php?op=kerdesvalasz_reszletes&kerdes_valasz_id=1048

Ill go with some hungarian friends and buy them an used car in germany soon i think.When we finished the registration successfully i can give some more insight...

If you register the car in Budapest :

AVOID THE "KÖZPONTI OKMÁNYIRODA" (central document office) LIKE THE PEST.

Its like a timetravel back into the ages of communism. The building is old, always overcrowded, the clerks were unfriendly and incompetent.

just another little question for you wise poeple out there !

How much are insurance premiums like here in Hungary ? And could i get insured on my UK licence ? and how long could I drive on it before needing to take a test ?

Just curious , as Insurance preimum's in the UK have risen drasticaly in the last few years !
A lot of it due to the American style injury claim setup , now any miner bump at 5mph , and oopps Ive got whiplash , £3000 thank you very much !

I was working with a few young guys in Toyota last month , who being only 18 , were paying upwards of £2500 a year !

And my preimiums are much better  lol , since I left the UK and lived in Hungary for a few years , then discovered on returning that my no claims bonus's would start again , and other factors. Anyway just to say its ridiculous !

@HungryHeart

Insurance is cheap here. For my 600cc sportbike i pay like 50 Euro a year...

Just check the rates out and choose the cheapest one.

http://www.netrisk.hu/kotelezo-biztosit … r-lap.html
or
http://www.biztositas.hu/Partner/Kotele … kotes.html

Your UK licence is also recognized here. If you WANT to exchange it for a hungarian EU community driving license you DO NOT need to take any test since its a license issued in the EU. You also DO NOT have to provide an official translation (even if its not yet plastic card style etc). If they ask you for a translation provide them this info here - will save you time and money:

http://ec.europa.eu/transport/road_safe … _en.htm#31http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/Lex … 01:EN:HTML

You just need to pay like 5.000 HUF and a medical check. thats it.

Been there done that...

Thanks for the info TornadoHH !!!

P.s Sorry for hijacking the thread , but sure this is all useful info for everyone !

Thanks again !!!

I think there is a easier way around this but not sure. I was just told about it.
If you have a car with spanish registraion plates and you are a spanish citizen then you are treated as Spanish foreigner all together with your car. And i think the law states everything up to 6 months is temporary passing, which means all you need to do is go out of the border and come back and reset it.
I might be wrong.

the_highlander wrote:

I think there is a easier way around this but not sure. I was just told about it.
If you have a car with spanish registraion plates and you are a spanish citizen then you are treated as Spanish foreigner all together with your car. And i think the law states everything up to 6 months is temporary passing, which means all you need to do is go out of the border and come back and reset it.
I might be wrong.

It's the same EU wide. The only thing is that you should not be registered as a resident. Driving out and back in used to work but doesn't any more.

So if you are not a perm. resident, you should be fine with foreign car, basically?

the_highlander wrote:

So if you are not a perm. resident, you should be fine with foreign car, basically?

"perm. resident" depends on interpretation. You are supposed to register if you are here more than 3 months and are not a visitor. With registration comes all the liabilities. But if you come by road to HU, no-one is checking on you (other than the number plate recognition cameras all over the place but what do they do with the data?). You could be fined for not registering yourself with the authorities but then again, I've never heard of anyone actually being hassled in this way. If you live in a rented apartment the bills etc are all in the landlord's name so no-one would know you were here.

I cannot say you would be fine but if you are cautious, consistent documentation wise, don't attract attention and keep coming and going, I doubt anyone is going to chase after you.

I still see plenty of foreign cars driving about here. Some of the more obscure ones have disappeared (the weirdest ones I saw was Paraguay, Nigeria and Australian). Common others used to be Canada and USA but I see few of those nowadays. I'd say the most popular foreign plates are Slovakian, German, British, Dutch and French.

I see what you mean. It makes sense.
Although, if you are still just renting the apartment and planning to stay for a year, but still traveling abroad a lot, should i still go and register myself?
thanks