German import

[Joju]

Hello bus people
my (german) wife and I recently drove back to the UK in our new(?!) LHD ex-german army t3 transporter. I had little idea what a performance it would be to register it in the UK.
I am told I need to fit a MPH speedo, headlights and fog. Does anyone have any experience of this? I need advice!

I hope I can acquire and simply fix a speedo face ... it is only the numbers that are changing, surely?
I do not know if my headlights (single, round) can be altered to point the right way or if I can acquire and fit second hand uk ones.

I don't even know if I have an offside fog light. does the t3 have fogs on both side. I guess I could look at the bus ...

any advice welcome. if not, maybe offers to buy the bus ... it is very lovely though...

[Ralf85]

My T25/3 came from Germany too. The year of registration is important. The later the model the more you have to do to your van. My van was from 1985. I just took along the relevant registration documents and an MOT certificate. There was no need to change anything on my van for example lights or speedo. However, if you are in the London area avoid the Wimbledon DVLA office. They will tell you all sorts of things that are not required on older vans and they are wrong. If I can remember which office I registered my van at I will let you know.
Patrick

To follow up. Use the correct deflectors on your headlights and your van will pass the MOT. The speedo has nothing to do with the MOT. Provided that the van is old enough like mine you do not have to prove any changes to the Speedo for the benefit of DVLA. For newer vans you have to change the speedo. Sticking numbers on the outside of the speedo lens will not suffice. I spoke to Steve at Eastfalia who imports from Germany and imported mine in fact. He confirmed that Type 25s registered up to 1991 do not need speedo changes. All Type 4s do. So that is one problem solved, provided that you avoid the Wimbledon DVLA office. Good luck.
Patrick

[andisnewsyncro]

Are you absolutely certain you have to change the speedo? Generally all you have to do (or all you had to do a couple of years back) was get an MOT on it.

This will involve masking off the headlights either with a proper mask kit for about a fiver or using some black tape. The worst they can do is give an advisory for masked lhd lights rather than a fail, as long as the aim of the headlamp is correct.

The foglight on your van is probably on the same side as the steering wheel. The easiest way to fix it for MOT is to fit a bumper mounted one on the off side or the centre and use the existing wiring from the nearside to make it light up. You might be lucky and have 2 rear lamp holders with fog lamp fittings but probably not.....

It might be worth phoning a test centre and asking if you need have a mph speedo for test, afaik you don't have to; mines been through 4 UK MOTs on its original Kmh one... I think it's a bit of a grey area in as much as the speedo itself isn't (or at least wasn't) covered in the test but I believe it to be a technicality in that it is illegal to drive a vehicle in the UK without being able to accurately know its speed (stick a sat nav in it?) . I'm sure someone will be able to clear this one up for you. Personally I'd be tempted to ring a couple of local testers and ask - take it to the one which says you don't need to mess with the speedo

Again this is all from my personal experience of 1st and 3 subsequent UK MOTs. It might not be correct now (I find out in a week or 2..) but as far as I know it should be a simple task. Once you have your MOT & Insurance both of which will show your van's VIN, take these to the DVLA office along with the tax disc money, the fee and the German papers, fill out a form and they'll issue you with a certificate to go and get your plates made up.

Good luck

Just to add to PRD's comment, mine's a 1989 van and was registered as a "wohnmobil" so automatically became a motor caravan over here, don't know if that makes any difference..

[peasant]

As for headlights ...if you're planning on driving at night in the UK fairly regularly, just get new RHD ones (justkampers sells them among others).
The improvement in performance of new, correct lights over dim, 20 year old, partially taped up lanterns is well worth the outlay.

[Gandalf]

Mine was imported last year - just been through the MOT - still got the KPH speedo - no fail, no advisory. The fog light on mine is on the offside but was fitted to get it through the UK MOT by the guy that imported. I have LHD square headlights so bought the beam benders (considerably cheaper than sourcing RHD) from Brickwerks again no fail & no advisories.

[Joju]

Thanks people

The bus is 1990, I was told if it is over 20 years old there is no requirement for any type approval.
The literature I have from the DVLA is very clear that UK registered vehicles MUST have a speedo in MPH, RHD beams and fog.
However, the only requirement for the application for this that I can find are part of the type approval, the application form V55 only asks about them if type approval is necessary. So as far as I can see, the alterations would only be an issue at MOT testing, and as has been observed, this is inconsistent.

seems wise to do something for the beams since they currently illuminate the ditch rather well, but right now I am keen just to get the thing registered.

DVLA told me my application must have:

Form V55
MOT
insurance doc
german reg doc
2x proof of ID
application fee (55 quid)
road tax fee
Customs & Excise form VAT414

To insure the bus without reg needs insurance on the VIN alone. The insurer I found (there are not many) insists on seeing a registration doc in my name. When we bought the bus we registered it in my (german) father in law's name. Daft I know but it meant we did not need to sort insurance. So now I need to re-register the bus to me in Germany. We will be there for christmas ...

would like to hear more experience of registering recently. thanks everyone

[andisnewsyncro]

HiC - Flux- JK whichever one of this group gives the best insurance quote will all insure an imprt on the VIN.

I got mine through Hic initially as they were the easiest to deal with. Vehicle was still on German plates at the time and sitting in the compound at the MOT station; no questions about what name is on any reg papers, I simpy told them over the phone I had bought it and it was now in the UK. Accepted the quote, paid my premium and printed off the certificate they emailed to me.

Then you make an appointment for MOT, do the rear fog light & beam benders before you take it and fingers crossed you'll sail through your test &and Bob's your Auntie's husband.

There is no need for the DVLA to inspect the vehicle; it has the legal papers for UK reg & if you go to the right DVLA office, they'll even fill the forms in for you. Like you say 2 form of ID (licence & passport), V55, German reg papers, insurance, MOT and the £55 fee plus enough for either 6 or 12 months tax. It takes a couple of days to process but it really is quite a smooth operation.

Get insured (so you can drive it to and from it's MOT) is your first concern but should be easy. If you cant face the beaurocracy then I'm sure the cash offers will come flooding in. I'll give you £100 cash to take it off your hands

It's not that bad, give it a go and hopefully you'll be pleasantly surprised how easy it was

[melmelody]

hi there i have imported a british van to germany and also need to change my headlights for european ones could do you a swop? pm me if your interested.what part of germany are you visiting at christmas?i'm in paderborn nord rhine westphalia if thats any good to you or we could just post them

cheers mel.

[81AirCooled]

hi there i have imported a british van to germany and also need to change my headlights for european ones could do you a swop? pm me if your interested.what part of germany are you visiting at christmas?i'm in paderborn nord rhine westphalia if thats any good to you or we could just post them

cheers mel.

Hi Mel, I don't want to hijack the thread but did you have much hassle and expense getting you van imported? Did you find the UK market cheaper than in Germany?

[jason k]

having registered a few german imports there is def no need for rhd lamps or a mph speedo.

beam benders will suffice but you will need to fit an offside fog lamp

[ridealghp]

I've just bought a pair of the just kampers "universal" type 25 headlights (just over £40 each) and fitted them to my 1989 T25 in 15 minutes (you have undo 3 clips and totate the base of one of them.

[jason k]

a 1990 bus will have square lamps and they are unavailable rhd new anymore

[CycloneMike]

The DVLA are obliged to ensure that the vehicle is road legal for the uk before it is registered, which isn't unreasonable.
Because your van is more than 10 years old and from Europe the rules exempt it from being put through an SVA/IVA test, which is a good thing.
Most of the UK vehicle legal requirements are set out in the Construction and Use Regs and the Vehicle lighting regs.
For the DVLA a vehicle with an MOT test pass will ensure that con and use and lighting regs have probably been met.
However the exception is the vehicle speedometer which is not part of the MOT test. Con and Use Reg35 states that any motor vehicle first used on or after 1st April 1984 needs to be capable of indicating speed in both mph and kmh. Yawn.
So the reason why some DVLA offices are asking for proof of an MPH speed in addition to the MOT cert, is beacuse it is a legal requirement but not part of the MOT.
Opinion differs but you should be able to get an MOT with LHD lights if they have the correct beam benders fitted.

[Joju]

It is clear that the dvla wish the vehicle to meet the road use standards, but since the bus seems to be exempt from type approval, I cannot see where I have to voluntarily demonstrate this in the application requirements.
I would like to adjust or change the lights and move the fog, these seem to be wise changes.

Does anyone know what is involved in changing the speedo? Is it possible to simply replace the face with the numbers?

Also, can anyone advise on whether it is better to classify the bus as a van or a camper? It is an unmodified transporter.

[Ralf85]

My T25/3 came from Germany too. The year of registration is important. The later the model the more you have to do to your van. My van was from 1985. I just took along the relevant registration documents and an MOT certificate. There was no need to change anything on my van for example lights or speedo. However, if you are in the London area avoid the Wimbledon DVLA office. They will tell you all sorts of things that are not required on older vans and they are wrong. If I can remember which office I registered my van at I will let you know.
Patrick

To follow up. Use the correct deflectors on your headlights and your van will pass the MOT. The speedo has nothing to do with the MOT. Provided that the van is old enough like mine you do not have to prove any changes to the Speedo for the benefit of DVLA. For newer vans you have to change the speedo. Sticking numbers on the outside of the speedo lens will not suffice. I spoke to Steve at Eastfalia who imports from Germany and imported mine in fact. He confirmed that Type 25s registered up to 1991 do not need speedo changes. All Type 4s do. So that is one problem solved, provided that you avoid the Wimbledon DVLA office. Good luck.
Patrick