Europe long term parking

[ChrisTravel]

Hello
I have a New California on order and on retirement looking to spend many 1-2 month blocks of time in Europe interspersed with say 1 month at home. Really don’t want to driveup home through France to Northwest UK every time. So any good location companies in say Nice or Geneva or elsewhere with a good airport for uk flights to place......the van in secure storage much appreciated. Appreciate might be battery issues And the EU 90 days issues. Any ideas thoughts most welcome

 

[ChrisTravel]

Really no one ..........has ever left their van in mainland Europe gone home to the UK on a plane and then gone back to continue their traveling?

 

[WelshGas]

Really no one ..........has ever left their van in mainland Europe gone home to the UK on a plane and then gone back to continue their traveling?

Have you checked that your Insurance company is happy with your plan. I know you can get extended European cover BUT they normally presume you are with the vehicle.

 

[Barbara]

Really no one ..........has ever left their van in mainland Europe gone home to the UK on a plane and then gone back to continue their traveling?

As WelshGas says maybe an insurance problem also 90 day rule.
see https://www.visa-calculator.com/

I am aware that there is long term parking at Alicante airport so maybe at others too. Try search long-term parking near a airport you want to be near.

Alicante Airport Parking - Long Term Annual Parking Service

Long term parking service at Alicante airport. The nearest off-site parking with collection and delivery service. T:(+34) 96 568 0312

alicante-parking.com

 

[Viktorgeorge]

As WelshGas says maybe an insurance problem also 90 day rule.
see https://www.visa-calculator.com/

I am aware that there is long term parking at Alicante airport so maybe at others too. Try search long-term parking near a airport you want to be near.

Alicante Airport Parking - Long Term Annual Parking Service

Long term parking service at Alicante airport. The nearest off-site parking with collection and delivery service. T:(+34) 96 568 0312

alicante-parking.com

When I lived in Rome, some time ago, I had to locally insure after 6 months and re-register my vehicle after a year. I doubt this has been relaxed since.

 

[ChrisTravel]

Thanks WelshGas and Barbara much appreciated

 

[Corradobrit]

Hello
I have a New California on order and on retirement looking to spend many 1-2 month blocks of time in Europe interspersed with say 1 month at home. Really don’t want to driveup home through France to Northwest UK every time. So any good location companies in say Nice or Geneva or elsewhere with a good airport for uk flights to place......the van in secure storage much appreciated. Appreciate might be battery issues And the EU 90 days issues. Any ideas thoughts most welcome

You can also look on the local messaging boards (eg Ebay Classifieds in Germany, Gumtree in UK etc, but there must be similar listing sites in France) or try local real estate agents, who offer private garages for rent. I would be nervous leaving my Cali in the open in a public parking lot for an extended period.
A covered, private/lockable parking space might suffice for some insurers.
And if you find one with power you can keep it plugged in to EHU.

 

[Corradobrit]

Cheap garages to rent in France - Kyero.com

178 cheap garages to rent in France. Find your dream home in France, from over 10,000 estate agents on Kyero.com

www.kyero.com

 

[Corradobrit]

HOWEVER, I would also check with the local authorities. If you keep your vehicle in a country longer than say 6 months it has to be registered there. To register a vehicle you have to be a resident. It gets complicated and you may run foul of the authorities at some point as the border control will know when you crossed into EU territory.

 

[The Tall Luthier]

I

Hello
I have a New California on order and on retirement looking to spend many 1-2 month blocks of time in Europe interspersed with say 1 month at home. Really don’t want to driveup home through France to Northwest UK every time. So any good location companies in say Nice or Geneva or elsewhere with a good airport for uk flights to place......the van in secure storage much appreciated. Appreciate might be battery issues And the EU 90 days issues. Any ideas thoughts most welcome

I once bought a British car to leave at our French house as it felt like an easier solution than buying a French car.
I then looked into the paperwork required to keep the car there, pre Brexit, it was too onerous for me to be bothered with. We brought the car back a year later for several reasons.

Post Brexit you have no rights to leave your property in the EU, unless it is registered, as no formal agreements will have been made between governments to allow such.

That said you could do it, but I agree with others you’d need an exceptional insurance policy.

 

[Barbara]

Driving a UK registered car in Europe

What are the rules on driving a UK registered car in Europe? How long can you drive? This EUROCOC blog post will help you to find out Title: Driving a UK registered car in Europe

www.eurococ.eu

Taking a vehicle out of the UK

Taking your car out of the UK - when VAT is not payable on a car you're exporting, procedures, registration and vehicle tax.

www.gov.uk

How long can tourists drive UK-registered cars in France for?

We look into driving holidays to France and whether there is a limit to how long you can keep your car here for

www.connexionfrance.com

 

[Barbara]

Thanks WelshGas and Barbara much appreciated

info on facebook re spain I assume rest of eu the same.

https://www.facebook.com/DrivingSpain/posts/pfbid026GpBVS7CdXZS6GCiXb4inGZagaunZZXGnMhjSDKhq1F32ttEHpDgWpb5Xq6rc4KNl

 

[Moonlight Motel]

Really no one ..........has ever left their van in mainland Europe gone home to the UK on a plane and then gone back to continue their traveling?

Chris
WE have a GC 680 and are on a one way trip around Europe for the past three years. We leave our van wherever we finish each year - Bordeaux in 2021, Santiago de Compostela in 2022 and Valencia this year. We just google campervan storage in each area and have been lucky so far to find covered storage for no more than €80-90 per month. Every place has started the van for us during the winter to kep the main battery topped up. The place in Santiago even cleaned the van for us before we picked it up!!!
With regard to insurance (albeit an Irish company) I just have to get them to pre approve each place and they cover us for the winter. I send them details of where we are storing the van and have had no problems so far - even for the place in Bordeaux which was a barn on a farm
There would have been no problem with year round storage and access when you wanted in any of the places.
Hope this helps

 

[ChrisTravel]

Hi Moonlight Motel,

Thats incredibly helpful and encouraging. Our van will be delivered in the new year so I will look to find a insurance company that will allow European storage. Might not be so easy as Non EU but will give it a try.
Thank you for your help it’s greatly appreciated ......enjoy your travels In your GC.

 

[Moonlight Motel]

Hi Moonlight Motel,

Thats incredibly helpful and encouraging. Our van will be delivered in the new year so I will look to find a insurance company that will allow European storage. Might not be so easy as Non EU but will give it a try.
Thank you for your help it’s greatly appreciated ......enjoy your travels In your GC.

Thanks Chris. I am sure you will love yours too. It is a great van and we love ours. Maybe we will cross paths at some stage!!! Safe travels

 

[Moonlight Motel]

Hi Moonlight Motel,

Thats incredibly helpful and encouraging. Our van will be delivered in the new year so I will look to find a insurance company that will allow European storage. Might not be so easy as Non EU but will give it a try.
Thank you for your help it’s greatly appreciated ......enjoy your travels In your GC.

Chris
I also meant to say that for shorter trips home 1-3 weeks the long term car parks at many airports are good value and safe. We just check on Google street view that there isn’t a low barrier before we book

 

[Viktorgeorge]

@ChrisTravel , please do post on this string, in due course, whether you have success (on extended overseas insurance and avoiding registration) given that you will have a UK registered vehicle unlike EU based @Moonlight Motel .

I previously had considered but then dismissed your idea without researching it thoroughly.

 

[Ozzy Pete]

After spending £70k plus on a new van I would want to keep it close by as much as I could. Without all the insurance, battery, damage and theft implications. Even the most secure places have their pitfalls And costs involved.
I wouldn’t even start thinking about something like this until I had spent my first couple of seasons away.
Also don’t forget there are places like Scotland, Wales and Ireland to explore as well as your own England.

 

[GrumpyGranddad]

Have you checked that your Insurance company is happy with your plan. I know you can get extended European cover BUT they normally presume you are with the vehicle.

Agree.

 

[The Tall Luthier]

Chris
WE have a GC 680 and are on a one way trip around Europe for the past three years. We leave our van wherever we finish each year - Bordeaux in 2021, Santiago de Compostela in 2022 and Valencia this year. We just google campervan storage in each area and have been lucky so far to find covered storage for no more than €80-90 per month. Every place has started the van for us during the winter to kep the main battery topped up. The place in Santiago even cleaned the van for us before we picked it up!!!
With regard to insurance (albeit an Irish company) I just have to get them to pre approve each place and they cover us for the winter. I send them details of where we are storing the van and have had no problems so far - even for the place in Bordeaux which was a barn on a farm
There would have been no problem with year round storage and access when you wanted in any of the places.
Hope this helps

This is interesting.
As an EU member you have freedom of movement so you are allowed to stay as long as you like. Your insurance company would have greater legal difficulty discriminating against which member state you reside in, in a Single Market.

That said, I believed that it is the legal right of each country to determine how to treat vehicles in their country with many choosing a registration after 6 months.

Did you?
A) manage to find a legal route around this
Or
B) do what I did and not worry about it too much as the chances of enforcement would be very slim.

 

[Moonlight Motel]

This is interesting.
As an EU member you have freedom of movement so you are allowed to stay as long as you like. Your insurance company would have greater legal difficulty discriminating against which member state you reside in, in a Single Market.

That said, I believed that it is the legal right of each country to determine how to treat vehicles in their country with many choosing a registration after 6 months.

Did you?
A) manage to find a legal route around this
Or
B) do what I did and not worry about it too much as the chances of enforcement would be very slim.

We went for answer B)

I think most authorities will assume we are just on holidays and the likelihood of ever being stopped for staying too long is so slim as to not warrant even thinking about it. I would think that a UK van would be the same as long as the “humans “ obeyed the Brexit length of stay requirements the van is likely to get away with it - IMHO

 

[ChrisTravel]

Really great to get the different views all much appreciated everyone
The humans will definitely obey the Brexit rules, they just don’t want to always drive 1000 miles back from Nice or similar and then drive another 1000 miles back over old ground perhaps just a month or two later to continue the adventure around Europe.

 

[Azteccamper]

My only concern would be the possibility of your insurance becoming null and void if involved in accident / theft if it’s in a country with the 6 month rule on registering as it legally shouldn’t be on the road?
my mate keeps his touring caravan over in France continually but different kettle of fish.

 

[ChrisTravel]

Aztec think your right important to get the van back in UK within 6 months more likely 3-4 month maximum in our case. Looking at a month or two in Europen storage followed by a month or two exploring Europe with the van before returning to the UK.

 

[AndyWT]

Brit thankfully living in Italy for many years.

You guys left the club so the rules have changed, pre BREXIT you could leave your van anywhere and although there was rules no one cared, classic case of a Bulgarian driving a taxi in Spain with an Italian driving licence in a car registered in Germany, you get the point.

Since BREXIT causing you to loose Freedom of Movement, you have to follow the rules and these are not EU rules, each country’s rules/laws can be specific.

Heres the RAC link to these rules/laws

Driving in Italy | RAC Drive

Driving in Italy tips, checklist and requirements from RAC, plus use our Route Planner for directions around Italy.

www.rac.co.uk

6-12 months is the norm, since BREXIT a lot more scrutiny is applied to UK registered vehical in some countries.

Having said all that, the best place for secure long term parking is the airport you are flying out of.

I regularly leave my T4 Cali (fully loaded, it’s our only car which we live in part time) at Turin or Malpensa Milan airport for 1+ months, last winter was 120 €/m at Malpensa off site parking, if you can avoid Jul/Aug & ski season or book well in advance, Most airport have private offsite parking.

I‘m taking the bus from Turin to Milan end of Nov this year to save money (the £/€ FX rate is killing my pension), 3 months away this time in Southeast Asia, 3 months parking is 360 € that’s nearly 3,000 km of diesel, as we usually do about 16,000 km/yr traveling around from Scandinavia to the Balkans I can put up with the hassel of taking a bus-metro-bus to the airport with baggage

If you do park for long periods, if you have solar that can charge all batteries uncoverd parking can be cheaper if not or covered parking, you need to know how to fully disconnect the leisure batteries otherwise they will be dead on return.