Moving to Belgium

[ujimaflip]

It looks like I will have to move to Belgium if I want to continue working for the company that I currently work for... Just looking at the cost of initial import could be around €5000 (unless I'm reading the rules wrong) + €2000 per year road tax - . Anyone here had a similar move? Any loopholes (i.e. keep the car registered in the UK but drive in Belgium?). Really don't want to have to sell.... .

[spink]

If they have the same rules as france you can insure a uk reg'd car through a french company.I bought a A4 for a mate who lives in canne a couple of months ago and drove it down,had no problems insuring it(or his other uk car/van)Just had to get a french MOT which is slack as f**k.Worth looking into.

[MidnightBlueS2]

Well, first of all, where will you be moving to ? Flanders ? Wallonia ? Brussels ?

Regarding importing an S2, as long as your veh comes from within the EU, it will cost you a whopping........... 0,10 EURO. This is NOT a joke

Annual federal road tax is 384,36 Euros to which you need to add a local city tax depending in which town/city you live, in my case it's another annual 38,44 Euros so a total annual tax of 422,8 Euros which has to be paid annually, no monthly break down of costs is possible.
But you also have to pay what is called "First registration of the car in your name tax" grossly translated. The higher the kW, the higher the tax. The older the car, the lower the tax. For a 1991 till 1994 S2, this tax is around 50 Euros. You only pay it once in order to get your license plate

Who gave you those distorted figures that you mentioned ?

[LHD_Kid]

This makes interesting reading for me too....
I am guessing that insurance will be high, on top of those costs (which if correct are more than acceptable) as you will have had no previous policy and therefore no 'no claims bonus'
I kept mine insured in UK, UK registered, but don't drive it over here very often....
I think I might have to look into re registering, if it is worthwhile....
Keep us up to date on what you find out...
Chris

[HPmuirt]

Well I work for a Belgium company which is now owned by Belgacom, so all I can say is.....

...bad luck!

Cheers n tears

Si

[MidnightBlueS2]

This makes interesting reading for me too....
I am guessing that insurance will be high, on top of those costs (which if correct are more than acceptable) as you will have had no previous policy and therefore no 'no claims bonus'
Chris

My above figures are legit. I've checked my files and have edited my post.

Regarding insurance, I used to pay close to 1200 Euros annually for unlimited mileage. Now as the S2 isn't my daily driving car anymore, I've switched insurance companies and am with Corona Direct now who insure me on a 7000km/year basis and it only costs 40,4 Euros/month. 484,8 Euros/year.

Road tax in Belgium is pretty harsh but insurance is reasonable in my opinion.

If any of you two need anymore info on how to import and register a car in Belgium, just PM me. I've done it for all of my cars in the past 5 years as I bought all of them in Germany and have done it for family/friends as well.

David

[S2central.net]

The only good thing that ever came out of Belgium is Mihnea Cotet...
Oh and some mighty good beer is the only saving grace, and chocolate but thats it

So, apart from the beer, the chocolate and everyones favourite custom Motronic programming guru - what have the Belgians done for us ?


Paul

PS - I know he's not originally from Belgium, but thats were he was when this place was born.

[MidnightBlueS2]

The only good thing that ever came out of Belgium is Mihnea Cotet...
Oh and some mighty good beer is the only saving grace, and chocolate but thats it

And what about the dynamo ( which in turn spawned the alternator ), the first patented automatic rifle, the most beautiful and demanding F1 race track on the planet, the first national railway system, comic books, worlds highest boat lift, worlds only fully lit road network, numerous metallurgy patents used worldwide, world class structural engineering and engineering ( Millau bridge ), Brussels is the capital of Europe, the first three European countries that founded what would become the EU were Holland Belgium and Luxembourg and let's not forget Jean-Claude Van Damme ! or Hercule Poirot for our older readers !

Belgium doesn't have a strong political power in the international world but it's average quality of living surpasses that of many more seemingly more powerful nations and that also includes the UK believe it or not. And you can have a drink outdoors at a terrace in a city center after midnight without having to risk getting caught in a fight due to binge drinking. The teenage unwanted pregnancy rate is not an issue here either...

The fact is that there is no real interest of the Belgian people to worry about something like "national pride" so of course Belgium rarely makes headlines but the fact of the matter is that Belgians are a great people, economically competitive ( one of the major anti-euro tabloids, The Sun I think, is actually printed in Belgium everyday ) keen on good life with hard work and hard play.
Go anywhere in the world and you'll always find a Belgian there doing a fine job at whatever he/she is doing. Mihnea's a perfect example.

Contrary to a common belief I've noticed with French, Brit or even my fellow Americans, it should be said that nations with a strong sense of nationality like Italy, Spain, France or the UK, who frown upon people from "lesser" or should I say "lesser known" nations just because their nationality isn' t as "famous" as theirs should be set straight.

Being a great person doesn't necessarily mean that you have to have a "prestigious" nation name written on your passport. But go try to explain that to an English chav from Essex with sovereign rings on his fingers...

But hey, I still prefer the States over Belgium !

[ujimaflip]

Thanks for responding guys!

Thankyou for providing some info for me - maybe this is not the end of my S2 after all. I guess I should make something else clear - I have nothing against Belgians or Belgium itself - I actually work out there quite a lot already! My family and I are really quite looking forward to the move (which is looking more and more likely).

Am I right in thinking some of you guys are driving RHD (UK spec) S2s over there and managing to insure them as well?

[T2Andy]

So apart from Minea ,chocolate ,good beer and what about the dynamo ( which in turn spawned the alternator ), the first patented automatic rifle, the most beautiful and demanding F1 race track on the planet, the first national railway system, comic books, worlds highest boat lift, worlds only fully lit road network, numerous metallurgy patents used worldwide, world class structural engineering and engineering ( Millau bridge ), Brussels is the capital of Europe, the first three European countries that founded what would become the EU were Holland Belgium and Luxembourg and let's not forget Jean-Claude Van Damme ! "WHAT HAVE THE BELGIUMS DONE FOR US"

[MidnightBlueS2]

"WHAT HAVE THE BELGIUMS DONE FOR US"

The BelgiAns have shown you how to make good beer and good fries but you guys still prefer Newcastle Brown and greasy chips ...

[MidnightBlueS2]

Am I right in thinking some of you guys are driving RHD (UK spec) S2s over there and managing to insure them as well?

For myself, I'm driving a German spec LHD. In order to register your car, you'll have to travel to Brussels on an appointment date that you'll have to call in for and go to the official importer of VAG vehicles D'Ieteren and obtain a "certificate of conformity" from them which costs 100 Euros more or less.
It would be a good idea to contact them already to see if they will accept a RHD veh or not...

[mcandmar]

So apart from Minea ,chocolate ,good beer and what about the dynamo ( which in turn spawned the alternator ), the first patented automatic rifle, the most beautiful and demanding F1 race track on the planet, the first national railway system, comic books, worlds highest boat lift, worlds only fully lit road network, numerous metallurgy patents used worldwide, world class structural engineering and engineering ( Millau bridge ), Brussels is the capital of Europe, the first three European countries that founded what would become the EU were Holland Belgium and Luxembourg and let's not forget Jean-Claude Van Damme ! "WHAT HAVE THE BELGIUMS DONE FOR US"

[S2central.net]

So apart from Minea ,chocolate ,good beer and what about the dynamo ( which in turn spawned the alternator ), the first patented automatic rifle, the most beautiful and demanding F1 race track on the planet, the first national railway system, comic books, worlds highest boat lift, worlds only fully lit road network, numerous metallurgy patents used worldwide, world class structural engineering and engineering ( Millau bridge ), Brussels is the capital of Europe, the first three European countries that founded what would become the EU were Holland Belgium and Luxembourg and let's not forget Jean-Claude Van Damme ! "WHAT HAVE THE BELGIUMS DONE FOR US"

LOL - Glad somebody spotted were I was goin with that Belgian taunt... I'll set them up, you hit them For the uneducated, go watch Life of Brian and you'll get the plot.

Romani Ecce Domum !

CHeers,

Paul (Not anti Belgiumist at all - but lets face it - Brussels is famous for one other things - bucket loads of red tape... as backed up by Midnights description of how to import a car from an other EU territory.)

[ujimaflip]

Maybe we need a poll

Best export from Belgium?
Duvel, Chimey, Westmalle, Neuhaus, Brugge, Minea...... etc. etc.

... Not sure I'd want to shout about Jean-Claude Van Damme....

By the way - the original figures are a misinterpretation - they are for importing a brand new car....

Is the 'certificate of conformity' essentially the same as an MOT - or does it mean more like the car is completely OEM?... If so I may be in a bit of trouble (porche brakes, minor turbo mods etc)