2002 Lancia Y Elefantino Rosso

Ok some of the stuff below is dealt with as I am backdating events here.


Body wise, the car is pretty much mint - and other than a bit of steering wheel and driver seat wear, the interior is lovely too. Drives nicely, I think it could do with drop links at least at the front as it knocks a bit on uneven roads.

When I take it for an Austrian "MOT" I will find out how crusty it is.


So now how do we deal with the administration side.....

As the car is imported, first thing I need to do is register it in Austria.

Since I live here, I have 30 days to do this or I get done for tax fraud. Eek.


Registering an imported car in Austria

This is more complicated than it should be, because Austria has its own separately maintained database of approved vehicles.

This first registration process must be carried out by the "General Importer" which is, in my case, Fiat.

Fiat need:

• Certificate of Conformity (I do not have one of those)
• Austrian MOT, officially known as the §57a-Begutachtung Pickerl
• Foreign V5 (I do have one of those)
• Receipt that proves it is mine (I do have one of those)

I have challenged the 2nd point and told them that under EU directives, surely an MOT from any EU member state should be admissible.
Fiat have curtly responded something that basically translates to "We'll see about that"

Once they have inevitably knocked back my application, I will be forced to get the Pickerl.


MOTing a car in Austria - the §57a-Begutachtung Pickerl

The first thing the MOT station will ask me is why I am trying to MOT a vehicle that is not registered in Austria.
There will then be a Denglish discussion where I explain why I need this service, they will then doubtless ask me for documentation that I do not have or does not exist.

The vehicle will then fail the MOT because of..... many things, despite being in excellent condition.
Austria has the strictest safety inspection in Europe, so the car is absolutely guaranteed to fail on a multitude of things.

Once (if) I get the fabled §57a-Begutachtung Pickerl, I have to go back to Fiat and try again with the first time registration service.

Fiat will relieve me of 200 Euros and I move on to the NOVA.


NOVA

Once I have my printout from Fiat saying the car now legally exists in Austria, I cannot tax or insure it until I have paid the NOVA tax - payable on all vehicles newer than 1991, brand new or used, when first registering in Austria.
This has to be done (Appointment mandatory, payment in cash only!) at the Ministry of Finance.

They will then argue with me about the amount payable, and eventually I will be relieved of some money and allowed to leave.
They then tick a box in the database that says "The NOVA has been paid and this vehicle can be legally registered"

Hang on, we've already registered it with Fiat haven't we?

Oh no no no no sir, you misunderstood. Fiat are simply confirming it complies to the EU manufacturing standards and that it exists as a tangible object in the country.
Now you have to actually register it to get an equivalent of a V5.

Great so that's free, right, just like in the UK after import formalities are all done?

No it's 200 Euros.

This is all seeming like too much work and expense, I will buy a car already in the country.

Well you can do that but you still have to pay 200 Euros.

What?

Yep, every time you buy/change ownership of a car in Austria, getting a new V5 in your name costs 200 Euros, regardless of the situation.

Christ on a bike.

Let's get that bit done then.


kFZ Zulassung:

So I have to go an insurer (doesn't really matter which one) get the car insured (this also includes VED, it's rolled into insurance costs here) and they conveniently do the registration at the same time, give you some number plates (number plates are unique and are not transferred with vehicle ownership) and off you go.

Bearing in mind I am 44 years old this car will cost me over NINE HUNDRED EUROS A YEAR to tax and insure.

I ran some comparison costs through Durchblicker (our version of Compare the Market) and anything remotely fast or polluting cost a staggering amount.

An expat mate of mine is paying 4k a year to tax and insure a 20 year old VW Sharan

Motoring costs (costs of buying, running, in fact doing anything with a car) here are just eyewatering compared to the UK, I am still having trouble processing it all really.


So this, in theory is what awaits me. Updates to follow.

Next up, pay the NoVA tax.

This sounds like it should be easy but the list of accompanying documents you are supposed to provide terrified me tbh.

I tried first with the basics, which I submitted through the "FinanzOnline" portal.

• The bit of paper Fiat gave me
• The "Nova Rechner" which is a tax calculator that tells you what you owe based on the info you input
• The "Nova2" form which is almost the same info as you put in the calculator with some added bits about NOx and other weird random questions I had now answered in at least triplicate

I forgot to attach the receipt that proved what I paid (oops)

I left this with them for 5 days and got no answer, so I booked a face to face appointment and nervously turned up clutching as many documents as I could lay my hands on.

The poster on the office door said I needed:

• Data excerpt from Fiat - Got that
• An Austrian MOT - NOPE
• The Polish V5 - Got it in my bag with me
• The purchase receipt - Got it in my bag with me
• A valuation by an approved "Car Expert" to prove I paid what I paid for it - Ehhhhh NOPE
• Proof of my address in Austria - Oops, not on me - NOPE

So I walked in the office to find a weary looking Austrian civil servant at her desk.

Conversation went like this but in German:

"Hi, I need to pay the NoVA, sorry my German isn't great but I understand most things"

SHRUG "You submitted your application in Finanzonline already, or?"

"Yes, but got no reply"

"Yeah, well" SHRUG

"You have to much work to make, or?"

"Exactly. It's 126 Euros to pay, have you got cash?"

"Yes"

"Don't pay me, sign this paper, take it to the 3rd floor, pay, then come back"

/went to the 3rd floor, paid, got my receipt stamped.

"Hi, it's paid"

"Good, I just need a copy of your ID"

"Passport ok?"

"It will do"

"There you go, done. You can register your car. Bye"


No request for a valuation report. No request for an "MOT". No request for a purchase receipt. Didn't have to show any of the docs I did have. Nothing!

Two hurdles left - insurance and then registration, which is done here after you do all the above.

Then you get your number plates and can drive about like a good honest Austrian citizen.

Since this is a build thread, I had better post my plans.

Not a huge amount of building I can do, being in Austria. The rules and regulations around modifying cars are extremely tight here, so we are not going to be seeing anything like a mad Integrale engine swap or anything along those lines

I got this car pretty reasonably priced and the aim is to use it to do a Gumbalkan (https://gumbalkan.cz/) event, and given our rules here any mods I make must either be easily reversable come MOT time (and hope I don't get pulled over in the meantime), easily hideable, or something I can get easily approved - and that process is not one I have great visibility of yet - I need to find me a tame garage over here and they seem thin on the ground.

I would like

Better suspension (it's a little wallowy at the front)
Some cosmetic upgrades to the underside to keep it fresh
Better brakes (they don't stop well at the best of times)
Some Martini decals!

It's cosmetically in top nick so nothing much changing body wise other than reversable stuff like decals.

Austria sounds like the best bits of German and Italian bureaucracy rolled in to one.

I really enjoy the Lancias that are post them pulling out of UK.

I'll take a punt he bought it from around Gdansk/Władysławowo.