Buying a car in the UK

My partner and I bought a house in Somerset in 2007 and spend 6 months of the year there. During this time we've rented cars - which has been ridiculously expensive! - and now we want to buy one. We tried a few years ago but couldn't because we didn't have UK driving licenses. We don't want to surrender our US licenses because we're in the US for 6 months at a time.


Both of us are retired and don't plan on looking for a job there. To get a UK license, we need a National Insurance Number and I don't know how to get that without going through the Job Centre.


Does anyone know of an insurance co./broker who would insure a car for us with a US license? This would be easiest, of course, but I don't know if they exist.


I know many of you have been through this and any advice you could give me would be greatly appreciated. I'm baffled!

Are either of you UK citizens?  Or what kind of visas do you have?  That will help determine which insurance is right.

Which visa are you living in the UK on? You may need an NI number to declare the income you receive while living here (that's an entirely different discussion though, I am not versed on taxes for people with 2 residences).

When buying my car in cash I had to show my BRP to prove I had residence, my US license, and then I was insured through Aviva on my US license (which was not cheap). I would try a site like compare the market to see if there are any others who insure when using a foreign license.



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Does anyone know of an insurance co./broker who would insure a car for us with a US license? This would be easiest, of course, but I don't know if they exist.

USAA might. They have offices in the US and in the UK. It's worth a call, anyway.

https://www.usaa.com/

Are either of you UK citizens?  Or what kind of visas do you have?  That will help determine which insurance is right.

We're both US citizens with US passports. We only stay in the UK for 6 months at a time.

Which visa are you living in the UK on? You may need an NI number to declare the income you receive while living here (that's an entirely different discussion though, I am not versed on taxes for people with 2 residences).

When buying my car in cash I had to show my BRP to prove I had residence, my US license, and then I was insured through Aviva on my US license (which was not cheap). I would try a site like compare the market to see if there are any others who insure when using a foreign license.

We're in the UK for our 6-month allotted time. Neither of us receive or will receive UK income.

Glad to hear about Aviva. I'll check that out. Thanks!

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USAA might. They have offices in the US and in the UK. It's worth a call, anyway.

https://www.usaa.com/ [nofollow]

Looks like they serve military members and their families. Thanks for the response.

So... If you have a home you own, and you buy a car, you aren't just visiting the UK you're living here 6 months of the year. I don't know if you can register a car in your name on a visitor visa, or insure it if your "permanent residence" is in the US.

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So... If you have a home you own, and you buy a car, you aren't just visiting the UK you're living here 6 months of the year. I don't know if you can register a car in your name on a visitor visa, or insure it if your "permanent residence" is in the US.

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Yes, that adds to my confusion. Years ago I did buy and own a car in my name - and was able to get insurance through the company that insures my home. They no longer do that for people who don't have UK driving licenses.

We're both US citizens with US passports. We only stay in the UK for 6 months at a time.

To be on the safe side, you should probably take a look at the Statutory Residence Test to see if you should have been filing self assessment tax returns in the UK.

https://www.gov.uk/tax-foreign-income/residence
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rdr3-statutory-residence-test-srt

I think you will struggle, as you are living in the UK without the proper permissions...

Give USAA a try.  But you may just need to keep doing what you are doing and hope for the best.

Give USAA a try.  But you may just need to keep doing what you are doing and hope for the best.

I thought they might, but after looking into it, it turns out that unless you meet the eligibility requirement they only do life insurance and investments.

To be on the safe side, you should probably take a look at the Statutory Residence Test to see if you should have been filing self assessment tax returns in the UK.

https://www.gov.uk/tax-foreign-income/residence [nofollow]
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rdr3-statutory-residence-test-srt [nofollow]

Thanks for this.

I think you will struggle, as you are living in the UK without the proper permissions...

Give USAA a try.  But you may just need to keep doing what you are doing and hope for the best.

Thanks for your advice

USAA might. They have offices in the US and in the UK. It's worth a call, anyway.

https://www.usaa.com/

When I bought a car while here on a granted-at-the-border visit visa in 2012, USAA insured me through a London affiliate.  It wasn't cheap, but it was manageable and it kept me legal.