Way to Russia Talk Lounge

montazhnik · Just Starting Joined: 19 May 2005 Posts: 4

I'm planning on relocating to St. Petersburg and I want to bring my car with me. I want to ship it via Helsinki (much cheaper) and drive it over the border (as "vremmeniy vvoz", not import). Here's the strange situation I'm in, so if anyone has info about cars specifically from the US, I'd appreciate it:

My car is registered in New York state. New York has rules that you can only have a car registered with New York plates if you have valid liability insurance from an insurance company registered in New York state. If the insurance is cancelled, you must return the plates to the DMV on the SAME DAY, otherwise your registration is cancelled and eventually even your driver's license will be too.

My insurance company has informed me that they don't offer any coverage valid in Russia. THerefore, the day the car is shipped my insurance will be cancelled, necessitating the return of the plates to the DMV. So how do I transit a car through Finland and enter Russia in a car with no plates or registration? Should I get temporary insurance that is valid in Finland, and a temporary Finnish transit registration (if such a thing exists)? And does "vremmeniy vvoz" mean that the car needs to have a permanent valid registration from it's country of origin, even while the car is temporarily in Russia (I've heard that if you are granted the right for "vremmeniy vvoz" for more than three months, you will be given temporary license plates for the car)

How do I keep my New York registration valid until I get to Russia? Does anyone know of an insurance company that would help me do this?

Would it be easier to just ship the car directly to St. Petersburg, and skip Finland?

Any advice that would shed light on this strange matter would be appreciated.

DITTRICH · Posted: Thu May 19, 2005 1:00 pm Post subject:

Find an american insurance co to insure your vehicle to finland. Don't mention the russian bit or the bit about the vehicle not coming back. That way your car keeps its plates for longer? You'll need to get separate insurance for russia anyway - get it in finland.
If you really are set on bringing your car, perhaps better to import it into finland and register it in Finland. Then keep renewing temporary import certificate for ruissia after 30 days > 6 months. Keep taking the car back and forth across the border to renew the documentation just before it runs out.

Probably better to sell your car in America and buy a car in finland or russia. Both options bring challenges from a documentation point of view and there are no easy answers.

You need to examine all the options and choose the easiest.
Les

mr. barley · Posted: Thu May 19, 2005 2:04 pm Post subject:

If you have an American car it would probably be a good idea to sell it and buy a European car. I have a hunch parts for American cars are not easy to attain. When I was in Moscow I saw very few American cars. I saw about 3 or 4 Ford Focus'.

e · VIP Joined: 23 Apr 2005 Posts: 654

Ironically this was discussed in another thread on this forum here:

http://www.waytorussia.net/TalkLounge/viewtopic.php?p=16913#16913

and here:

http://www.waytorussia.net/TalkLounge/viewtopic.php?t=2776&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

But to sum up: your NY registration and car insurance are only valid within the 50 states and Puerto Rico only. Outside of the U.S. it is officially unregistered and uninsured.

Usually you can tack on insurance along with the shipping company and costs but this only covers damges while the ship is en route. Once the car is on land it is uninsured.

My advice and as barley and the other threads suggested, you are better off selling the car in the US and use the cash to buy a nice car there. As Barley also mentioned, getting parts to have it repaired and maintained will be a pain and finding someone to repair it and maintain it will be a pain. Shipping the car to Russia or driving it in will be a pain, not just in costs but in the mountains of burecratic red-tape and time it'll cost you.

Besides, you'll need an international drivers license anyway which you can't get in the US.

DITTRICH · Posted: Fri May 20, 2005 3:14 pm Post subject: e's response

Slightly off at a tangent, I know, but US insurance companies seem even more inflexible than european ones! And not being able to get an IDP in America! Maybe someone should tell all those Humvee and Abrams drivers in bagdad Wink

That was flippant, I know, but I could not resist.
Cheers
Les