Foreign-reg warning

	The British MoT is one of Europe’s strictest testing regimes, so if you’re looking at a foreign-plated car, the chances of it being sub-standard are much higher

Cheap foreign-registered cars are putting UK drivers at risk, according to a leading consumer price guide.

There’s evidence of a growing black market for vehicles which were originally registered abroad – typically in Poland, Bulgaria and France – in the UK.

Once a car has been here for six months, the owner is legally required to re-register it with the DVLA. But many drivers avoid doing this to evade speeding fines, parking tickets and London’s congestion charge – and it’s easy to see why. Our Issue 853 Inside Story revealed some councils don’t even try to trace owners of models regist­ered abroad who ignore parking fines.

But experts aren’t only worried by the fact that foreign-plated cars are harder to keep track of. They could also be stolen or even dangerous – as they won’t have gone through our strict MoT procedures.

The cost and hassle involved in getting a model registered by the Vehicle Certifi­cation Agency makes selling them cheaply a very attractive proposition for whoever brings them into the country. A spokesman for Parker’s Guide, which has highlighted the latest changes, said: “The Gov­ernment needs to take action now to start recording details as cars enter the country, and get offending vehicles off the road.”

It has warned motorists against buying such models, even if they’re cheaper than UK-registered cars. Only three EU countries – Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Slov­akia – have a testing regime as strict as the MoT, so the chances of buying a sub-standard used car are higher if you’re looking at a vehicle that was registered abroad. These motors are also impossible to insure if you live here, and could be stolen.

The Government is unable to put a figure on the number of foreign-plated vehicles currently on the road in the UK.