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[barnabie]

I am moving from the US to Ireland for a postdoc. I conveniently have an Irish friend who just moved here to the US for a postdoc. We are discussing the possibility of just swapping cars for the duration of our stays in each other's countries.

It seems like a great solution, but I'm sure there are some flaws in our plan. Any thoughts from expats in terms how the insurance, registration, etc. might work out? Is there something we're missing?

[hegemony]

Call your insurance company and ask.  And decide: who pays for the insurance?  Also prepare a clear contract to exchange and sign, specifying what will happen if the borrower damages the car, wrecks the car, etc., as well as who covers routine maintenance (and what that should be), any repairs that may be needed, if something happens while it's under the borrower's care but it's isn't the borrower's fault (a tree limb falls on it and damages it, etc.).  What if it's stolen?  What if it's stolen and it wasn't the borrower's fault?  What if it's stolen and the borrower left it unlocked?  Etc. etc.  You'd be surprised at the number of issues that can arise.  Been There Done That.