Taking the car to France

[rupert the dog]

We are thinking of spending some time in France later this year - hopefully a period of months rather than weeks, maybe even more tha 6 months. Are we OK to continue using the car over there for a long(ish) period like this. Obviously I'll sort it with the insurance co, but is there anu other paperwork/admin we need to do?

[ianash]

If you go to Angloinfo.com and visit the French site, there's bundles of useful info that you'll find helpful.

[Amateurish]

Once you take it over for more than 6 months you need to get a registered in the French system. Much hassle. Less than 6 months, you don't need to do anything.

[rupert the dog]

ianash said:

If you go to Angloinfo.com and visit the French site, there's bundles of useful info that you'll find helpful.

Thanks for that, looks a useful site.

[DBSV8]

Amateurish said:

Once you take it over for more than 6 months you need to get a registered in the French system. Much hassle. Less than 6 months, you don't need to do anything.

I wouldn't bother , ive had cars in France still registered and insured since 2003 , never been a problem . Bring them back to uk keep MOT up to date then stored in France for a year !

edit to add : A friend went through this process of re registering his van ( Renault ) it was a right pain in the arse took several months of chasing paperwork.

I have also scrapped a transit in France , I could have left it like a lot of "Poles" do and leave it by the side of the raod I decided to do it legally I submitted the correct paperwork inculding V5 , passport , Drivers license , Internation license , insurance ,etc. and it took over a week to get the signatures , then send French pasperwork back to DVLA to register the vehicle as scrapped .

The French Buracracy system is total bullst , also be aware if you send money over to France above 4000 Euros the bank will " sit on it for a month before you have access to it , Its a total ste state of affairs and its going to get worse , " Quote that little French B'stard Sarkozy ...Zer are too many foreigners in France "

One of the many reasons I am leaving

Edited by DBSV8 on Friday 9th March 05:27

[Cloggie]

If you are only planning to stay 6 months or a year, I would not bother registering your car in France. If you plan to stay permanently, re-registering will save a fair bit of money.

Registering a car that is over 6 months old in France is easy, but will cost a bit. First, send copies of V5, proof of address etc. to the vehicle manufacturer to obtain a EU conformity document in French. This normally takes around a week with most manufacturers but normally costs around €140. Then get the car through a CT (French MOT)which costs around €70. Pop round to the local tax office to confirm taxes are paid. Finally visit the Prefecture to register the car and pay the charges according to the amount of fiscal horse power. At the moment they charge about €35 per fiscal horse power, but this is halved when the car is over 10 years old. I have imported a few cars and I paid around €600 for a 5 year old Shogun DiD, €430 for an 11 year old Mercedes G400 Cdi, €130 for an old Corsa and around €800 for an RS6. At the Prefecture you will get temporary registration papers to buy plates, but the final Carte Grise normally arrives by post within 3 days.

When a car is on French plates there is no more road tax, MOT only every 2 years and in my case, much cheaper insurance.

Edited by Cloggie on Friday 9th March 07:58

[Cloggie]

DBSV8 said:

The French Buracracy system is total bullst , also be aware if you send money over to France above 4000 Euros the bank will " sit on it for a month before you have access to it , Its a total ste state of affairs and its going to get worse , " Quote that little French B'stard Sarkozy ...Zer are too many foreigners in France "

One of the many reasons I am leaving

Edited by DBSV8 on Friday 9th March 05:27

You should change bank! I never have any problems with Caisse d'Epargne, Paribas or LCL. From British banks normally 5 days, from other EU or Australian banks 2 to 3 days.