Bet you didn't know...

[Le Pop]

Foreign registered cars owned by French residents are now supposed to be formally imported and re-registered in France within ONE MONTH of purchase! This was announced on the relevant government website in mid-December.

I've actually gone through the process seven times now in the last four years (for various reasons) and it's fairly tortuous unless you enjoy form-filling and dealing with bureaucrats! But getting it done within a month is nigh-on impossible if you need to buy and install headlamps from anywhere other than a French main dealer. Unless I'm reading it wrong (quite possible) then in my view one would need to leave the car outside France until you're ready to get a CT, otherwise you just ain't gonna do it in under a month!

WEBSITE http://vosdroits.service-public.fr/particuliers/F1...

First paragraph:
"If you have purchased a used vehicle from abroad, you must establish the registration certificate (eg gray card) in the month following the date of purchase of the vehicle"

Oh, and the fine for non-compliance, if caught? Up to €750!!!!!

Love France.

[Russwhitehouse]

Screw em! I'll take the fine. It's less than the cost of replacing one headlight on the DB9 not withstanding all the other costly bullst involved.

[crossy67]

It can be done within a few days. Fit headlights if needed. Order C of C, get CT, get quittas fiscal fill in one form and go the prefecture. Only thing that can hold things up is the C of C. Once you have four pieces of paper work it can easily be done in a morning, even including the CT if you get up early doors.

Doesn't the DB9 have switchable projector headlights?

[Russwhitehouse]

As a matter of fact it does! I was just having a rant is all. How do you read this new rule. Does it apply to cars purchased from now on or foreign cars irrespective of when bought or how long they've been in France?

[crossy67]

I haven't read the rule to be honest, my French is not good. I just get on with registering a car as soon as I get it. I did have to wait for about 6 months for my cert of conformity for my VW van. In all fairness it wasn't VW's fault, more the internet company posing as VAG to sell you the certificate.

[Le Pop]

That's my point. In theory it can be done in a number of days but in reality getting it done in a month would be virtually impossible without main dealer assistance.

You buy a car. You order the headlamps, they take a week or more to arrive. If you are 'fortunate' enough to have a Mercedes/smart or a Saab (there may be others) then the manufacturer demands an attestation from one of their main dealers that the headlamps and speedo conform before they will issue a certificate of conformity. If you don't know that then you don't find out from the company you ordered the CoC from for a week or more (mine took over two weeks just to tell me that).

OK, so you can try and get the quitus fiscal while that's going on.

Then once you get your CoC you can try and get a CT done. If it passes then great, if it doesn't you then have to get the parts and fix it. Once you've got your CT then you can go to the prefecture and get your carte gris.

In theory this could be done in a month, but in reality I just don't think it can (especially if you have anything else to do!). If any part of the process is delayed then forget it...

[Fatt McMissile]

"Au delà du délai réglementaire d'un mois, la demande sera quand même traitée par les services préfectoraux. "

Beyond the statutory one month period, the application will still be processed by the prefecture.

From Wikipaedia: The jocular saying is that, in England, "everything which is not forbidden is allowed", while, in Germany, the opposite applies, so "everything which is not allowed is forbidden". This may be extended to France — "everything is allowed even if it is forbidden"[2] — and Russia where "everything is forbidden, even that which is expressly allowed".[3] While in North Korea it is said that "everything that is not forbidden is compulsory
Steve

[Driller]

Ha, that's brilliant!

[Le Pop]

Indeed, the prefecture will still give you the carte gris after a month, but you're risking a fine of up to €750 if you get a tug by les flics...

[crossy67]

Where are you importing the car from? If it's the UK get a C of C from there, all my friends have registered cars without French CofC's, a friend has recently registered a Mec E270 with a German CofC. We did our Renault with an English one (they're free from Renault UK).

You can get almost any headlights via the internet within a week, fitting should only take a couple of hours. The quittas is a 10 minute wait, the CT is 45 minutes and the prefecture is as long as the queue.

I'm not denying they can take a lot longer, I have waited 6 months with my van but it is more than possible to get the whole process done within two weeks if you're organised.

If any one needs the application forms for immatriculation I have them on my PC, I can email them.

[Russwhitehouse]

As I read it between the lines, as long as the car remains registered at a UK address once you buy it, you can argue, in the event of a tug, that the car Is only in France on an occasional and temporary basis, but is legally and more permanently housed in UK and you are not attempting to import it or keep it in France permanently. Unlikely to cause any further interest unless you drive it past your local gendarmerie every day.

[Fatt McMissile]

If you're stopped in a routine check speak English, tell them you're staying with a friend. If you don't have a French driving license that is. If you don't have a friend make one up.
If WPC Dawn Raid comes round the house and blatters your front door in, get yer chequebook out...............
Steve

[racerbob]

I believe that you can still apply for the carte gris even if it fails the CT. I think that doing it in a month is possible but it does very much depend on the type and make of vehicle.

I have a couple of 'oldies' over here which i did through the FFVE, saves a lot of hassle when the manufacturer is no longer around, but the vehicle does have to be 30 years old or more.

[A common lawyer]

The month delay is a non-issue unless you (i) have a French licence / something else that makes you obviously a permanent resident, (ii) get stopped, and (iii) are unable to persuade the gendarmes that the vehicle is not a permanent import.

I'm a good little boy, so I just stuck mine in the garage until all the forms came through, waiting on my CG now, and very frustrating it is too!

[Driller]

Anybody else had the reminder from the DVLA to update their photo lucence with a new photo? (it's every 10 years). What did you do?

[rdjohn]

I think that it is a fairly recent thing; we both had them last year but fortunately still have a home in the UK so it was not a problem.

I suppose the biggest problem is if someone has lost contact with their old UK address used on the license, so they just get deleted from the DVLA system and you end up with no license.

[Driller]

The last time was 10 years ago in 2003 so it's been going on at least since then. I see I'm not the only one who has kept his uk licence then

[Le Pop]

We had moved from our UK address that was on our licences so didn't get the reminder. Ultimately didn't realise my photocard had expired until I got shunted by an over-friendly frenchman. When I presented my card I was horrified to see it had expired, but got away with it by saying it actually expired when my age limit was reached. I was a bit worried though and changed my UK address and photograph on my photocard, so all good now until I have to get a French one at some point...