C5 LHD conversion, is it feasable?

[Peter.N.]

A friend on mine who lives in Spain would like one but they will only allow LHD ones to be imported. In view of the fact that you can get them for practically nothing here but over there they cost a fortune, I wondered if it was a practical proposition.

Peter

[charentejohn]

I would say just buy one there, I am in France and did just that.
They may seem expensive, mine was 2,500 Euros and is very good (so far) and rust free. Rust seems a problem on a lot of UK cars but none here, or Spain I assume. My car travelled from central France to Portugal a lot, no rust just lots of dust.

If a Uk car is, say, £850 for a decent one (1000 Euros ish) it seems a bargain. Don't know Spain but in France to import it is - New headlights (150 ish), possible certificate of conformity if you don't have one (100 ish) registration fee (200 ish). So about 1450 Euros assuming you import a rhd as is. Problem then is it is not worth much here as rhd, so waste of money.

Conversion to lhd, even if possible, would have a cost, donor car etc so say 1000 Euros. Then it is a modified import.
Best advice is buy local, loads in Spain I only wish I could have bought one from there but too far to travel. For French prices as a guide try Leboncoin http://www.leboncoin.fr/voitures/offres ... 4&q=xantia" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[addo]

If you were crafty, I'd think a xenon-equipped C5 might be suitable. Fairly sure they don't have handed headlights.

You'd need the dash, pedal box, HVAC, console.

Shame they never built dual control versions.

[xantia_v6]

It is very probably that a conversion would be spotted during the ID check for registration, and as the car would no longer be in the configuration certified by the manufacturer, the EU type-approval would be void and it would be impossible to register anywhere in Europe.

The best bargains in LHD cars are usually in Germany, and you can get temporary registration and insurance that lets you drive from germany to your home country.

With patience, they will find a LHD car for sale in the UK.

[charentejohn]

True that there are lots of lhd in other countries, only problem I found when looking was getting there. Often would involve a 2k mile drive and too risky that you take one look and go, no thanks. Distance is a problem.

One other alternative ocurred to me, and I have thought of this but have nowhere to store the bits, is to buy one for spares in the UK.
My Xantia was 2500 here but one with a rattling smoky engine would be 1000 at the most, as repairs are expensive. So if you can find a goo C5 with a bad engine then buy a good low mileage uk one which will struggle with it's next mot that may be an alternative. As long as it can be driven to Spain (3 day insurance and a few weeks mot / tax left) you can then scrap it there and tell DVLA. Just another option.

I am always sorry to see a good Xantia die because of rust but be good for spares, One day I will need bits and have to source them the hard way.