Xantia V6 in France...

Tell us your ongoing tales and experiences with your French car here. Post pictures of your car here as well.
User avatar
xantia_v6
Forum Admin Team
Posts: 9783
Joined: 09 Nov 2005, 23:03
x 985

Re: Xantia V6 in France...

Unread post by xantia_v6 »

Roly, if you want to buy the car back, it may be available. I am not desperate to get rid of it, but I don't have much immediate use for it. If I am going to sell it, then now is the right time, before I pay French registration costs.

I would also consider offers from other serious buyers for what is one of the best remaining original RHD Xantia V6s.
rolyh
Posts: 25
Joined: 02 Aug 2011, 15:39

Re: Xantia V6 in France...

Unread post by rolyh »

As much as we would like it, I think cost a logistics would be too great, even though the Vauxhall is playing up again with dreaded DPF filter ; which is beyond cleaning, it requires a new cat which incorporates the filter and sensors. As this Vauxhall is never reliable for more than a few months; we shall purchase a low millage/tax/insurance run around for Pam; and as a useful back up for the Vauxhall.
Thanks for the offer, and I really hope the car goes to someone who can maintain it.
User avatar
xantia_v6
Forum Admin Team
Posts: 9783
Joined: 09 Nov 2005, 23:03
x 985

Re: Xantia V6 in France...

Unread post by xantia_v6 »

I have been rather too busy to do anything with cars lately, and the Xantia has mostly been parked, but every time I have taken it for a drive, I have enjoyed it so much that I have decided to keep it for now.

That means that I have to get French registration for it, which entails jumping through a few hoops, one of which is to get a Cerrtificate of Conformity to EU specifications at the date of first registration. This can now be ordered online from PSA, but they now want €200 for the pleasure. I also had to send them a scan of the V5 and a photogragh of the statutory conformance plate, which on a Xantia is behind the LH strut head and quite difficult to photograph.

I will also need to change the headlights, but I will see how far I get through the process before anyone notices that I haven't. In theory they should accept a UK MOT as substitute for a local Control Technique, but I have heard that sometimes they don't.

Assuming that the paperwork is in order the Carte Grise will cost about €350, but then there is no annual licence fee, so it evens out.

Registering the XM (which was just a simple change of ownership) took about 5 visits to the sous prefecture, so I am expecting a few with this one.
User avatar
CitroJim
A very naughty boy
Posts: 52130
Joined: 30 Apr 2005, 23:33
x 7017

Re: Xantia V6 in France...

Unread post by CitroJim »

Sounds like a lot of fun and aggro Mike :twisted:

So are you definitely keeping the Xantia now then?

Too good to part with I guess...
Jim

Runner, cyclist, duathlete, Citroen AX fan and the CCC Citroenian 'From A to Z' Columnist...
User avatar
xantia_v6
Forum Admin Team
Posts: 9783
Joined: 09 Nov 2005, 23:03
x 985

Re: Xantia V6 in France...

Unread post by xantia_v6 »

CitroJim wrote:Sounds like a lot of fun and aggro Mike :twisted:

So are you definitely keeping the Xantia now then?

Too good to part with I guess...
I half-heartedly offered it to a couple of people who I thought might be interested, but it really is too good, and I may take it to a RHD country one day...
User avatar
CitroJim
A very naughty boy
Posts: 52130
Joined: 30 Apr 2005, 23:33
x 7017

Re: Xantia V6 in France...

Unread post by CitroJim »

Shame it's in France Mike else I'd have offered to have it from you for the duration of me needing to make runs to Somerset most weekends. An ideal car for the job!!!

I agree it's far too good to let go...
Jim

Runner, cyclist, duathlete, Citroen AX fan and the CCC Citroenian 'From A to Z' Columnist...
User avatar
xantia_v6
Forum Admin Team
Posts: 9783
Joined: 09 Nov 2005, 23:03
x 985

Re: Xantia V6 in France...

Unread post by xantia_v6 »

Failed at the first hurdle....

In order to register an imported car in France you need to get a piece of paper from a tax office to say that there is no VAT owing on the vehicle (only applicable to vehicles from outside the EU of less than 6 months old). I thought that this would be a formality, but the tax office won't accept a V5 as a document for change of ownership, so I have to get the previous owners to fill in the appropriate French form.

They were also sceptical of a receipt that did not include the time of day of the sale or the place that it was signed.
User avatar
CitroJim
A very naughty boy
Posts: 52130
Joined: 30 Apr 2005, 23:33
x 7017

Re: Xantia V6 in France...

Unread post by CitroJim »

Don't you just love bureaucracy :twisted:

The French seem to do it remarkably well. Time of day of the sale indeed.. That's a new one :roll:

Hope that's the only hurdle Mike [-o<
Jim

Runner, cyclist, duathlete, Citroen AX fan and the CCC Citroenian 'From A to Z' Columnist...
User avatar
Stickyfinger
(Donor 2016)
Posts: 11165
Joined: 28 Mar 2013, 22:05
x 1625

Re: Xantia V6 in France...

Unread post by Stickyfinger »

The ZERO rate info is supplied directly from HMRC to the DVLA in the UK, no customer involvement other than a phone call or a simple form.
Alasdair
Activa, the Moose Dodger
User avatar
xantia_v6
Forum Admin Team
Posts: 9783
Joined: 09 Nov 2005, 23:03
x 985

Re: Xantia V6 in France...

Unread post by xantia_v6 »

I received the filled-in certificate de cession from the previous owner earlier the week and took it to the tax office, and was duly given the tax form which I had to fill in myself... strange system :roll:

I then took my bundle of documents to the sous prefecture, and asked for a carte grise, but the woman behind the counter would not accept the UK MOT, she insisted that a French CT is necessary (I believe she is wrong, and that there was a French government ruling on the matter), but there was no point arguing, and she said that everything else was OK.

So I booked a CT test for this morning. The car passed except for the UK headlights, and a couple of minor advisories. The CT document is good enough to apply for a CG, and I have 2 months to fit a pair of LHD headlights.

So, back to the sous prefecture, and I got the other woman this time, who seems to take pleasure in finding faults in applications*, and she rejected the paperwork because my wife had not signed the certificate de cession (there is nowhere on the form nor any instruction that new co-owners need to sign). So back home to get another signature squeezed into the box...

This time the first woman accepted all the documentation, but instead of issuing a provisional Carte Grise on the spot, because it is an imported vehicle, they think about the documentation for 10 days before issuing anything...



* When I registered the XM, she insisted that I produce a copy of the marriage certificate of my wife's mother to her step-father in New Zealand in 1965. Funnily enough, I did not have that document on me.
User avatar
CitroJim
A very naughty boy
Posts: 52130
Joined: 30 Apr 2005, 23:33
x 7017

Re: Xantia V6 in France...

Unread post by CitroJim »

Mike, that is amazing! You just couldn't make it up could you and one might say 'Only in France...'

Still, pleased it is (almost) all sorted now but what a game...
Jim

Runner, cyclist, duathlete, Citroen AX fan and the CCC Citroenian 'From A to Z' Columnist...
User avatar
Stickyfinger
(Donor 2016)
Posts: 11165
Joined: 28 Mar 2013, 22:05
x 1625

Re: Xantia V6 in France...

Unread post by Stickyfinger »

LOL, and they wonder why London is now the 3rd/4th largest "French city"
Alasdair
Activa, the Moose Dodger
User avatar
xantia_v6
Forum Admin Team
Posts: 9783
Joined: 09 Nov 2005, 23:03
x 985

Re: Xantia V6 in France...

Unread post by xantia_v6 »

I am pleased to report (a few days late) that the paperwork all came through and the car is now sporting a shiny pair of French plates.

I just need to find a pair of headlights now. There is someone breaking a mk1 Xantia near here, but they stubbornly refuse to answer emails.

Now for a technical question:

The immobiliser keypad always gives 4 beeps when the ignition is turned off. I checked with Lexia, and there are no faults recorded. I suspect that these beeps might indicate that the immobiliser is in "service" mode, but if so, I don't know the "normal" code. So what is it that causes the keypad to beep when the engine is turned off?
User avatar
xantia_v6
Forum Admin Team
Posts: 9783
Joined: 09 Nov 2005, 23:03
x 985

Re: Xantia V6 in France...

Unread post by xantia_v6 »

It is more than a year since the last update here.

The car was put away in the garage for 6 months over winter, and has been used occasionally over summer, but has probably only travelled 250 miles in the year.

I have fitted the later type hydractive valve blocks, which (along with a couple of new spheres) has done wonders for the ride. The LHM was also changed.

It has a few minor faults to look at, when I feel the urge:
The rear wiper is inoperative.
The alarm has been disabled (I am not sure how) and the indicators don't flash when the car is locked or unlocked.
The front brakes start singing after the car has been driven about 10 km. Using the brake pedal or handbrake quietens them for a while.

It is now back in the garage for another winter, total mileage still less than 46,000 miles.
User avatar
white exec
Posts: 7445
Joined: 21 Dec 2015, 13:46
x 1755

Re: Xantia V6 in France...

Unread post by white exec »

250 miles! #-o
Try a bit of stiff copper grease on the front pad backs/edges, plus a bit of harsh braking.
Good that it's riding nicely now.
Chris