Importing a Car from France

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Pug_XUD_KeenAmateur
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Importing a Car from France

Post by Pug_XUD_KeenAmateur »

well, the Sun holidays have been kind to us again, a foreign jaunt is booked for this summer and thoughts turn to cars, French ones of course.....

Should I see something I really fancy, like a nice tidy, sound 405 na D estate; [lord protect my bank balance from such temptation] while I'm in France is it reasonably practicable (more to the point, legal) for me to....

hand over the necessary cash
drive it about a bit
head to Calais (Dunkerque actually, its cheaper)
continue home

...all on its French plates

Is it like our system where the plates go with the car, or are they removed by the owner to use on a subsequent vehicle?

Has anyone ever had a conversation with their Insurance co' that goes.... "yes I can give you the reg no' but its not a UK one'; and yes I do want to drive it on the M2 and M4 to get it home?

I can see from the DVLA site that side of things looks shockingly simple: it appears I've got 14 days to register and MOT it, once it's in the country. Its the getting it home that possibly isn't as simple.

Of course if there's some sort of disaster the ol' girl won't be coming home at all and anything that's reasonable & cheap 'll do as a 'get me home' measure, but that's never happened yet. Just pays to be have an idea.

NB: also, there's something about emissions in Paris isn't there and these dirty smelly older cars that don't cost mega-bucks and haven't got computers to fool the MOT testers into thinking they're 'clean' [would I be talking about VW's here, no course not]. Anyone know about it?

NB2: is it just me or do others find that driving a RHD car on a European motorway is actually easier than driving on a UK m'way, due to the 'blind spot' being easier to deal with coz you're looking across the width of the car; presumably driving a LHD here (never have) is similarly slightly easier.

NB3: anyone live between Dunkerque & Paris just in case assistance is needed. I can buy european breakdown but there's a clause in there that 'recovery cost not to exceed value of vehicle'.... oooh-err missus!

NB4: if you've never done it, I do highly recommend it. Services where you can park as long as you like, including overnight with clean loos & showers, great roads, beautiful sights and the freedom to go where you like at your own pace.

NB5: am aware of a tatty but recently on the road 1987 Pug 205 Auto 5 door about to 'die'. Price likely next to nothing. Contact me if anyone can use it.
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Re: Importing a Car from France

Post by NewcastleFalcon »

Pug_XUD_KeenAmateur wrote: Should I see something I really fancy, like a nice tidy, sound 405 na D estate; [lord protect my bank balance from such temptation] while I'm in France....
Well can't contribute much to your detailed admin questions of buying a car on holiday in France, but for used cars..having paddled about on Leboncoin/ Kapaza and similar sites out of interest for many years, I would say the UK is the cheapest market for used cars, unless you are wanting better more rust-free examples from warmer/dryer regions.

A trip to Norfolk with £100 in your pocket would probably get you this, maybe not tidy and sound but as an XUD Keen-amateur I'm sure you could do something with it!

https://www.gumtree.com/p/peugeot/peuge ... 1211471215

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Re: Importing a Car from France

Post by Stickyfinger »

The only real reason to shop in Europe is to obtain a rust free car, a LHD if that's what you want or for a type which is next to imposable to find in the UK.
Getting insurance can be tricky in France on a France plated car if you are not a French resident, it takes a while to get the paperwork together.
UK insurer's do not like to touch the car until it is in the UK and has UK plates.

Normally people will transport them back but that is to costly for a snotter.
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Re: Importing a Car from France

Post by demag »

That 405 looks nice. I had an identical one. Super car.

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Re: Importing a Car from France

Post by JohnD »

Pug_XUD_KeenAmateur wrote:
Should I see something I really fancy, like a nice tidy, sound 405 na D estate; [lord protect my bank balance from such temptation] while I'm in France is it reasonably practicable (more to the point, legal) for me to....

hand over the necessary cash
drive it about a bit
head to Calais (Dunkerque actually, its cheaper)
continue home


.
I don't know................. but it certainly works the other way round. In 2005 when I wanted to sell my 2.1 Xantia I put it on ebay. A guy rang me and asked if he won the auction would I collect him in the Xantia from Heathrow Airport. I agreed and he did win the auction. I drove him home; we completed the deal and he took off down to Dover to go back to France on the ferry.
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Pug_XUD_KeenAmateur
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Re: Importing a Car from France

Post by Pug_XUD_KeenAmateur »

this is weird, I responded and thanked everyone a couple of days or so ago, but clearly the post has gone astray or summat.

Anyways.... thanks guys, much appreciated.

The idea is indeed to find a rust free car: at the moment, an 'advance glance' at the sites mentioned, thankyou, provides mostly over-priced saloons, but I'm thinking ahead to the summer anyway. So I'll be keeping an eye and my fingers crossed....
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Re: Importing a Car from France

Post by JohnD »

Pug_XUD_KeenAmateur wrote:
the sites mentioned provides mostly over-priced saloons,
Probably over-priced by UK prices but in most EU countries second hand cars hold their values much longer than in the UK. The guy in the previous post who travelled from France to buy my Xantia did so because prices were much lower in the UK. When in 2014 we wanted to sell my daughter's top notch 2002 Xsara, the best we could do was £500. Shortly afterwards I saw a similar model in Spain selling for €1400.
Last edited by myglaren on 25 Jan 2017, 20:35, edited 1 time in total.
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