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ksw

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Would someone out there kindly give me some advice please.If I buy a car from France how do I get it registered for use in the Uk assuming I can't run it around indefinitely on foreign plates.How long will it take and are there any modifications that need to be carried out that would make it financially impractical,or maybe even impossible for say a renault 4 from the 70's/80's. As you can tell I am new to this so any help from an old hand would be much appreciated.The reason I ask is the French ones seem to be better preserved as a rule(maybe it's the climate) and as a result there are a few more left.Thank you.
 
make sure you get a car with a 2 year mot ( control tecnnique ) and if possible get insured in France, then you could run it around in the uk for 2 years or so. You need to bring the car back to the France once a year, you would not need to top up your insurance as you would be fully comp withen Europe, i pay £ 23 per month for French insurance fully comp insurance with any named driver.

Some of the cost of bringinbg a car back to the UK would be converting the front lights to UK spec.
 
Your car should be registered, and comply with the regulations of the country in which you live.
If you live in the UK, then you will need to get an MOT and the vehicle re registered to comply with UK law. DVLA will advise. A british insurer would probably insure it for you for a temporary period whilst the re registration procedure is gone through.
Most of our car importing is from the UK to France, where you need a french address to get french insurance, and the vehicle in order to be legal has to be re registered within one month - although certain sections of the expat community run around in illegal UK registered vehicles, totally oblivious till they have an accident.
I suspect the same thing applies the other way round, its possible (assuming you have a french address) to register and insure a car in France and then to use to use that car temporarily in another EU state, ie for visits etc, but your insurers might only pay out on a third party basis if the car is in use permanently outside the country it is registered. We know of people who were only paid out a fraction (around 10%) of the value of a vehicle which was UK registered but the owners were resident here, when it was written off.
In short I'm afraid Edwards advice is extremely dubious.
 
I said if you can get the insured in France you can use it as i outlined, i insure my car with Generali and depending on how good your insurance company is .

The better the insuance company the better the service.

What i quoted is perfectly legal and is the service my insurance gives me i speak for other insurance companys.
 
KSW for your original question, all I had to do for my car was change the headlights over to UK type, which if you look through the site, Malcolm explains how to do it and I had to move the foglight from the left to the right hand side. I also changed the speedo to one with MPH and KPH on but only as I had one spare it is not needed for the actual MOT.
 
So, edwardhall, are you just running about without an MOT or do you go back to France every two years to get a contrôle technique? It's not much good you paying insurance as you will still be done for fraud. What address do you have on your registration document?

We come across people in France who are doing much the same the other way round, ie living here with an English registered car. Even the ones that take their car back for an MOT every year will not be covered in the event of an accident, certainly not fully comp.

BTW I'm with Generali and pay only 110€ per year for two R4s although only 3rd party. I'm paying 35 a month for the Megane, fully comp. 23€ a month seems a lot for an old R4. French insurance is always for all drivers as it is the car that is insured not the driver (as long as they have a licence and permission etc)
 
Your insurance company may cover you but the insurance company isn't the UK customs and Excise. It's not the insurance that matters as I mentioned in my first post, they have ANPR on all borders into the UK and if you get caught they know exactly how long you've been in the country and will impound your vehicle.
 
The 6 months is only for non-UK residents. This from DirectGov:

UK residents are not allowed to use a foreign registered vehicle on UK roads. The exception is when a UK resident:

  • is employed or self-employed in another EU member state
  • uses a EU registered company car temporarily in the UK for business purposes
Click to expand...
The process is easy - To import a R4 from France there is no tax to pay (it's older than 10 years).

The car can generally be driven back to the UK. Many UK insurers will temporarily insure the car on the chassis plate. No need to notify customs on the way in.

There's an information pack for registering: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motorin...icle/ImportingAndExportingAVehicle/DG_4022583 The form is confusing - I phoned the helpline and they were very helpful (they told me what to fill in).

You need an UK MOT (not much needs altering for the R4 as mentioned), then send the form off with the MOT, £50 registration fee and the cost of a tax disc.

They will allocate an age related plate.
 
edwardhall

Surely to register and insure a car in France you would need a french address?

I quote from another post of yours in reply to advice about registering a car in france:
First you need a CT ,French insurance proof of address a gas or Electric bill, a certificate from your local tax de Impot. Take the paper work to your local Perfectory near your French Address fill in the paper work and you should get your registration in about 2 weeks.

Regarding Insurance take out fully comp as its a little bit more then 3rd party but your covered for wind screen cover. I insure with Generali a French company you can take your car back to the UK for upto 90 days at a time so long as you return to France for 1 day in every 90 days and they dont con you like the UK insurance there is no top up insurance you are covered fully comp in the whole of Europe.
Click to expand...

Full post is here: http://www.renault4.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=3903

You state in that post that you need to return to France 1 day in every 90 days - that's 4 times a year - I would think that would make French insurance a very expensive option!

To ksw - Personally I would follow Malcolm's advice.
 
I own a house in France so the car is registered there, i dont run around in the uk without an mot i have a French mot. and that makes it legal to come and go to the uk if you need.

Regarding the insurance, i find paying a little bit extra gives you better cover. I am aware of English people who run around on English plates and they buy a dodge MOT once a year, i am pleased to say i am not one of them.
 
Hello
No problem to import an R4 to England as Malcolm says and if you are near a DVLA office they will do it whilst you wait ,MOT and insurance on chassis no.and Carte gris in your hand.
If you use Leboncoin always phone if poss as we are very slow on the internet,as most of these cheap cars are out in the sticks ,but be aware they are not all rust free and the controle technique is not as strict as England.Bonne courage
 
Mant thanks guys particularly peppers advice and link ..........not to be sneezed at
By the way why do you say you are going on a road trip am I missing something here
KSW
 
edwardhall said:
I own a house in France so the car is registered there, i dont run around in the uk without an mot i have a French mot. and that makes it legal to come and go to the uk if you need.

Regarding the insurance, i find paying a little bit extra gives you better cover. I am aware of English people who run around on English plates and they buy a dodge MOT once a year, i am pleased to say i am not one of them.
Click to expand...



Edward, you can have a house in France (I do too) but, and I'm only judging from your location that you display in your user cp. You seem to be a UK citizen which if so means you have to be aware of what is said in the Gov link put up by Malcolm, a quote is below...

European Union vehicles
EU vehicles brought into the UK can be used for six months in any 12-month period. You do not need to register the vehicle in the UK as long as you can show that the vehicle complies with the registration and tax requirements of its home country. It’s the responsibility of the driver to prove how long the vehicle has been in the country. Producing ferry tickets can do this.
If the keeper of the vehicle becomes resident in the UK, the vehicle must be immediately registered and taxed in the UK.

UK residents are not allowed to use a foreign registered vehicle on UK roads.

The exception is when a UK resident:
is employed or self-employed in another EU member state
uses a EU registered company car temporarily in the UK for business purposes
Certain vehicles will be required to display a temporary 'Q' plate. Temporary visitor status isn't appropriate to these vehicles.
 
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