Beemer1150

...and when you live the wrong side of a farm full of vache a jet washer is by far the best way of getting the resulting 'mud' out from under the wheel arches. Not lazy at all, just the most thorough way of getting ride of the corrosive stuff.

Thanks for the info everyone - I've managed an English car and Moto, a German Camping Car and even a French registered car found in the UK but not this particular combination so far! (Sorry about wrong ident on the original post - a forgotten password caused a log-on with an earlier identity)

Sorry to be so late in on this thread, busy as usual! We felt the same this time last year, just into our first season after a lot of hard work. We worked on the principle of what we always wanted to find (and sadly seldom did) and tried to eliminate the problems we had encountered on holiday (how do I find you; where's the nearest supermarket open on Sunday; how do you work the parasol...) All of our guests (French and English) were wonderful and we made several good friendships - do as you would be done by and all will be well! There are bound to be problem guests eventually, but just remember the nice ones! www.CharenteMaritimeGite.co.uk

Nice to know that people like to keep things complicated...

This all seems a bit complicated... I had a UK 2003 BMW R1150R which I brought with me when I arrived in 2007. BMW UK gave me a free certificate of conformity (in German with French and English translations) which I took to the Sub Prefecture with the relevant (free) Quitus Fiscal, the V5, an EDF facture, my passport and my debit card and they gave me a Carte Grise (OK, they send it by post now). No question about lights (I have a stick-on converter which is fine for my use until CTs for bikes are introduced whatever the pundits may say) or the speedo (which has virtually unreadable kph figures. How difficult is it to remember that 50kph is 32mph and 90kph is 56mph?)

Thanks for the info Cathy, we'll plan a fairly tight arrival time. I've looked at their website and you're right about the prices and reducing free time! No mention of height tho!

Just an idle thought really as it's unlikely to happen, but... Until December I could legally ride an unregistered sub-50cc scooter in France. If I take a vehicle to the UK it must be legal in the country of origin...  so if I unloaded my unregistered, no-numberplate 49cc scooter from the camping car would it be legal on English roads (assuming it's insured)? Whether or not it's legal I can't see an English bobby taking it too kindly... !

Thanks SD - I have a useful contact in the UK who could probably source me a reasonable cheapie, so it could be worth the extra weight on the way home!

I'd thought about buying a cheap sub-50cc scooter in England and hang it on the back of the Camping Car when I next take it to the UK (it has a proper pull-out motorcycle carrier). I'm no stranger to registering vehicles here (camping car, moto, various cars) but wondered about scooters under 50cc - particularly if they are pre-2002, when I seem to recall they don't need immatriculation at all. This would avoid any of the CoC hassles and expense, but if so is this date the manufacture, first registration (ie in the UK) or first use here? Any comments please?

I have to meet a flight at Bordeaux airport next week using our Camping Car - height 2.75m. I cannot recall if there is a height restriction at the parking there - can anyone help please?

Being an '04 vehicle it did have the magic type approval number. The CoC was in English and I did wonder whether it would be accepted, but there was no problem at the sous Prefecture at Saintes (17) - I have heard this varies from Prefecture to Prefecture. Sorry I don't have an address for Suzuki GB as the dealer I bought the car from (pre-registered, so virtually new if theoretically second hand) contacted them and they sent it direct to me in France. Excellent service as the car was by then three years old. Curiously a friend had to contact them direct and pay for his motorcycle CoC even though he'd bought the bike new and the car and bike divisions work from the same offices... As an aside BMW did the same for my motorcycle, sent it by post after an email request, no charge and as the original was in German they also supplied English and French translations!

Just to confirm that Suzuki do issue full CoCs. I imported a 2004 Suzuki Grand Vitara in 2007 and obtained a full certificate from Suzuki GB. An added bonus was that it was free...

Amivac.com covers Europe well and filled several vacant weeks for us last year - usually late bookings. Very cheap too. CharenteMaritimeGite.co.uk

A serious enquiry. Does anyone know why tailgating is so common in France? It doesn't seem to be done aggressively, as I used to encounter it sometimes in the UK, but more as a routine way of driving - almost as if it was taught when learning to drive. It seems unrelated to the desire to overtake, as groups of vehicles seem happy to travel nose-to-tail for miles examining each others' exhaust pipes in great detail. Also, without wanting to appear age-ist, sexist, or car-ist, why is it so often young ladies in Renault Clios? I have experienced similar behaviour on German autobahns, but nothing like as frequently as on French roads. Is this common in other European countries?

SD's post reminded me of a query I posted way back in January '09: 'Also is it necessary to produce the old Process Verbal at the subsequent tests - particularly relevant as the current CT tester remarked on excessive wear in one component on our camping car which I dispute and certainly cannot detect!' As an update I didn't take the Pricess Verbal to the next CT (at a different station, having moved 20kms in the meantime) and they made no mention of the supposed fault, giving the Camping Car a completely clean bill of heath and spending some time saying what excellent condition it was in for the year ... I still can't fathom why the first test station should have thought this ome up, unless they have links with the local FIAT agent who they said could help with this mysterious fault!  

I don't think they were OK then! I used to have a dirty great fog lamp on the boot of my A30 in the mid 60s until father (then a high-ranking policeman in charge of the local traffic division) took it off himself one night after months of nagging!

On my infrequent visits to the UK in our French registered vehicles I had always assumed that my Carte Vitale would prove French residence - if you're not resident you can't have one (and even if you are it can be a bit of a struggle to get one!). But isn't it bit concerning that in the UK you may be called upon to prove that you haven't commited an offence? What happened to 'innocent until proven guilty'?

Thanks SD, I thought that had to be the way to go, unless this was something that happened often and was officially 'overlooked'. It would just have saved time if the documentation to hand was sufficient to change ownership. There's no problem. I'll phone the registered owner, who has already offered to complete the paperwork if needed, and post it off. Just cancel trip to Saintes this Thursday... ! Much better than the midnight knock and a €30,000 overdraft!

I must admit that had crossed my mind, but... One, it would be nice to be legal! Two, are there any cross-checks - the thought of a midnight call from the Boys in Blue is a bit worrying!

The story so far: A lady who lives in northern France, gives her French car to her son but doesn't change the Carte Grise. Son moves to UK with the car and subsequently sells it (still French registered) to a friend of mine. He drives it back to France (still with original lady owner on the Carte Grise, but insured as he has a Trader policy enabling him to drive anything, anywhere) and leaves it with me to register, use for a couple of months, and then sell. The present situation: Car is now insured and newly CT'd and I want to change the Carte Grise to my name. However, the Carte Grise, although marked 'Vendu' and dated has no supporting signature and there is no Certificat de Cession. I do however have a downloaded Certificat de Situation! The Question: What would happen if I presented all the documents needed except the Cert of Cession and with an unsigned 'Vendu' on the Carte Grise? There's nothing underhand here, everyone is aware of the sale and I could post the Carte Grise and a downloaded Certificate of Cessation to the original lady owner and ask her to sign them, but it will take time and I'd planned to take the 30 minute drive to the Sub Prefecture the day after next... Advise please!

It's always worth a phone call...! As it happens my reading of the insurance details was correct (and, I believe, they were the common form) and my visiting English friend was fully covered for both camping car and car providing he had held a licence for the proscribed period. However, and interestingly, the agency also said provided he had his full icence with him. I'm aware of the necessity of carrying your licence at all times but this was the first time I'd heard about any insurance link. Right or wrong it was just easier to tell my friend to make sure he had his licence with him...!

SD will know for sure but I seem to recall that you have 4 months to register a vehicle if it requires a titre isolé - our imported Fiat/Hymer did, and we managed to squeak in just under the four months! Fiat's excuse for the delay was that the person who issued the CoCs was on sick-leave and she was the only one able to do it... However we found everyone else from Bureau Veritas to the DRIRE and the local Co-op who weighed it for us very prompt and helpful.

If you're in 17 (Charente Maritime) there's no need to travel so far... We're near St Jean d'Angely in 17 (itself a lovely quiet old town for a relaxing coffee) and there are great roads to the Roman remains at Saintes; the distillery tours at Cognac; Royan and along the Cote Sauvage (particularly after 15 September when the 70kph limit is lifted!); the estuary coast at Meschers, Talmont and Mortagne; the old town at La Rochelle; the maritime history at Rochfort... There isn't enough time to see everything even when you live here! Our Gite has had visitors via the 'Bikestay' website and they thoroughly enjoyed themselves. As a bonus after this weekend (the Rentree) everywhere will be very quiet... enjoy! Edit: Forgot to add - my favourite is a run starting at about 1200 on a Sunday... lunch is a religion in these parts and I see nothing on the roads until about 1400... !

Just to say we've now received our initial booking via Bikestay - nice to have fellow bikers staying. This makes the cost/bookings ratio better than our Gite's main UK website!

Thank you everybody for your responses. It turned out theat the car concerned was a bit of a dog so we won't be going ahead with that particular one, however all of the information has been very useful in our hunt. We're still searching for the right car, but so far we've learned: * That 'tres bon etat' is similar to immobiliers' 'habitable' - which omits to mention which particular type of life form a house is habitable by * That just because a car is old does not mean the vendor can expect the same price as a 'classic' Ferrari * That a decent Renault 4 at a fair price is surprisingly difficult to find within a 100km radius! * That, sadly, a simple request for info on a forum can lead to some tetchy responses. Please, enough of the rough stuff - all opinion and info is valuable and politeness is invaluable! The search continues... Incidentally - if a car changes departement (and therefor number) if age permits can the new-style numbers be white-on-black? Since I doubt this, is there any provision for a new, old-style plate?