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Selling you car to the expat market


alittlebitfrench
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We will be selling our two French cars (LHD VW up + LHD Skoda 4x4 yeti) all serviced by VAG. We are getting a company car...yuk.

I know/ I have read that a lot of people move to France with the intention of buying car in France but get stuck in the transition between selling their UK car in the UK and buying a French car when they arrive.

I could quite easily sell the cars on the Le Bon Coin, but that is a hassle. So how could I sell my cars to expat buyers.

Is it something I want to get involved in ? Or would it be too much hassle ?
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A friend of mine who lives in France has purchased a car via Auto trader ads and one on Ebay.UK, they were RH drive uk registered cars that he drove back to France, There are normally loads of left hookers on Gumtree.

If you don't want that hassle maybe an ad in the local supermarket ( I have just sold wife's car through an ad in our local Tesco) or pop along to a local garage and take what they give you, but make sure there are no dinks or dents on it.

Does it really matter if its an expat or French national as long as you get your money.

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We dont have a Tescos in Paris. We have a M&S...yum yum.

The LH drives on Gumtree, I guess they are not registered in France with all the the documents ??? How does it work.

Why would someone living in France buy a RHD from the UK ?

Ours are all registered in Paris and ready to go.

I never sold a car in France before so it is all very exciting.

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" how could I sell my cars to expat buyers"

Why do you think it is less hassle limiting yourself Brit buyers than putting it on leboncoin to the first person of no matter what nationality that comes along and wants to buy it?

Of course if you prefer to deal with Brits, living in one of the expat areas would be a good move, then there would be a far higher chance of finding a Brit that wants to buy your cars...

But don't forget that many newly-arrived Brits expect to pay Brit prices, and think that French cars are ridiculously overpriced.
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You are missing the point ET, I was talking about expats 'moving to France' not living here.

Le Bon coin is a pain in the bum for scammers. I could stick a AV sign on it (like they do) but the cars in a garage. No one will see it LOL.

I will stick them on lacentrale. fr

But you are right, secondhand cars are expensive. The Yeti has only lost 5K in 5 years according to largus. That is not bad.
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[quote user="alittlebitfrench"]We dont have a Tescos in Paris. We have a M&S...yum yum.

The LH drives on Gumtree, I guess they are not registered in France with all the the documents ??? How does it work.

Why would someone living in France buy a RHD from the UK ?

Ours are all registered in Paris and ready to go.

I never sold a car in France before so it is all very exciting.[/quote]

Maybe not Tesco but our local Geant Casino has a notice board for ads.

Re Gumtree, yes they still have foreign plates, must admit I would be cagey about buying one through them, our friend did see a nice one that still had Dutch plates on it, I phoned up a Dutch friend of mine to ask what docs should go with the car, he told me but by the time my friend actually phoned the guy he said the car was gone.

Buying a RH from the UK, must admit that did get me thinking, he actually came back to the UK brought it and drove it back to France, plus the price for the car was so much cheaper here. Ok it was a few years old but still had plenty of life left in it.

Horses for courses I suppose, I don't knock him as that was his decision.

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Is there still an English language newspaper on sale in France, if I remember it is targeted at Brits who live in Dordogne shire, maybe an ad on that then you wouldn't have to travel there,

I take it your French is a bit ropey then, wanting to deal in English.

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I have sold a couple of cars, as well as a many other items, on Leboncoin.

Most if not all contacts are made via telephone, which people seem to prefer.

To avoid timewasters I usually explain that I feel the advertised price is reasonable and that I will not reduce it, or, if appropriate, I agree a price before I give them my address.

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  • 3 months later...
[quote user="alittlebitfrench"]We dont have a Tescos in Paris. We have a M&S...yum yum.

The LH drives on Gumtree, I guess they are not registered in France with all the the documents ??? How does it work.

Why would someone living in France buy a RHD from the UK ?

Ours are all registered in Paris and ready to go.

I never sold a car in France before so it is all very exciting.[/quote]

We buy from the UK because French secondhand cars are ridiculously expensive. Even with flying over to pick it up and drive it back, then re-registering it here, it works out cheaper than buying the equivalent car in France.
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Everything is ridiculously expensive in France...you wonder why people move here.

So, why do people move here if everything is so expensive ?

Food, cars, running a business, artisans...all very expensive !

Fair question !!

I bet 90 % of those reading this forum are those in the UK looking to move to France.

So you live in France and buy your food from the UK. Cars from the UK and employ British builders in France because it save you money. Or does it ?????

There is something not quite right here.
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Well, I sold a house on leboncoin and I have bought literally hundreds of items from the site.

When I could persuade OH to sell one of our 3 cars, I shall go the leboncoin route and also, just putting a sign on the car.  Because I visit lots of places on my nordic walks, I shall park the car wherever and put up the sign.....whooppee!

But, my first task is to get it across to OH that 2 people and 1 dog doesn't mean 3 cars as the dog has yet to get her driving license.

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[quote user="alittlebitfrench"]Everything is ridiculously expensive in France...you wonder why people move here. So, why do people move here if everything is so expensive ? Food, cars, running a business, artisans...all very expensive ! Fair question !!  So you live in France and buy your food from the UK. Cars from the UK and employ British builders in France because it save you money. Or does it ????? There is something not quite right here.[/quote]

 

Food: Buy it all here and take a lot with me when I visit the UK.

 

Car: Brought mine one with me, it cost then a fraction of what an equivalent did here, 12 years later I still have the same car.

 

Running a business: I still cannot believe how generous the abattement is for what I do, how high the profit is and how low my taxes/charges are, the only paperwork I have to do is fill out 3 boxes on the tax return once a year.

 

Artisans: Done it all myself, very slow but cheap.

 

To do what I do here in the UK I would need to invest £1million plus, maybe double that and I would not have 100% occupancy, such low costs and would pay a lot more taxes and have loads of paperwork to do.

 

To be fair many French do as they are advised by the incompetent parasites and end up spending a fortune, having high costs and due to the wrong business regime lots of paperwork and high taxes/charges, only today I recieved unbidden a CV from someone that thinks I will hire her as an assistante resources humaine (BTS supérieur + Baccalauréat Scientifique) [:D]

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