Buying a second hand car from a dealer

[Doodle]

Hello All,

Could someone please give me some information regarding cost and paperwork needed. I'm looking to buy a 3 year old french registered (LHD) car from a dealer. Any info would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[Kong]

I paid 176.50 Euro for carte grise and the exhorbitant price for the car. You'll need the usual id and proof of residence (for the carte grise). No visits to prefecture, you'll get the carte grise in the post. Arrange your own insurance cover before you collect the car.

Hope that helps.

[Doodle]

Thanks for the info much appreciated. Chris

[dave21478]

Take some natural yoghurt with you. I hear it helps calm the inflammation after the Tabasco-lubricated bumming the dealer will give you regarding prices.

[AnOther]

A dealer should do it all for you as part of the deal you just have to arrange your own insurance.

[PaulT]

Dave, do I detect you have a slight down on car dealers?

[dave21478]

Yes, I do. Therefore I do my best to avoid them at all costs.

I also take issue with relentlessly being charged over the odds for anything car related in this country.

[Daft Doctor]

I must say my recent experience wasn't at all bad. I bought from a small family-run Nissan dealership and traded my car in against a used Qashqai. It's true the trade in price for mine was rock bottom and the only price movement I managed to negotiate on the Nissan was to get the carte gris thrown in for nothing (about 350 euros) and a years extra Nissan warranty attached to the 6months original warranty which was left . The customer service was very good though, unlimited time to test drive on my own, the car was pristinely prepared when I picked it up, the dealer explained every aspect of the car in detail and he phoned me about 3 weeks afterwards to ask if I was happy with everything. The car has been great and overall I'd say the experience was no worse than buying in a similar way in the UK.