le CT sera fait a la vente

[sean8n]

I'm planning to buy a van where the CT will done after the sale is agreed, as above. In this case, what is the process? We sign a written agreement - sale conditional to CT passing? We go together to the CT centre? Presumably one doesn't hand over the money til the CT's been done....

[idun]

Personally I wouldn't do this. I'd be saying, get it done and I'll collect it the following day.

What if it doesn't pass? Why leave yourself in this situation?

[nomoss]

Firstly, a vehicle does not need to pass a CT to satisfy the legal requirement for a sale, it only has to undergo a CT.

I imagine you want it to actually pass a CT before you hand over any money, so there is not much point in travelling somewhere to attend a CT if the van might fail.

I simply rely on the good faith of the vendor, telling them I will buy the vehicle if it has a clean CT. If they demur I walk away - there are more cars for sale than buyers, I only have to look in the yards around here to know that.

I trust him to have sent me true pictures and information. I am usually travelling some distance to get the car, and expect him to trust me to turn up with the money.

A written agreement can't really be readily enforced. Trust has to exist somewhere along the way.

[AnOther]

It's slightly misleading to suggest that a car will pass or fail a CT. You will nearly always pass, insomuch that you get a new sticker and certificate, but you may have contra visite items to attend to which might range from the minor, as in perhaps worn out wiper blades, to the major as in significant chassis rot so any negotiations would be based on those - if any.

It's a fairly common scenario as vendors don't want to renew a CT in case the car hasn't sold in the first 6 months.

[sean8n]

Surely you don't get the sticker and cert. until it is roadworthy. ie the contra visite has been made and outstanding faults taken care of. Then on that basis a buyer can have reasonable confidence in the purchase.

When sellers say CT OK i presume this is what they mean - clean bill of health.

[AnOther]

Sorry I misspoke, you do get the certificate but not the sticker until any contra visite items are cleared.

It's a minor difference though as the certificate tells you what's wrong and minor contra visite items can be negotiated over.

[dave21478]

generally, "CT ok" means that it has sat the test inside the correct time frame - ie within the last 6 months if it passed or within the last 2 months if it failed - it doesnt always mean that it passed.

A fail gives you a fail sheet and no sticker, which if its less than 2 months old is sufficient for the prefecture to do a change of ownership. The car can still be used on the road for the two months, but the contre-visite items must be repaired and it needs re-tested within that 2 month window.

Its common practice for "CT sera fait pour la vente" but you should NOT agree to buy the car until it has sat the test. If you like it, then agree that you will buy it subject to the test being a pass or minor fail items only. If you agree to the sale and leave a deposit and the vehicle fails on worn suspension joints and emissions problems, you could be looking at a further bill of several hundred, potentially thousand, euros, or the loss of your deposit if you back out.

[sean8n]

Erroneous post deleted.

[sean8n]

Sorry for the repeat post. At first i couldn't post the original, then was told i was duplicating, and now i'm told there's a time limit on deleting so i should contact admin on deleting it.

Ah. Anyway, thanks for input chaps, i've decided to pull out of that deal, partly on the advice teceived, and gone for one that's CT was completed last month with no contra visites required.