Jump to content

Buying French reg'd car in UK help


crossy67
 Share

Recommended Posts

I am sure I posted this earlier but can't find it now.  Probably floating about somewhere or stuck in the phone line.

I am buying a French registered car from Ebay in the UK.  Te seller has in his possesion a carte grise but it's not in his name, he claims he couldn't register it in his name as he lives in the UK, we have been down this road before and know this can be awkward so his story does ring true to a degree.  The seller has been on Ebay for a while and has good feedback, not one of those set up, sell a few low value items, sell a biggie then vanish.  He sounds Polish, not that it makes much difference.

I know I can get a certificat de non gage on line instantly, this will tell me if there are any fines or finance outstanding, the thing that's worrying me is what if the car isn't really his and the real owner, the one shown on the carte grise doesn't know he's selling it.  How can I find out if he really is the owner, even if he's not the registered keeper for the reasons he states?

I know I should walk away but my gut feeling on this one is good and my gut is usually right and the car is cheap but not so cheap as to make it an obvious scam.

Any advice regarding further checks etc would be appreciated.

Ian

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Firstly, he really should have no problem registering it in the UK

Secondly, if it doesn't have a CT that was carried out in the last 6 months, you will have to get it CT'd before you will be able to register it (assuming that you are intending to take it to France).

Thirdly he ought to have a bill of sale from the original owner.

Fourthly, the original owner's name and address will be on the carte grise: why not get in touch with the owner (use pages jaunes to get the tel no) and see if it is legit?

Fifthly, I'd be inclined to walk away ...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Never mind fifthly, firstly I'd be inclined to walk away.

Even assuming the seller is genuine the problems you will have if you bring this car back to France are not worth it however much of a bargain it is in terms of the purchase price.

If you are committed to buying it then your best option would be to UK register it first, which you should be able to do without too much difficulty, and then bring it to France and re-register it here.

This just smells wrong though !

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for your input, when I found out the car was not registered in his name it set my spidey senses tingling a bit.  I shall investigate when I get a copy of the papar work through later tonight, hopefully.

Why register it in the UK then here?  It would be just the same as buying it here in the first place, the prefecture have no way of knowing where the transaction took place.  Regards a CT no big problem as far as I can see, just get it CT'd than apply for the change of ownership.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The point about registering it in UK is that regardless of it's status in France, assuming it isn't stolen that is, it gets it into legal circulation on UK plates. At the moment you don't know it's status in which case you can only assume the worst which is that it's not not legal in any jurisdiction in which case it cannot be driven on the road anywhere.

Please take serious note of that. If the previous registered owner filed a cert de cession that effectively cancelled the registration which means that the plates it bears are not currently valid, false if you want another stronger description.

One result of UK registering is that within 2 months of the event the

French will be informed of the new registration and take the car off their

books, this completely cancels out any queries about who's name was on

the carte grise or whether or not you have a cert de cession, etc. etc.

and subsequent re-registration in France becomes the same as for any

other UK regged car with the exception that you should not need a C of

C.

It sounds to me though that this may be a car that a Brit has brought back and sold to an unsuspecting muppet without completing the necessary paperwork, is the carte grise crossed and signed by the registered owner, is there a cert de cession signed by the previous and current owner, if not then it pretty well confirms the above as no French seller would let a car go without it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

All you need is a receipt made out in the name of the owner on the carte grise, I will leave you to ponder how that could magically appear [;-)]

Or you could heed all the doom and gloom merchants, they could be right, it may be reported stolen by the registered owner, if its not an exotica and/or too cheap to be true then follow your gut feeling.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It is all very simple.Ask the current owner for a copy of the carte gris. Then contact the person named on the carte gris,have him/her complete the required documentation and you can then register the car in France.

There is no need to go the silly route suggested by another, the DVLA will want an MOT which will entail new headlights UK insurance etcetc in fact all sorts of grief.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote user="Boiling a frog"]contact the person named on the carte gris,have him/her complete the required documentation and you can then register the car in France[/quote]And if it is a Brit who has returned to UK and sold it on how would you propose contacting them ?

As I said no French seller would let a car go without doing the necessary paperwork so this seems more likely to be the scenario than not.

My suggestion is not silly at all. Clearly you are unaware that you can legitimately pass an MOT with headlight deflectors and temporary insurance can be obtained

for foreign registered cars so it is a perfectly plausible and practical

proposition and importantly is GUARANTEED to work. It also makes you

100% legal both in UK and France and avoids all potential problems in

re-registering in France.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote user="Boiling a frog"]It is all very simple.Ask the current owner for a copy of the carte gris. Then contact the person named on the carte gris,have him/her complete the required documentation and you can then register the car in France. [/quote]

This is my plan, if the catre grise ever turns up, it was supposed to be here about 4 hours ago, funnily he hasn't emailed it but he has managed to send me his bank details for the deposit. 

I'm not too bothered about it not being strictly legal to get it back here, my main concern is if it really is his car to sell.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote user="crossy67"][quote user="Boiling a frog"]It is all very simple.Ask the current owner for a copy of the carte gris. Then contact the person named on the carte gris,have him/her complete the required documentation and you can then register the car in France. [/quote]

This is my plan, if the catre grise ever turns up, it was supposed to be here about 4 hours ago, funnily he hasn't emailed it but he has managed to send me his bank details for the deposit. 

I'm not too bothered about it not being strictly legal to get it back here, my main concern is if it really is his car to sell.
[/quote]

I would very much take him supplying bank details and not the carte gris as this being extremely dodgy and fruaght with danger should you proceed.

He is not being up front and at best wants shot of the car as it is a problem at worse perhaps as has been suggested that the original owner is still wondering where his car is.

Paul

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote user="PaulT"]

[quote user="crossy67"] [quote user="Boiling a frog"]  contact the person named on the carte gris,  [/quote]

 funnily he hasn't emailed it but he has managed to send me his bank details for the deposit. 

 my main concern is if it really is his car to sell.
[/quote]

I would very much take him supplying bank details and not the carte gris as this being extremely dodgy and fruaght with danger should you proceed.

[/quote]

Establishing the history of this car, essentially obtaining the cert de cession is what this transaction hangs on, the name on the carte gris may not be traceable, registering in UK is a practical route to reregistering in France, but does not prove title, his delay in providing this information does bode well, is there no equivalent of HPI en France?, a tap on the door by les flic in a couple of months time and it could all end in tears . . .

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It is highly doubtful if DVLA will reregister a vehicle in a name other than on the carte gris so your suggestion is just not workable.

However, if after establishing who the original owner is then a cert of cession could be obtained from them, there is no point in "what if's" except if you want to be a pedant.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I seem to be loosing a few posts, I replied this morning but it's vanished!  Strange.

Any way, I now have a copy of the carte grise, it has been crossed but I can't make out the date, there only seems to be one name and date of imatriculation on it.

Et voila

[IMG]http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u263/crossy67/C4Picasso.jpg[/IMG]

What do you make of this?

Again, thanks for your input, most helpful.  I am happy to sort out transportation of the car by one means of another so I'm not too worried about the legality of it being moved on the plates it has now, more just that,a s said I don't get a knock at the door in two months asking for my car keys.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

He would appear to still stay at the address given ,according to the telephone book, the carte grise appears to be genuine and the lines etc are standard practice. Not all French are au fait with all the rules, just as all Brits are not aware of eevery law.

Just phone the person confirm they sold car and ask them for a certificate of cession ,job done.

Phone number 0561810711
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Update.

Popped into the local Gendarmerie as I couldn't get anywhere with the details on the carte grise.  Turns out the car had been written off in 2011 and sold to a garage in Toulouse.  From there the trail goes cold unless we phone them, I'm not going to bother, the seller has a history of buying used car parts off Ebay so I think we can draw our conclusions from there.  I have no problem with damaged and repaired cars but when the seller has no paperwork and lies about it, well that's just a bit too much.  I understand the car would need all sorts of paperwork and inspections before a new carte grise could be issued, just not worth the hasstle and risk.

Thanks for every ones input, much appreciated.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote user="just john "]

[quote user="crossy67"]I seem to be loosing a few posts, I replied this morning but it's vanished!  Strange.

 [/quote]

Are you using the bottom post button?, the top one doesn't work on my log-in since the so called experts have had a play . . .

[/quote]

Might well explain it. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote user="crossy67"]Update.

Popped into the local Gendarmerie as I couldn't get anywhere with the details on the carte grise.  Turns out the car had been written off in 2011 and sold to a garage in Toulouse.  From there the trail goes cold unless we phone them, I'm not going to bother, the seller has a history of buying used car parts off Ebay so I think we can draw our conclusions from there.  I have no problem with damaged and repaired cars but when the seller has no paperwork and lies about it, well that's just a bit too much.  I understand the car would need all sorts of paperwork and inspections before a new carte grise could be issued, just not worth the hasstle and risk.

Thanks for every ones input, much appreciated.
[/quote]

I didn't see that coming, damned devious pole and frustrating if salutory experience to boot, interesting that the local Gendarmes were such a useful source of info, saved in the nick of time so to speak, [:)]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...