French MOT Test

[John Brown]

My car is just coming up to three years old, from new.

How old does the car need to be to require the French equivalent of an MOT.

Does it last for two years.

I would prefer to have the car tested when the weather is milder ( In case it fails and I need to manage without, while it is fixed )

Does the first test determine the date when further tests are due.

Thanks John

[AnOther]

The first test is due in the 6 months leading up to it's 4th birthday and every 2 years thereafter so you have another year to go [;-)]

[bubbles]

And it doesn't seem to be nearly as scary or strict as the English MOT. Our 20 year old 2CV passed after the technician asked us if we intended to drive at night!!! ("Of course not")

[AnOther]

Neither an MOT or a CT should not be a scary event. If they are it means that you are not properly maintaining your vehicle [;-)]

[John Brown]

Thanks to you both for the comments

Tyres will be a problem by next year. Will there be a problem if I get the car re-shod with new tyres when we visit the UK at Christmas.

Like lots of things ATM, they appear to be a lot cheaper in the UK

Are they acceptable ! Even remoulds ?

Thanks JB

[AnOther]

Any tyres offered for sale in the EU should by law carry an 'e' mark denoting that they are approved for use in the EU so as long as they are of the correct size then no problem buying in UK.

Tyres can be cheaper in UK but don't assume it to be the case automatically. I normally buy tyres for my Skoda from UK because the brand and model I prefer are not generally available in France and when I have seen them for sale they have been considerably more expensive. On the other hand, just yesterday in fact, I ordered a set of 4 tyres for my MGB from 123pneus because although the actual purchase price was slightly more in France the fitting charge by my chosen garage was cheaper than my local man charges me if I take my own tyres to him so it worked out about the same overall.

[dave21478]

It pays to shop around on both sides of the channel for tyres - prices are not uniformly cheaper or dearer in either country - Im looking for a set of 4x4 tyres at the moment and there is only a couple of euros difference per tyre between france and UK for my required size and prefered make.

Remoulds are perfectly acceptable for the CT as long as they are E-marked, which they should be if sold in EU as stated above.

As for the test itself - its not scary and if the car does fail on anything, you have a two month grace period to keep using it while repairs are done.

[crossy67]

I bought a new pneu for a hired Twingo whilst in Caracsone area a couple of years ago.  I went to the local Renault dealer for it, I was happy to pay iro e65 and was very happy with the service.  I thought the price was fairly comparable with the UK.

As far as remoulds go, I would feel safer driving on a cheep set of new tyres.  I have seen too many shredded carcasses on the side of motorways to feel the small (and it is small) difference in price is worth the compromise in safety.

[AnOther]

You might feel safer but you could be in a fools paradise. Why not revist your prejudice.

http://www.articlealley.com/article_189091_31.html

Personally I would far rather drive on remoulds than some of the abysmally poor new tyres on the market today.

Colway remoulds are used extensively in motorsport, including rallying, as severe a test of a tyre as they come.

[crossy67]

I only know of two people that have used Colway remolded "sport" tyres.  One was an employee of mine that had a set for his rally car, they wouldn't stay inflated and upon further inspection they were all found to have eggs in.  The other was a service manager in an Audi dealer we service, he had them for a track car, he had the same problem.  This was about 3 years ago.  I am not saying all remolds or even all Colway remoulds are problematic just mentioning these two instances.  Both sets were bought from Demon Tweaks and each time they had to wait for them to be sent away for Colway to inspect before they could get a refund causing them both to miss race meets.

[dave21478]

I believe this topic has been done before here, but I would much rather run a set of modern remoulds than a cheapo set of ChowChing Ditchfinders, or whatever other new rubbish is being churned out on the cheap.

That aside, in recent years I have been buying part-worn tyres from a breakers yard, and generally find decent marques with little wear for prices that are almost reasonable, by French standards.

Also, since I can't find used tyres the right size for the 4x4, I was hunting around the intrnet and found that several german suppliers advertise on ebay.de and will deliver to France. Prices seem to be very competetive. I don't sprachen ze deutsche so it takes a little perseverence and help from google translate to find stuff, but it looks promising.

[crossy67]

Nowt wrong with part worn so long as you inspect them prior to fitting, I have seen some with bad side wall repairs.  A friend of mine said he would never have part worn tyres as you don't know the history of them, I asked him would he throw the yres on a used car away as he doesn't know their history either.

[Pickles]

[quote user="dave21478"]Also, since I can't find used tyres the right size for the 4x4, I was hunting around the intrnet and found that several german suppliers advertise on ebay.de and will deliver to France. Prices seem to be very competetive. I don't sprachen ze deutsche so it takes a little perseverence and help from google translate to find stuff, but it looks promising.[/quote]

I used a German supplier to get my set of snow tyres and steel wheels for a lot less than I could in France, even including delivery to France. Some are on ebay.de - others can be found using Bing.de or Google.de using terms such as "winterreifen" "winterrader" which will usually get you into suppliers who will also do 4x4 tyres. (edited because wheelsfactory.de now has a much less comprehensive offering than before)

Regards

Pickles