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LHD car to be registered in UK


Carole
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Am returning to UK and need to change my LHD car to an acceptable condition to pass MOT in UK. I know I have to change the lights and the reading on the speedo but does anyone know of any garage etc who will do this and anything else required. I live in the Home Counties. I know of the problems re car parks and barriers etc.

Thanks
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Why do you need to change the speedo?  I've never heard of this before.  I always thought the speedo was for life or how does anybody know the mile/kilometr-age is genuine?  But I could easily be wrong.

Any mechanic worth his salt can change a pair of headlamps but the degree of difficulty is obviously dependent upon the make/model/age of the car.  [:)]

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Unlike UK cars Coops which nearly all have dual marked MPH and KPH speedos foreign sourced vehicles for some strange reason only tend to have KPH graduations [;-)]

I'm not sure how you overcome that one as it's not like the old days when you could slip the front glass off a speedo and stick some markers on it. These days most seem to be deep behind some plastic panel and sticking markers on that will not be very satisfactory or accurate unless viewed from a very specific angle and as for in the dark!

Changing the entire dash could be a wallet busting expense.

Frankly I'd very seriously think about selling it in France and buying a RHD back in UK. Don't forget that if you are going back to UK permanently then technically you cannot drive it until it is properly UK registered, and that starts from the second you disembark the ferry [blink]

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Yes, I know, AnO.  I drive an LHD myself.  However, I'm not sure that it is an MOT requirement to have mph on the speedo in the UK, that was my point.  I hadn't realised until Carole's second post that it was a practical thing, rather than about the test.

In fact the two work reasonably well together.  When I drive in the UK I just think of 50kph as 30; 90 as 60 and 110 as 70.  It's close enough and errs on the right side.  40 is the most problematic but you soon get used to it.   Or, as you say, AnO, just flog the thing.  [:)]

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You can still swop the cards in Speedo's Boost and Max Power regularly show how it is done.

A quick look at Auto Trader and Renault Occasion suggests this is finacial bad news. If you take the details of a French car for sale in France - subtract say € 2000  for dealer margin and then try and buy a similar car in the UK you still seem to be better off and you are spared the grief of headlamp changes, possible reversing light and high intensity rear light problems and the future grief of sourcing handed parts like clutch cables.

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I understand that to register the car in the UK it has to pass an MOT and this apparently requires the speedo to read MPH.

I tried selling my car in France and with no success. They were willing to take it but not give me anything until it was sold as I didn't want to part exchange. I actually like the Megane so I was trying to work out whether or not it would be cheaper to get it fixed for a UK MOT rather than buy a second hand RHD. Needless to say my timing as usual is all wrong as it has only just passed its control technique!!
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i drive a LHD twingo in UK to make it leagal in the UK it had to have speedo changed as it was only in KPH - now have duel one the lights had to be changed and the back fog light needs to be moved to the right hand side instead of the left - the middle works as well - these changes need to be done to comply with the construciton and use regulations i think :-&

Try the link for changing the apeedo option

http://www.ncs-systems.com/details.php?pID=1213
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[quote user="Carole"]I understand that to register the car in the UK it has to pass an MOT and this apparently requires the speedo to read MPH.

I tried selling my car in France and with no success. They were willing to take it but not give me anything until it was sold as I didn't want to part exchange. I actually like the Megane so I was trying to work out whether or not it would be cheaper to get it fixed for a UK MOT rather than buy a second hand RHD. Needless to say my timing as usual is all wrong as it has only just passed its control technique!![/quote]

It sounds as though you have been to a dealer to try and sell it - why not do it yourself, advertise on one of the small ads sites on the internet, or on one of the English/French sites that have Classified Ads.
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[quote user="AnOther"]Unlike UK cars Coops which nearly all have dual marked MPH and KPH speedos foreign sourced vehicles for some strange reason only tend to have KPH graduations [;-)]


[/quote]

UK Vehicle and Contstruction regulations - UK cars must have a speedo that either shows or can show MPH and KPH. Presumably in case the UK decides to adopt KPH.

However, as far as I am aware a speedo is not part of the MOT testing.

Paul

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[quote user="P2"]

However, as far as I am aware a speedo is not part of the MOT testing.

Paul

[/quote]That was what I believed Paul, but apparently it is.

Carole - don't forget to have an A/V sign in your car - that's how people seem to sell around here.  Or try one of the expat websites which takes ads.  You may find somebody coming to live here would do a swap?

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You are probably pretty safe normally since, when you are stopped by the boys in blue (or whatever colour they wear these days), your speedo will register zero.

Of course, they might tell you what speed you have been doing.

In that case it's probably best not to argue or explain that you couldn't translate from kph to mph.

It's a fair cop is probably the best line to take.
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We have a LHD Citroen C8 and have been told that we would have to have the lights, speedo etc changed to pass the MOT in UK. Do you have a rough idea of the cost?The car is 8 years old but in very good condition and we would like to know if it is worth having this work done. We don't really want to change the car.

Thank you

BrianK
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I've owned a LHD car in the UK for 5 years. Went through the registration process, no problems with the speedo being in KPH.

Had 5 MOTs and there's never been any problems with the speedo being in KPH either.

I have a friend who also owns a LHD car, and he's never had any problems with the speedo being in KPH either.

If you're happy to keep it in KPH, keep it in KPH. No need to waste your time and money.
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I am driving my LHD car over here and so far no problems - haven't had to do the ticket and car parking thing though. (think I will get hold of one of those rubbish picker upper sticks and get the ticket through the passenger window) !!!

I have been told that for MOT I need to be able to see speed in mph which I must admit I would like to anyway - too many speed cameras.

Had a quote for the lights and fog light which came to £300 each approx and then they went on to say that the speedo would be £500. That is crazy as no matter what, the speed is the same, it is just the reading. At one time you could stick a bit of paper ove the speedo so you could see the mph. I will be iinvestigating further. Will let you know what happens.
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Having driven my Twingo in the Uk for almost 6 years (with a MPH speedo reading), I was always under the impression that it had to read in mph in this country.

From http://tinyurl.com/3y8ngrs

Imperial Speedometer

Great Britain uses imperial units for speed measurement. The law requires that speedometers must include a miles-per-hour display. Please note in particular that any modified display must be visible in daylight and in darkness.

Markings may be added to the existing speedometer provided they are:

accurate;

durable;

can be seen clearly in daylight and when the instrument is lit during darkness.
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Seriously, it's not necessary to have the speedo in MPH!!![:P]

I've had my car MOT'd in 5 different places since getting it and none of them have mentioned about the speedo being in KPH. I have had advisories about the headlights having stickers on them, to stop them from dazzling people travelling the opposite way. On the latest MOT, that didn't even get mentioned.

My car came from Germany and the dealer who I bought it from put it on export plates - try to find out if you can get the same thing in France. Having export plates gives you quite a while to get everything together to register your car.

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As has been said the speedometer is not a testable item, it could read in warp speed or even have been removed and it wont make a blind bit of difference to the outcome of a UK MOT test.

However there is always someone that will advise you otherwise, this person has already put the wind up two of the posters on this thread - "I have been told"......................................

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[quote user="Marv"]My car came from Germany and the dealer who I bought it from put it on export plates - try to find out if you can get the same thing in France. Having export plates gives you quite a while to get everything together to register your car.[/quote]That is because it is the law there but there is no equivalent in France however even if there were the operative word is 'export' and their purpose is to allow the car to be deregistered from the German system yet still legally driven out of the country, nothing more. What happens when it crosses the border into another state then falls entirely under that country's rules.

In France it is the quitus which allows you temporary use of an imported vehicle whilst reregistering but unfortunately in UK no temporary system exists at all and accordingly such a vehicle may not be driven on UK roads by a UK resident until it is UK registered, which necessarily includes MOT and tax and insurance.

PS: Twingoman, can you edit your rather large link which is causing the page overflow I have condensed it HERE here for you [;-)]

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