Importing a Citroen (2CV) - Certificat de Conformite

[Araucaria]

I am beginning the process of importing an old 2CV, registered in the UK.

If anyone has recently obtained a certificat de conformite from Citroen, I'd be most grateful for help -

(a) what is the address to write to

(b) what the fee is

and

(c) do they expect you to fill in one of their forms, or do you just send the cheque and the VIN/chassis number?

I rather think by the time it's immatriculated here, I'll have paid more than its value in fees! However, it's a fairly recent one (not pre-1972), so I would at least be spared paying the road tax in the UK.

Thanks in advance.

[Bob T]

You will never get a CofC for a 2CV as they are too old. The European CofC was only introduced around 1998 for cars, and the 2CV was out of production by then.

[Sunday Driver]

You can obtain a certificate for your 2CV from here:

Citroen (attestation identification), Immeuble Colise, 12 rue Fructidor,  75835 PARIS Cedex 17     Tel: 01.58.79.79.79

Write to them with a copy of your V5C registration document and ask for an attestation d'identification.  They will bill you for the attestation, usually around 120€.

The carte grise will cost you around 50€.

 

[bubbles]

I'm pretty sure we got our cert of conformity from our citroen garage in france.

There was certainly no problem (our 2cv was an 1986 model) when we changed over to French plates around 2005.

We went along to the prefecture with our other car documents and it was all straightforward and CHEAP!!

Can't remember exactly but I think the changeover cost around 60 euros plus the cost of the new plates which again was very reasonable.

Seem to remember the new headlights were a bit expensive though.

Good luck - I am still grieving after reluctantly selling our 2cv last year (200 euros - for someone who needed the engine)

[Polly]

why bother?! 'orrible slow tinny little things, with some of the most uncomfortable seats ever developed in automotive history.

[cooperlola]

Presumably the H needed some company.

[Polly]

'spose they could park the 2CV inside it, saving storage space

[Bob T]

I had one once, 600cc and a whole 30 bhp. It used as much fuel as my 140 bhp air conditioned 4X4, but I would have another 2 CV now as a second car/toy. They are so much fun.

[Araucaria]

Thanks SD for a sensible and helpful answer. Particularly since I'd forgotten that it was in fact an attestation rather than a CdeC. I'll get a letter off to Citroen asap.

And - rising to the bait Poll (Troll?) -

orrible is usually spelt with an "h", but the car does have its admirers: see for example http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citroen_2CV

slow it may be, but there are no motorways anywhere near here and it will get to the speed limit on every local road (90kph), eventually,

for tinny I'd say "lightweight and less environmentally destructive" - it's made of just the same steel as any other car, but less of it as the steel is thinner since the structure uses corrugations to reinforce it,

little, yes, (see above)

personally I find the seats very comfortable but I believe it depends on the size of your bottom,

and as far as I know a 2CV is a bit too long to fit into an H van, but luckily I have a garage.

Happy?

[Polly]

very 'appy, but then I'm not driving around in a modern 2cv

(and my bum is just the right size for me, thank you!)

[just john]

I have happy memory of deux chevaux, We bought one as the first car for my son, insurance being the original focus, his idea of street cred was slightly different (akin to that of you Pirate Polly[Www]). His first tack was to attempt to drive it to wholesale destruction, when that failed (only just, after rebuilding the engine with second hand barrels and pistons on the garage floor over the weekend) and after him getting booked for speeding on the M32 (downhill!) he discovered how really trendy it was; mates recognised it and thought it was fun with the top down, as did the girls, and it was still driving around Bristol recently, resplendent in its 60's alloy grille, white paint work, black bull bars and black tulip wings (MGB purple). A guy who was fanatical about 2cv's with a variety of versions, told us the ultimate demon tweak was to build a special using an ami chassis, 4cyl engine from the ''Visa'' and 2cv body, with which he surprised a few, but we never got round to it. One of those projects after everything currently ongoing.[:)]

[Chancer]

Myself and my pals also tried and failed to destroy one.

I was left with he car after the owner decided he would rather buy his father inlaws Escort with the money that he should have paid me for the MOT welding repairs so I used it as a hack for a while as I was always buying, repairing and selling cars and didnt have any permanent wheels of my own.

We were discussing down the pub what to do to with it for a laugh, I wanted to hand paint it like a bumble bee but lacked the artistic talent, the Dukes of Hazzard were popular at the time so we decided to make a homage to the General Lee and make the dersch into the General Disaster.

As more pints were sunk the ideas started flowing and the final decision was to paint it orange with a big 01 on each side, weld up the doors and to slide in through the windows like the Luke brothers,  (you need a big car like the Dodge Charger to not look like a muppet we later found out) and to just hoon around having fun.

Once we recovered from our disbelief and brown trousers at the body roll from the initial roundabout testing we nicked a shopping trolley and welded the castors to the tops of the doors and chipped in to create £25 prize fund for the first person to roll it over.

I should add that all of us had involuntarily rolled at least one car each but none of us ever managed to tip over the General Disaster.

We then moved on to constructing ramps to recreate the jumping the river scene (in which they wrecked several Dodge Chargers) but due to the Generals pitifull terminal velocity and the flimsy nature of our constructions either the ramp collapsed or the General just wallowed over the obstacle like it was an alliterative French field furrow.

We then took to outbraking other cars (actually not braking at all) by driving straight over roundabouts on the by pass where the General Disaster finally met her match with a lamp post.

You can laugh all you will about dersches but the suspension and roadholding is incredible and the only limiting factor is the drivers bottle.

Many years later I was also mechanic for a race team at the 2cv 24 hour race a Snetterton.

I would have another one in a heartbeat but have you seen the price of them either side of the channel?

[bubbles]

Wow!

I thought we had fun in our 2cv but you have sort of taken the shine off my memories.

[Polly]

Just wondering Araucaria, do you use your "lightweight and less environmentally destructive" 2CV to go back and forth between France & the UK?

[just john]

Autotrader currently £1350 for a galvanised chassis 78 model plus a few others, which is a lot better than the heart stopping €6500 on a forecourt in Verteillac a few weeks ago[:-))]

[Araucaria]

[quote user="Polly"]Just wondering Araucaria, do you use your "lightweight and less environmentally destructive" 2CV to go back and forth between France & the UK?

[/quote]

Yes.

But I don't do all that much "back and forth" now. I live here.  I will admit to using SNCF (very cheap with a carte senior) and planes at times  - we were in India over Christmas, and that's a bit far to drive, even in a 2CV.

[Polly]

To India via plane I presume? Probably not a lightweight less environmentally destructive one!

I'm off to town now in my durable car, it's only 39 years young. I was only teasing you about your Deuch.

[Araucaria]

It was 120 euros and Citroen did it inside two weeks. Which struck me as pretty good.

So thanks for the address etc Sunday Driver.

Now just the quittus fiscal and CT, and I'll be off to the prefecture for the new registration.

[nectarine]

someone earlier mentioned headlights, but of course if you take the cover of 2CV headlights you find a L/R switch to alter the beam direction.

Fabulous car, the 2CV, I bought my sister's car, she'd had it for ten years and I owned if for a further 10 years. Placed the ad in the paper and was inundated with offers, especially when the buyer found two sisters had owned it and kept every scrap of paper relating to it. The buyer came round within the hour with cash and I remember him asking me what she was called ... and me thinking "yep, I definitely want to sell to this guy as he knows that every 2CV has a name". So I sold him Citronella, and as he fut-fut-futted away down my road (very distinctive exhaust note) I thought "WHAT HAVE I DONE " and would have paid double to have it back again.

Happy days ..

[Araucaria]

Yes Nectarine, at least the headlights are no trouble at all. I always set them for LHD when I went to France, and RHD back in the UK: takes about 30 seconds each side.

Oddly enough, this one hasn't yet got a name.