Insurance/Registration Requirements for UK Car Kept at Second Home

[savoirflair]

Apologies, I am sure this has been covered before, but I can't find any definitive answers - and hope someone can help please.

We have a residence secondaire in France and have just bought a UK registered car which we intend to drive out and then leave there for our use whilst visiting.

My questions are: 

Is it possible to get UK insurance for a French registered car?  (All the French quotes we have had so far seem extortionate, but enquiries to date seem to indicate that UK insurance companies will only insure a UK registered car)

So -must the car be re-registered onto French plates?  If so, is there a time limit by which you must do this?

Thanks in advance,

Amanda

[AnOther]

You can't be looking very hard Amanda because this comes up again and again and again but just for you [kiss]

Is it possible to get UK insurance for a French registered car? - It may be possible to get temporary cover with some specialist insurers, but certainly not for one which is permanently kept outside the UK.

So -must the car be re-registered onto French plates?  If so, is there a time limit by which you must do this? - Yes, and in this case as a non French resident within 6 months which is the longst you can keep a car in the country without being obliged to register it.

Even within that 6 months the point to remember is that if a car is on UK plates it must be kept fully UK road legal at all times, i.e. Tax, MOT, and insurance. Despite the number of cars you see in France on UK plates but with CT and French insurance stickers in the window they are all illegal - there are no mix-n-match options

[baypond]

If you need to have one issued (depends on age of car) get your certificate of conformity while the car is still in the UK. I waited until the car was in France, and had to bring all the documents back to a Renault garage in the UK. You can get them in France, but in the UK its easier to understand being all in English, plus the fact that you have to provide utility bills etc for where you are resident, and Renault UK didn't charge me!

[Pickles]

[quote user="savoirflair"]We have a residence secondaire in France and have just bought a UK registered car which we intend to drive out and then leave there for our use whilst visiting.

My questions are:  Is it possible to get UK insurance for a French registered car?[/quote]

IIRC, UK companies would not provide a green insurance certificate for display, and would not cover on an ongoing basis. Financial services is the one area of trade which is not yet a fully common market.

[quote user="savoirflair"](All the French quotes we have had so far seem extortionate,[/quote]

That surprises me: get a statement of your current NCD status from your UK insurer or broker (what is important is the number of years since you last made a claim), as this will help to give you credit in the French system (it may make the task of doing this easier if you tell the insurer/broker WHY you are doing this, as some will drag their heels thinking that you are changing to a competitor). Note that many French insurance companies will cover the car for any driver ...

[quote user="savoirflair"]So -must the car be re-registered onto French plates?  If so, is there a time limit by which you must do this?[/quote]

To avoid issues of having to return to the UK to maintain UK MOT/VRT/Insurance, if the car is going to be based in France, it's a heck of a lot simpler (and probably rather cheaper in the long run)  just to re-register it in France and get French insurance. You OUGHT to do it within a month of taking the car over with the intention of basing it there - though it depends on how you choose to interpret a grey area, with possibly up to six months. However, if you intend to be able to drive the car in the UK, then you must stay fully legal in the UK, with UK registration, insurance, MOT, with the visits back to the UK with the car that those will entail.

(edit: most of the points have already been made more succinctly by An0ther)

Regards

Pickles

[AnOther]

[quote user="Pickles"]You OUGHT to do it within a month of taking the car over with the intention of basing it there - though it depends on how you choose to interpret a grey area, with possibly up to six months.[/quote]There is no grey area here Pickels.

In the case of a standard eurobox, i.e. a reasonably modern car for which a C of C to hand or is readily available from the manufacturer, the one month requirement applies only if you are French resident, otherwise it is 6 months. I agree that, legal issues apart, French registration will almost certainly work out cheaper in the medium to long term.

I am not in the least surprised about insurance costs as my experience has been the same. For a comparable car to that which we had in UK we are paying roughly double here in France (£180-v-€400+).

Thank you for the compliment BTW [:$]

[savoirflair]

[quote user="baypond"]If you need to have one issued (depends on age of car) get your certificate of conformity while the car is still in the UK. I waited until the car was in France, and had to bring all the documents back to a Renault garage in the UK. You can get them in France, but in the UK its easier to understand being all in English, plus the fact that you have to provide utility bills etc for where you are resident, and Renault UK didn't charge me![/quote]

Thank you for the fast responses, much appreciated. 

Baypond, what is the age criteria for having to provide a certificate of conformity?

Amanda

[AnOther]

You have to provide it in all case unless the vehicle is 25 years old ! (very soon to change to 30 years)

[Sunday Driver]

Amanda

What is the make, model and date of first registration of the car you intend leaving in France?

 

 

[savoirflair]

It's a Renault Megane Scenic, first registered August 2001.

Amanda

[RicandJo]

You should be able to get your C of C from DRIRE rather than Renault. Much cheaper - use the link contained within the sticky topic at the top of this forum about importing a UK car.

[Sunday Driver]

Start off from base....[;-)]

From the Renault UK website:

ASK RENAULT - get instant answers online.

 

You asked:

How do I take my car permanently abroad, what paperwork will I need?

Our answer:

If the car is a UK vehicle under ten years old, you will need a Certificate Of Conformity issued by the Customer Services department. Approach your dealer, with full details including the V5 and proof of ID, who will then contact the Customer Services Department on your behalf. Turnaround is 24 hours from our receipt of your application and is free of charge.

 

 

You can contact Customer Services' direct on their Freephone: 08000 72 33 72

 

 

 

[RicandJo]

[quote user="AnOther"]

You have to provide it in all case unless the vehicle is 25 years old ! (very soon to change to 30 years)

[/quote]

Is that correct??  I was under the impression that this rule is only for cars 25 (30) years old wishing to obtain a Carte Gris Collection.  For a Carte Gris Normale you still require a CoC.  I have to get one from Jeep in Perpignan together with a certificate stating that my lights conform and that the VIN code is cold stamped on the vehicle somewhere.  Source: http://www.jeep.fr/occasion-certified/jeep-voitures-importation.html

 

 

[AnOther]

You are correct - although my answer stands as it is and was given in the context of a resonable assumption (true as it turns out) that the OP would be bringing over some sort of modern car to leave in France. I saw no benefit in this instance in expanding on the minutae of CG Normale-v-Collection [;-)]