'Collection' Carte Grise

[Beemer1150]

I'm considering buying a car with a 'Collection' carte grise and wondered if there were any unforeseen problems.

I'm aware of the Departmental restrictions, which are not a concern, and have been told that a benefit is that insurance may be cheaper.

I'd also heard that some of the 'Collection' restrictions are to be changed.

Any comments or practical experiences would be welcomed.

[RicandJo]

I'm sure SD will be along soon but no I don't think there are any problems and yes the restrictions are about to change, I think mainly the lifting of the departmental restrictions and the CT requirements will be every 5 years.

[Polly]

There are no particular disadvantages of a CGC at the moment, the only long-term worries concern the green lobby at EU level who see old cars as polluting devils but FIVA works hard to fight against this misguided notion.

From now, you are no longer restricted geographically as to where you can drive the car without notifying the Préfecture of your travels out of the area.

On CGC you can keep the old shape of number plate and use the old-style silver letters on a black base, if desired.

On CGC cars will be subject to a Contrôle Technique every 5 years instead of the 2-yearly CT for cars on CG Normale.

For cars already on a CG Collection with their last Controle Technique

done more then 5 years ago, those with an even registration number (the

actual number, not the departement N°) must get a CT done in 2009, odd

numbers should get their first 5 yearly CT done in 2010.

It doesn’t matter which sort of carte grise you have when you insure the car, and the price is not going to be any lower simply because of the type of CG. A carte grise collection doesn’t limit you to any specific policies. Read the small print of any ‘collection’ policies and check the cover is what you want. Collection policies always insist you have another car insured somewhere under a 'normal' policy.

pm or email me if you wish with any specific enquiries, I am the secretary of a national classic car club in France so I have some experience in this field

[RicandJo]

What is the name of the car club Polly?? I've a feeling I may be in touch for some advice soon - my 30 year old Jeep had languished in the garage since it's arrival in France last November - I need to sort out the power steering and correct a wandering issue before I go for the CT. I can't get the CofC from DRIRE as it does not have the 17 digit VIN code (too old for that) so looks like I have to go to Chrysler for a CofC, they may be unwilling as Jeep was not under their umbrella at the time the car was made!

[AnOther]

Has this all been finally brought in Polly, the latest information I had from a French source, and fairly recently, was that it was yet again delayed.

One thing you didn't mention BTW is that the qualifying age is to be increased from 25 to 30 years.

 

[Sunday Driver]

You can find all the up to date information on voitures de collection from here:

http://www.ffve.org

 

 

[Polly]

Oh dear, SD Ernie and all... this is always the problem with forums. One tries to give a short concise reply to a question, when actually one could write an essay if one wished to cover all the angles

However, I was always taught to 'answer the question'. Here, the OP talks about a car which is already on CGC so the change from 25 to 30 years 'ancienneté' isn't relevant.

Whether it's 15th June (the former planned date) or 15th October 2009 (the current date for the new number plates to be applied to second hand cars), or even 1st Jan 2010, the fact is that the 5-yearly CT for cars on CGC is being introduced and the geographical limitations are no longer enforced

Is that clear?

[AnOther]

Well Polly I don't see the need to get bristly and in this case and with respect I suggest you read the question again as part of it was:

"I'd also heard that some of the 'Collection' restrictions are to be changed"

That being so I do not see the mention of the change of age restriction from 25 to 30 years as irrelevant but perhaps we should let the OP be the arbiter of what he considers useful or superfluous.

[Beemer1150]

Thank you everybody for your responses.

It turned out theat the car concerned was a bit of a dog so we won't be going ahead with that particular one, however all of the information has been very useful in our hunt.

We're still searching for the right car, but so far we've learned:

* That 'tres bon etat' is similar to immobiliers' 'habitable' - which omits to mention which particular type of life form a house is habitable by

* That just because a car is old does not mean the vendor can expect the same price as a 'classic' Ferrari

* That a decent Renault 4 at a fair price is surprisingly difficult to find within a 100km radius!

* That, sadly, a simple request for info on a forum can lead to some tetchy responses. Please, enough of the rough stuff - all opinion and info is valuable and politeness is invaluable!

The search continues...

Incidentally - if a car changes departement (and therefor number) if age permits can the new-style numbers be white-on-black? Since I doubt this, is there any provision for a new, old-style plate?

[Polly]

Renault 4s in good nick at a reasonable price are like gold dust, however far you travel

As to keeping the number plate if you change dept, the advice from FFVE, (ww.ffve.org) under the SIV FAQs not under CG de Collection, says :

Une carte grise de collection ne permet pas d’échapper aux nouveaux numéros. Mais la plaque peut rester de la forme et de la couleur d’origine (ce qui évite des complications pour de nombreux modèles).