HertzVanHire Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 Anyone had any experience exporting a car from The Netherlands to France. As I understand it, you have to de-register the car in The Netherlands before you leave, then they give you temporary plates, which you're allowed to drive on for 14 days. That gives you 14 days to re-register your car in France. I've read some horror stories of it taking months for things to get sorted out on the French end. Anyone know what that means regarding the legality of driving on the temporary plates. What I mean is, if it's illegal to drive on those temporary plates after 2 weeks, but it takes 2 months before you're granted your French plates, does that mean you can't drive your car for the the 6 weeks before you get your French plates? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnOther Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 I think you're worrying completely unnecessarily. I'm assuming it is some sort of bog standard EU sourced car and you have a Certificate of Conformity for it and I'll take your word for the de-registering in the Netherlands bit but it's of little consequence as far as registering in France is concerned. The 2 weeks you mention are only relevant to driving there and where do you get notions like " it takes 2 months before you're granted your French plates" from ?To bring it into France in the first place during your 2 week grace period you can arrange insurance on it's existing number and the VIN number and once you're here just follow the registration process outlined in the sticky. Simple.Once you have your Quittus & CT (if required) it's a matter of an hour or so in the Prefecture before you walk out with your new French plates. If you're organised it can be accomplished in a single day, Quittus, CT the lot, I've done just that - twice ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunday Driver Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 As ErnieY says, the process of registering a car in France is straightforward. You visit your prefecture, hand over a few bits of paper, the clerk types something into the computer and your new carte grise is printed out for you. The only time variable is the length of the queue in front of you.The 'two month' horror stories are generally due to people not doing the necessary research and obtaining the required documents before they import their cars here. The one which usually causes the most grief is the certificate of conformity. At best, the delay is down to the manufacturer/importer supplying the certificate. At worst, it's because people discover at the last minute that their car is actually an unofficial 'grey' import and requires a special type approval inspection.The advice is always sort out the paperwork beforehand. That way, when you arrive here with the car, you can do everything in a day - stress free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnOther Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 Just a small correction, where I said 'you walk out with your new French plates' I meant of course your Carte Grise which you then take to a garage and have the plates made up.It was late [;-)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HertzVanHire Posted January 18, 2009 Author Share Posted January 18, 2009 Thanks everyone for those comforting words. I guess people love to post their horror stories in the internet, but you don't get to hear the stories when everything went smoothly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnOther Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 It's why most organisations will have a complaints department but very few will have one for compliments [:)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HertzVanHire Posted January 22, 2009 Author Share Posted January 22, 2009 OK. I've now discovered that I can't get a CoC in The Netherlands because the car is too old (12 or 13 years). Apparently I have to contact the car manufacturer in France and get one issued by them. Anyone had any experience with this and if so, how long does it generally take? Is it possible to request the CoC before bringing the car to France to save some time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierre ZFP Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 What make/model car is it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HertzVanHire Posted January 22, 2009 Author Share Posted January 22, 2009 Volvo 460i Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunday Driver Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 Write to Volvo Automobiles France S.A.S., 34 rue de la Croix de Fer, 78100 SAINT GERMAIN EN LAYE with a copy of the Dutch export registration certificate and ask them to provide you with an attestation d'identité pour une voiture importée. If you tell them you're time limited by the Dutch export plates, they should get their finger out for you.If the Dutch plates run out before you receive the Volvo certificate, then you can apply to your prefecture for a temporary WW carte grise which will give you a further 15 days. In the event of further delay, you can apply for a second WW carte (but only once). After that, the vehicle must be kept off the road until it's properly registered. Edit: Or you can contact your local DRIRE office and ask them for the same certificate. They're normally quite quick to respond, but recent changes to the DRIRE regional websites suggest that they may no longer all provide this useful facility.At least you might have a couple of options there.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HertzVanHire Posted January 25, 2009 Author Share Posted January 25, 2009 I wonder if you helpful people would mind having a look at the this document - whichever language you choose - and see what you make of it. It's from the RDW, the equivalent of the DVLA in The Netherlands.Clearly there's been some rule change in the EU. I'm not quite sure what document it is they're talking about that doesn't need to be issued anymore and whether it makes the process simpler, or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunday Driver Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 The homolgation document mentioned is the EU certificate of conformity which confirms that a vehicle complies with EU Whole Vehicle Type Approval. The certificate allows the vehicle to be registered in any EU member state withour having to undergo any additional inspection/modification. .Nowadays, vehicle registration documents are in a common format which includes the EU type approval number, so in theory, a separate certificate of conformity should not be necessary and that's why the RDW have stopped issuing them. However, some countries like France and the UK continue to require the certificate as proof.EU type approval only applies to recently manufactured cars and motorcycles - in general, those which are ten year old or less. Older vehicles remain subject to national type approval where the conformity certificates must be issued by the manufacturer's agent based in the country of destination. That's why you must apply to Volvo France for yours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HertzVanHire Posted January 26, 2009 Author Share Posted January 26, 2009 Thanks for the clarification. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HertzVanHire Posted February 8, 2009 Author Share Posted February 8, 2009 So, I'm about to write to Volvo. Can someone tell me whatUn courrier de demande avec adresse pour retourmeans.And also, I've never heard the term copie recto-verso - does it mean both sides?Also, also, the postcode I have for Volvo France is78128 Saint-Germain en Layenot78100. Does that make a difference?Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gosub Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 I would say, your detailed letter of request including your return address, for the return of the documentsCopy front and backVolvo Automobiles France Service Homologation 34, rue de la croix de fer 78128 Saint-Germain en Laye Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HertzVanHire Posted February 14, 2009 Author Share Posted February 14, 2009 Does anyone know if you need a tax id number (or whatever a numero fiscale is) in order to complete the registration process? I'm thinking in particular about the visit to the Hotel des Impots to get the VAT exemption certificate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnOther Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 No.All you need at the Impots is proof of address such as your EDF or FT bill, plus of course the registration document and a sales receipt to prove you own the vehicle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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