Buying cars in France advice please!

[Berlioz]

Firstly I apologise for asking the question (I can't get the search to work correctly and I'm sure there was a post on the old site)

Assuming our planned move to Toulouse actually goes ahead in July/August  we need to either sell or swap or e-bay our Saab and Ka (both manual and about 5 years old) for 2 newish LH drive Automatic cars with aircon, some toys, possible a Focus Focus Ghia type (Ive just swapped mine for my sisters KA), etc for me and something a bit bigger for the other half.. Obviously want value for money & best prices. Don't want the hassle of a private sale.  We had originally planned to pay cash but now have to use this for a rental guarantee so will need finance either through a bank or a dealer. I think we will e-bay our current cars after we leave (a friend will handle this). We will need one to be ready for when we arrive but then can spend a bit more time on the 2nd one.

Should we:

Buy from a car supermarket (if such a thing exists in France?)

Buy from a Web based dealer/importer/supermarket, if so links please to good ones?

Buy from a dealer in Toulouse i.e Ford, Reanult,

Buy an ex-car rental car from Europcar, hertz etc

Any where else I havn't throught of, any pitfals, nightmare french paperwork, I should be aware of?

What are our best options for financing?

I have only just become 'officer in charge of vehicle research' as my other half is working away 24/7 and apart from watching Top Gear and reading What Car Magazine occasionally I'm not very up on this subject !

We have had such a nightmare with housing that cars have taken a bit of a back seat, but I do need a rough idea of what is a good idea and what isn't.  OH speaks french so can take the project back when I've come up with some options.

So anyone who has, been there, done that and got the T-Shirt please point me in the right direction!

Thanks,

Donna

 

[thunderhorse]

There's a firm in Staffordshire - can't remember the name - well known for dealing with quality LHD cars and taking your RHDs part-ex. May save a lot of aggro, then re-register when you get over here.

Someone here will know the firm, if not, I'm sure Googling will turn them up.

Hope that helps a little. [:D]

PS - as for nightmare paperwork - yes, it can be, but deal with a garage that will handle it all for you. Apart from standing costs of re-registering one of ours, the garage only charged €30 for doing the business.

[Sunday Driver]

For the least hassle, buy from your local dealer - for service backup, warranty work and general peace of mind.

Last year, we did a lot of research and considered buying from Germany where the cars are certainly cheaper.  We'd already bought our camper there a few years back, so we were familiar with the export/import process.  However, once we factored in travel, hotels, disappointments if the car was not as advertised etc, it worked out just marginally more expensive to buy locally.

In the end, we treated ourselves to a used BMW from our local concessionaire.  It was competitively priced with a 10% discount and some extras thrown in for free.  We ended up with a mint 2.5 litre 6-cylinder prestige car with automatic box, climate control, cruise control, CD (and all the other toys) for less than the cost of a new Fiesta diesel.

They gave the car a major service and fitted new discs and tyres all round before delivery . No extra charge for registering it in my name (apart from the normal registration fee). 

A problem occured with a cam sensor (cost 86 euros) three months outside the warrany period, but they stripped one off a new 5 series in the showroom and fitted it to my car free of charge - without any argument.  Our first oil service cost the equivalent of £160 compared with £190 at a UK BMW dealer.

The screen price isn't the only consideration.......

[JayJay]

[quote user="Sunday Driver"]For the least hassle, buy from your local dealer - for service backup, warranty work and general peace of mind.[/quote]

Totally agree! We went to our local Renault dealer & bought a 3 month old car. It was so easy, they did everything. Checked everything, popped in a few extras & even said when it needs topping up with anything, just pop in & it'll be done for free. Go local![:D]

[Berlioz]

Thank you for your advice, I must say I'm inclined to think that buying locally would be easier and saving a few Euro but having lots of hassle and endless paperwork does not appeal to me at all!  I could not find a large Staffordshire dealer.  For comparison purposes I checked out  1stcarimports.co.uk  who have just sent me a very detailed quotation and the various options regarding collection/delivery/registering/vat etc.  Has anyone any experience of them ?  At least I have a starting point and can look at some dealerships next week on our visit.

Also do any of you have good/bad insurance companies? (Speaking English helpfull but not essential)

Donna

 

[Anton Redman]

Paperwork / Hassle was less than a day cost including plates,C.T. etc under Euros 600 . Issue for me was second hand value of a four year Peugoet 306 HDI, fully loaded ( aircon leather etc) with 200,000 kilometres on the clock, versus best price I could acheive in UK and what I could buy for same cash in France.  Car now has 260,000 kilos up and has hads brake pads and two new tyres.

Have always said it was not worth sourcing in UK to import but may look at 406 Coupe if ever we put the back seats in and Isabel stops buying plants.   

The "streetwise" option in Toulouse for new cars used to be buy in Spain then import privately. Probably gone native but the days when Fords needed a rebore /rebuild at 60,000 miles and A series needed TLC and an oil cooler to reach 100,000 are long gone. The French do not look ascance if you turn up at a three rousette restaurant in an Citreon C15 Van. 

[Clarkkent]

There's a firm in Staffordshire - can't remember the name - well known for dealing with quality LHD cars and taking your RHDs part-ex. May save a lot of aggro, then re-register when you get over here.

One word of caution. I do know someone who bought a French registered car from this firm. Nothing wrong with the car or the service he received, but there were problems with transfer of ownership and registration in a new department and the car had to be taken to Calais for a new controle technique.