Change of ownership of a French vehicle.

[Les]

Having bought a French registered Volvo in London I now need to have the Carte Grise changed to my name. It has 18 months left on the French mot and I have managed to get it insured with a French company. I believe that I have to see the Prefecture to change the document into my name. Thing is, I don't know who a Prefecture is. Is he the Mairie or somebody else?

Any help welcomed.

Regards. Les.

[Sunday Driver]

Les

The Prefecture is the equivalent of County Hall and it's located in the main town of your home departement. 

The process is quite easy.  Go there and fill in a vehicle registration application form (demande de certificate d'immatriculation).  You'll also need to produce the old carte grise (marked "vendu le" and dated and signed by the vendor), the bill of sale (certificate de vente) dated the same day as the note on the carte gris, and the CT proces-verbal certificate.  Finally, the vendor should have given you a certificat de situation administrative (similar to an HPI certificate).  If not, then you can get one on-line [url=http://www.interieur.gouv.fr/rubriques/b/b8 teleservices/new telecarte grise] HERE[/url]. You'll also need your passport and a utility bill as proof of address.

The cost of registration change depends on the age of the car and its fiscal power rating.  You can find a table of charges [url=http://www.prefecture-police-paris.interieur.gouv.fr/demarches/carte_grise/cout.htm]HERE [/url].

They'll issue you with a new registration number, so you'll need to get some new plates made up.  Visit your local cordonniere shop (keycutting, handbags, etc) and show them your carte grise.  Don't forget to ask him for some rivets - screw fixings are illegal here.

[Les]

Thanks for the info. Just have to find my local Prefecture now. I am going to live in Cigne near Ambrieres Les Vallees so I imagine it will be in Mayenne.

If anyone knows different please let me know.

Regards, Les.

[Opalienne]

Here is the relevant website:   http://www.mayenne.pref.gouv.fr/default.asp   There is a sous-prefecture in Mayenne (I guess you mean the town rather than the departement?)

[Sunday Driver]

Careful - I'd phone the sous-prefecture first.  Some don't provide a vehicle registristration service, in which case, you'll need to use the main prefecture in Laval.

[Teamedup]

Not quite that easy. To register it in your name the CT should not be more than 6 months old, so watch out for the dates.

[Les]

Thanks for all the info' folks.

The CT does indeed have to be less than 6 months old and that comes from the Police so I will get it done.

Thanks again.

Les.

[Sunday Driver]

[quote user="Les"]

The CT does indeed have to be less than 6 months old and that comes from the Police so I will get it done.

[/quote]

So you didn't believe us, eh?  Humpf......[U]

[Les]

Yes Sunday Driver, I believed you, but after mentioning the CT to my estate agent he imediately phoned the cops to check. Merely corroborating that's all. No offence meant.

Regards. Les.

[Sunday Driver]

[quote user="Les"]

but after mentioning the CT to my estate agent he imediately phoned the cops to check. 

[/quote]

I should think so too, considering the fee he's going to be charging you  [;)]

[Kitty]

Sunday Driver: Could I ask your help as you seem very knowledgeable? I wish to take an old Land Rover Discovery (so parts will be easy to find) to the Bordeaux area for use at my French house when I am there (two months per year, approx - sometimes longer). The Discovery is surplus to my requirements in England and rather than sell it for next to nothing, I thought that I could take it to France. Do you think that it is worth it? I have been looking at your answers about re-registering and it seems quite expensive (new headlamps etc).  I am not very good at buying cars and don't think that I would be up to buying a decent French car. I've had my Discovery since new and it's a good motor.  The diesal engine means that it could be left without use for quite a while and still (hopefully) start.  Could I have your thoughts? Cathy

[Sunday Driver]

Hello Cathy

As you say, its all down to economics.  What's the car worth, how much will it cost to get it registered here, how much to run it as an occasional vehicle? What would the comparative cost be of selling the Discovery and buying a small french runaround instead?

Approximate registration costs as follows:

Headlamps                              200 euros (scrapyard)

Attestation of conformity            67 euros

Controle technique                     56 euros

Registration fee                        150-250 euros (dependent upon vehicle's fiscal rating)

Say, 600 euros in total. That's £410.  And its a one-off cost.  After that, its normal expenditure (insurance, bi-annual CT and repairs/fuel).

Would you drop more than £400 selling it in the UK?  If so, it could be worth bringing it over.  Remember, second hand french cars are generally more expensive here that in the UK,

Hope this helps.  You can PM me if you need any more assistance.

 

[P]

Cathy

If you go to www.rimmerbros.co.uk you will find that they supply parts for a number of vehicles, including Discovery. Dependent upon type, you should be able to buy 2 new headlights for less than £100.

Paul

[Sunday Driver]

Cathy

I've replied to your PM.  You can read it by clicking on "Private Messages" at the top of the forums index page (just above the red bar)

[Kitty]

I have to say a BIG THANK YOU to the website for helping me with advice about taking my car (permanently) to France.  It is in the (British) garage today, having a once-over and headlamps fitted.

So thanks to 'P' (Paul) for putting me onto a website where you could buy LHD headlamps cheaply (£86) and quickly (next day delivery).

And thanks to Sunday Driver for his point-by-point procedure of what to do and when. Indispensible. 

One good turn leads to another and I have been giving out advice that I know about to others on the website.

[Coco]

[quote user="Cathy"]

Sunday Driver: Could I ask your help as you seem very knowledgeable? [/quote]

Dead right Cathy, I was about to start a new thread but then saw this one and a couple of my questions have already been answered.  Perhaps, SD, you could help me with the rest.

They say, what goes round comes round, and about two years ago we gave our joiner/carpenter an almost new loo that was coming out of one of our bathrooms and when we converted to oil central heating, gave him a brand new electric water heater.  Last night he and his wife came to dinner, during the course of which we said we were thinking about buying ourselves a little van or car as a runaround and he offered us his old Citreon BX FOC.  He said that it had a Controle Technique until June and if we paid to get it through we could have it.  I couldn't quite understand that, as I thought that if he was giving us the car now then we would own it by June and consequently, or course we would have to pay to get it through.

Having read your earlier posting does it mean that he can't transfer the car to our name until he has got a new CT?  He's like a second dad to me so I am more than happy to pay for anything that needs doing to get it through the CT even before we own it.  (He's also a whiz on car maintenance so we'd only have to pay for parts!)  Also I notice that you say that as well as the carte grise you need to take the bill of sale with you to the Prefecture.  If  we're being given the car what would we do?  Just make one up with a nominal figure on it?

[Coco]

[quote user="Cathy"]

Sunday Driver: Could I ask your help as you seem very knowledgeable? [/quote]

Dead right Cathy, I was about to start a new thread but then saw this one and a couple of my questions have already been answered.  Perhaps, SD, you could help me with the rest.

They say, what goes round comes round, and about two years ago we gave our joiner/carpenter an almost new loo that was coming out of one of our bathrooms and when we converted to oil central heating, gave him a brand new electric water heater.  Last night he and his wife came to dinner, during the course of which we said we were thinking about buying ourselves a little van or car as a runaround and he offered us his old Citreon BX FOC.  He said that it had a Controle Technique until June and if we paid to get it through we could have it.  I couldn't quite understand that, as I thought that if he was giving us the car now then we would own it by June and consequently, or course we would have to pay to get it through.

Having read your earlier posting does it mean that he can't transfer the car to our name until he has got a new CT?  He's like a second dad to me so I am more than happy to pay for anything that needs doing to get it through the CT even before we own it.  (He's also a whiz on car maintenance so we'd only have to pay for parts!)  Also I notice that you say that as well as the carte grise you need to take the bill of sale with you to the Prefecture.  If  we're being given the car what would we do?  Just make one up with a nominal figure on it?

[Sunday Driver]

Two issues here, both easy to resolve

In order to register it in your name, you have to supply a CT which is no more than 6 months old.  Normally, the seller would arrange to have a fresh CT done before sale.  In you're case, you can take the car for a CT yourself.  You'll need the current carte grise. 

Once that's done, your friend needs to complete a certificate of cession.  Its a bit like the notification of transfer of keeper that you send to the DVLA.  He marks the form to show that the vehicle is "cede a titre gratuit" and cancels the carte grise by writing "cede le (date)" across it.  He sends one copy of the certificat de cession to the prefecture and gives you the other, together with the cancelled carte grise. You take your copy plus the carte grise to the prefecture when you go to register it.  You don't have to produce a bill of sale because its a free transfer of title.

Don't forget, you have one month from date of sale to complete the re-registration.

 

[Coco]

Thanks very much.  Now all we have to do is get a couple of insurance quotes to see if we can afford to run it.  Seems a bit like looking a gift horse in the mouth, but it's not just the purchase price one has to consider when deciding if one can afford the luxury of a second car is it?!!!  There again, the fact that it has a tow bar and roof rails means we should save a fortune in delivery charges if we can now collect our own plasterboard, wood etc from the builders merchants! [:)] 

Don't you wish you had a carpenter like mine! [;)]

[Sunday Driver]

Insurance is cheap here - I suspect it won't cost you much for third party only on an old BX.

I had a BX turbo diesel back in the early 90's.  Great car - one of the best engines around.  We used to fill the big square boot with camping gear and tour round France.

[Coco]

I'm looking forward to getting it, my husband had one as a company car back in about 1989/90 and it was always my favourite car.  I love the way you "take off" when you turn on the ignition [:D]