Where to buy UK, France, Elsewhere?

[cymraes]

We are hoping to move to the southern Dordogne in the autumn and are going to need a lhd car.  From what I can see second-hand cars in France seem expensive and the one's I have seen also have high mileage.  I'd rather not buy in the UK as from what I have read the cost and hassle involved in re-registering in France can be a nightmare.  Can anyone advise which is likely to be the best option - the UK, France or what about importing from any other european country?  I'm looking for something like a Berlingo, 3 to 6 years old, preferably low mileage, diesel.

[derf]

"I have read the cost and hassle involved in re-registering in France can be a nightmare."

This is not true, for a Modern car with the right paperwork it's a doddle, I registered a vehicle last week in less than 1/2 hour and that included going to the Tax office for the tax clearance certificate. The cost of the Carte Grise(registration document) was €197, no CT (Mot) required because the car was just under 4 years old

If you import a car from another EU country you will still have the same registration process to go through in France.

So my advice is to buy where it suits you best, but remember if you buy second hand outside of France and you have to make a warranty claim it could be a problem getting it sorted out.

[Poppy]

It isn"t usually a problem or expensive to get a UK car registered on French plates. Just check out the price of replacement lights, probably less expensive for Renault, Citroen etc.

Although second hand cars are more expensive in France our experience is that new cars are cheaper. So you might like to look at the price of new ones.

Jan

Lost in the Lot

[naps]

Hi  - we imported two cars no problem, one a UK model and the other a Dutch one.  For the Citroen we didn't buy official Citroen lights, but a good alternative and that saved us a lot of money - but import on both vehicles was very easy, taking up only one morning, this included the MOT equivalent.

However we're now looking to buy and my OH has found Germany to be the best option, LH drive, good prices and ok, we'll have to pay to import it, as we did with the others, but it won't come anywhere near the price of buying the same second hand car here in France.

As for warranty - we'll just have to keep our fingers crossed that we don't have to call upon it, although we are buying from an official dealer, so it may be transferable?

[YCCMB]

"As for warranty - we'll just have to keep our fingers crossed that we don't have to call upon it, although we are buying from an official dealer, so it may be transferable?"

You'll find that most warranties on new cars are, or should be pan-European now, in spite of anything the dealer may try to tell you to the contrary. It really shouldn't matter where you buy your car, if you take it back to a dealership in another country they'll service or repair it under warranty. We have had our Renault (bought and registered in the UK although not from a Renault dealership but a car supermarket - new) serviced in France under warranty since new - better quality of service and attention to detail than we'd've got in the UK and significantly cheaper! When the battery failed in the car, last year, we called out Renault Minute, the guy came and replaced the battery and we produced the documents, and no charge was made.

So, if you find it cheaper to buy elsewhere in Europe and import, the rest shouldn't be a problem

 

Jane

[LesLauriers]

For new car discounts in France take a look at www.ies.com .

[BJSLIV]

www.ies.com

Seems to be about electronic components..........

[Anton Redman]

For LHD new I would say it was worth the Hassle / Cost of buying in Spain, Belgium or Holland and reregistering.

Europe does not have the company car culture which floods UK market with 2,3, and 4 year old cars. Therefore RHD can be good value.

LHD imports to UK tend to be Porsche, BMW M?, Mercedes Benz Cosworths etc which are relatively cheaper in Germany. Japan is RHD. BoR cars ex Germany are now few and far between.

Except for French manufactured high mileage RHD I would source in France.  

[Patf]

There are dealers in UK who sell french reg. lhd cars. We bought ours in UK and they took our UK car in part exchange. It had belonged to someone who had lived in France and returned to UK. Then all it needed was to get the carte gris changed, and insured of course. Does anyone know if the opposite exists? ie a dealer in France who sells rhd cars and will take your french car in part exchange? Pat.

[LesLauriers]

Try http://www.autoies.com/accueil.asp .