still use your UK car?

[ChezShells]

We have been in France now for about a month and my UK car tax runs out end of sept as does the insurance, should I get french insurance, it also has a private plate and would prefer to keep this (i know i cant really), how long have you kept your UK car with UK plates, basically how long can I get away with it

[zeb]

>We have been in France now
>for about a month and
>my UK car tax runs
>out end of sept as
>does the insurance, should I
>get french insurance, it also
>has a private plate and
>would prefer to keep this
>(i know i cant really),
>how long have you kept
>your UK car with UK
>plates, basically how long can
>I get away with it

Think you have twelve months to register it in France.

I'm sure you can drive around for years, like others do, with French insurance and CT. Bit sad though if you have moved here permanently and want to drive around your village looking like a conspicuous Brit! You can always put your numberplate up on a wall, some friends have!

regards....helen

[Teamedup]

Well Swansea will still want their tax and bill you accordlingly whether you are there or not. To avoid this then, I believe it is they who would issue you with an export certificate.

If a french person, or we, in fact, move then we have to register the new address and change our carte grise within a very short amount of time, I'm not sure whether it is a couple of weeks or a month, if we don't then they will be fined.

[Mops]

If you want to hang on to your personalised number plate, assuming that you will eventually, register your car over here, you can do so by contacting the DVLA and paying a retention fee - this involves a one off fee of about 75 (it may have gone up) and an annual fee of 25 per year for as long as you like. We have done this for several years until recently when my husband decided to buy an MG in Britain and has since had the plates put on it. Just in case any of those 'do gooders' out there start to jump on my case - we do have a home in Britain, our UK plated car is fully insured with a 12 month green card through SAGA insurance for use over here as long as we like and a fully paid up Road Fund Tax in the UK. It is perfectly legal to keep a UK registered car here provided that a) you pay the UK road tax and b) you manage to get cover in France (there are a few companies registered with Lloyds who will do this) or as we have 12 month green card from a British based insurer.

Angela

[Jc]

Not a do-gooder but the small print on your insurance policy requires the insured to ensure that the vehicle is in a roadworthy and legal condition;if this is not complied with,then the vehicle is not insured.In the UK and for short visits to the EU this means insurance,road tax and,if old enough MOT-in France the equivalent is insurance,registration with your local commune and,if old enough,Control Technique.Anything less than this and any other combination are not legal tho' you may get away with it but not be fully insured.

[Primrose]

If you are going to live in France on a permanent basis, why not transfer the registration and have the benefit of not having to pay road tax, an MOT that costs less and lasts for two years and not one, and in my opinion having worked in the insurance industry for over 25 years, cheaper insurance cover. Most if not all insurance policies for motor insurance issued in France, give an annual green card, so if you did want to go back to the UK with your car, then you are covered.

With regards to the private plate, just get a transfer/holding cert from the DVLA and pay the fees for as long as you like.

Sorry to bring this up, but, could someone also please advise WHY it is necessary for other forum users to get into "Slanging matches" when the idea for this site is just to swap info and help each other out. It sounds just like kids being back at in the playground at school, saying my Dad's bigger than your Dad!!!

Kind regards

David and Sam (Dept 37)

[Lagaragiste]

as a British owned French registered garage who import U.K registered cars and put them onto French plates,we may be able to shed a little light on the whole vehicle registration thing.If the vehicle is to be permantly resident in France it must comply with French law which states:
Full French insurance is required(carte vert)
any french insurance company will tell you that the vehicle must be on French plates within 6 months
It must have a Controle Technique(a u.k mot is not valid)
The vehicle must be registered in the Dept it is resident in
There is currently a "clamp down" in progress over with regard to vehicles not registered on the French system (for the reason that it must be traceable by the authorities)