Selling a UK registered car in France

[Angie]

We have an 8 year old van which we brought over to France in February. We will use it during our next holiday in May but after that would prefer to sell it in France rather than drive it back to the UK. Is it OK to sell a UK registered vehicle in France as it is or would I need to get it re-registered before putting it up for sale? A French chap in the village has expressed an interest but he's not sure of the procedure either! Thank you

[andyh4]

Legally a Frenchman living in France cannot own and drive a non-French vehicle in France.

This would seem to point to you having to make all the alterations required, getting a CT, insurance and registering the vehicle before you can sell it.

However, if you can find a Belgian/Dutch/German neighbour who wants the van you could sell it to them, provided their main home is not in France.

Strange old world.

[YCCMB]

I don't know the answer, but I'm just trying to go through the logic.

If you sell a UK registered car or van and the vehicle isn't in the UK, presumably the sale will still have to go through the DVLA and if so, to all intents and purposes, it'll STILL be registered in the UK.

Thus, whoever buys it will have to re-register it somewhere, unless they take it to the UK themselves. Which means it'll need a Certificate of Conformity, Quitus Fiscal, Controle technique etc. for France ..and presumably the equivalent thereof for any other country they might take it to ?

Sounds like it would be a can of worms if you just sold it in France without doing anything, whatever the nationality of the buyer. I don't know the answer to this, but I wonder how the DVLA would treat a request for the issue of a new V5 to a buyer in France? Or, more complicated, to a buyer from , say, Germany (using Andy's hypothesis) keeping the vehicle at an address in, say, France?

Someone is going to have to re-register it somewhere......

[ventodue]

Hi Angie,

1.  First off, as Andy says, if you are French resident*, then you had one month from the date you imported the van to re-register it here in France.  As you didn't, you can now cop a fine of 135€.

Go: https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F1050

2.  If you are UK resident, then you can use the vehicle here on UK plates, normally for a period of up to 6 months but in any event not for more than 12, provided you continue to comply with UK statutory requirements (tax, MOT) and whatever your insurance policy says.

Afterwards, you can sell it on to a French resident.  To do so, you would have to make the necessary declaration to the DVLC that the vehicle had been permanently exported.  And your buyer would have to go thru the necessary steps to get it re-registered here: VAT clearance, technical conformity, CT, etc.

* Note: this applies to all French residents, not just to French nationals.  Andy's post may be read to imply otherwise.

HTH

Craig

[ventodue]

[quote user="You can call me Betty"] <snip>If you sell a UK registered car or van and the vehicle isn't in the UK, presumably the sale will still have to go through the DVLA and if so, to all intents and purposes, it'll STILL be registered in the UK.

[/quote]

No, it's relatively painless.  When you sell the vehicle, you hand over the V5C to the new owner and declare the vehicle to the DVLA as being  'Permanently exported'.  They take it off their 'live' database.  Then, when the new owner applies to re-register it here, he hands over the old V5C to the French authorities.  They make a check with the DVLA that the vehicle is no longer 'live' in the UK and 'Bob's Your Uncle'  ...

Craig

[YCCMB]

Well, thanks for enlightening me (and the OP). Sounds almost painless!

[AnOther]

Both posts by ventodue contain disinformation !

2. 

If you are UK resident, then you can use the vehicle here on UK plates,

normally for a period of up to 6 months but in any event not for more

than 12, provided you continue to comply with UK statutory requirements

(tax, MOT) and whatever your insurance policy says.

It's actually 6 months in any 12 and regardless of what your UK policy says you are insured for minimum 3rd party risks for the duration of the policy, non compliance with other rules, such as having a current MOT, cannot and will not alter that.

Afterwards,

you can sell it on to a French resident.

Legally a French resident is not permitted to purchase or drive a non French registered vehicle.

When you sell the vehicle, you hand over the V5C to the new owner and

declare the vehicle to the DVLA as being  'Permanently exported'.  They

take it off their 'live' database.  Then, when the new owner applies to

re-register it here, he hands over the old V5C to the French

authorities.  They make a check with the DVLA that the vehicle is no

longer 'live' in the UK and 'Bob's Your Uncle'  ...

The French authorities make no such checks, following the change of registration - which happens on the day of application - they eventually return the V5 to DVLA and that is what triggers the change of status to 'Exported'.

What you propose is potentially fraught with problems for a French buyer, not least of all because CoC's for commercial vehicles are normally territorial and not EU wide which could see the buyer n your doorstep demanding his money back and you wouldn't have a leg to stand on.

If you French register it not only will you be able to sell it 'clean' but will also get a much better price for it.

[Angie]

Thanks all for your informative and interesting responses. I will definitely go down the "legal" route (there are several French villagers driving around in UK registered vehicles, one guy having had a range rover for 3 years and it still has UK plates!!). Our van is properly MOT'd and insured and we do not currently live in France. The cost of taking it back, petrol, tolls, ferry crossing etc. outweighs the cost of sorting our proper French registration so shall do that.

[ventodue]

[quote user="AnOther"]Both posts by ventodue contain disinformation ![/quote]

Thank you to AnOther for clarifying certain nuances in what I wrote, none of which I would contest.  The only minor correction I should offer, however, because it is relevant to the OP's question, is:

[quote user="AnOther"]Legally a French resident is not permitted to purchase <snip> a non French registered vehicle.[/quote]

Hmm.  Not quite.  A French resident may PURCHASE a non-French registered vehicle.  What he/she is NOT permitted to do is to to drive it on foreign plates, notwithstanding the behaviour of certain of your French neighbours, Angie.