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driving car back to uk in middle of re-registering in France!


Alexn

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Hi,

I guess I know the answer to this one but hopefully posting anyway.

Have sent off for certificat of conformity for my car so I can get the controle technique done and re register the car in france. Already French insured, UK road tax and MOT has run out.

The certificate is taking a while to turn up, and now I need to drive back to the UK. If i dont get the full registration done in time (looking unlikely) have I got any chance of driving into the UK and if stopped, explaining 'it's ok that i have no road tax or MOT, I'm in the process of going French'??

Any ideas or ways around this one?

Thanks!

Alex

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If it is SORN'd then you cannot use it on the road in the UK without first taxing it, that really is all there is to it, you should also note though that SORN is only appropriate for a vehicle which is remaining in the UK, not for one being exported, so you have broken the rules on that one.

Declaring it exported actually means very little and is certainly not official, clearly anybody could do that and use it as an excuse. When you send the export slip from the V5 to DVLA all they will do is note that you have personally declared it as such but the definitive evidence that it has actually been exported only comes when the new country of registration returns the surrendered V5 as the are supposed to do under EU procedures.

Your French insurance will be a problem also as has been discussed here numerous times. To be valid in UK it has to be issued by a member of the UK MIB (Motor Insurance Bureau) and no French insurer that anybody has found so far is.

Unless you enjoy the thrill of the risk then unfortunately there is no way around this one.

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The first french vehicle we bought needed to go back to the UK to collect to some of our stuff but because it did not have the proper new carte grise with OH as new legal owner to leave France the answer was NO.This was from the prefecture themselves and from the french insurers. We did however get a carte grise sorted as a priority case within 48hrs of purchase but without that and the new plates fitted it was not legally allowed to leave french soil. Just a response from our own experience.
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[quote user="Alexn"]Hi,

Have sent off for certificat of conformity for my car so I can get the controle technique done and re register the car in france. Already French insured, UK road tax and MOT has run out.

[/quote]

With no MOT or CT I would be surprised if your French insurance is valid!

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When I registered my car in the early 90's I had to get the CT done within one month of getting french insurance which they give you always one month to get new carte grise etc anyway with ordinarily registered french vehicles. The CT was mandatory and AGF back then even reimbursed me for the new headlights fitted by VW.

All the papers had to be sent to the DRIRE including the import certificate by the fisc.We did not need a CdeC back then, just the original invoice for the vehicle and logbook. To the OP I would make sure your vehicle is completely re-immatriculated with ALL the correct paperwork before you even consider going anywhere because I doubt the insurance will want to know if anything happens and your papers are not in order.
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If you look at the SORN conditions you will see that the vehicle cannot legally be used on public roads anywhere (though who would know?) and certainly not in UK. In fact, it has to remain in UK while under SORN. So you need to get it officially exported ASAP.

There is a sort of way round your dilemma, and that is that the quitus fiscal (tax) form acts as a temporary registration document for a limited time while the French registration process is completed. Whether that allows you to take the vehicle outside France is debatable; I think that technically it does not. However, if your French insurance, CT etc are all in order, and you do get stopped, you can offer this explanation. It's highly unlikely that Mr Plod will be au fait with French law, so if he has sight of the official documents he may accept it (it worked for us, albeit several years back when you got an actual export certificate from DVLA instead of having to send in that little tear-off slip). On the other hand, there are some PCs (and some police forces) that seem to regard driving a foreign registered vehicle on British roads as a serious criminal offence, so you take your chance.

And if you should have an accident, then the insurance position could be extremely dodgy.

 

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[quote user="Will"]the quitus fiscal (tax) form acts as a temporary registration document for a limited time while the French registration process is completed. Whether that allows you to take the vehicle outside France is debatable; I think that technically it does not.[/quote]I believe Will is correct and regardless of anything else the fact that it is SORN'd is, of itself, enough to sink you outright with no futher questions.

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[quote user="AnOther"] I believe Will is correct and regardless of anything else the fact that it is SORN'd is, of itself, enough to sink you outright with no futher questions.[/quote]

Especially if the OP is considering returning to the UK by ferry ...

Sue [;-)]

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[quote user="suein56"][quote user="AnOther"] I believe Will is correct and regardless of anything else the fact that it is SORN'd is, of itself, enough to sink you outright with no futher questions.[/quote]
Especially if the OP is considering returning to the UK by ferry ...

Sue [;-)]
[/quote]Or via the tunnel where number plate scanning is now the norm. All registrations are scanned by the automatic barriers.  Don't know what happens if you go through the manned ones though.
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As I recall, even when you have been issued with your new number and have a temporary registration certificate from the Prefecture, you can drive in France with that but still aren't allowed to take the vehicle abroad until you have the actual carte grise.

Blaming the red tape in this case, when so many rules appear to have been broken, is a bit of a cop out methinks. SORN'd when not off the road? Driving around in a car with no MOT and no CT? Been in France long enough to change the insurance over but not made any headway in re-registering? Can't help wondering: did you have any intention of doing anything about re-registering, had you not needed to go back to the UK?
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"On the other hand, there are some PCs (and some police forces) that seem

to regard driving a foreign registered vehicle on British roads as a

serious criminal offence, so you take your chance."

I think this needs to be clarified, driving a foreign registered vehicle on British roads as a

serious criminal offence
with, by a UK resident.[:)]

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[quote user="EuroTrash"]Can't help wondering: did you have any intention of doing anything about re-registering, had you not needed to go back to the UK?[/quote]A tad harsh. Sure the OP has done some things wrong but truth is we don't know how long he has been in France with his car, nor how much tax and MOT it had left when he arrived, but he only joined the forum yesterday and did say that he was waiting for his C of C (maybe he didn't know he needed it now for a CT). French insurance can be got on day one so that is no indication.

He does at least appear to be making an effort which is a damn sight more than can be said for some [blink]

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True, AnO.  I remember very well the Skoda farce I participated in when the UK said I should get the thing from France and vice versa.  It took them well over a month to agree that we should get it from the UK and then several weeks to issue the d*mned thing even though it only took a day or two for them to bank my cheque[:@].  We hadn't expected to have to export the car but our buyer dropped out the day before our move to France.  It may not be the o/p's fault at all - give him a break.
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[quote user="gosub"]"On the other hand, there are some PCs (and some police forces) that seem

to regard driving a foreign registered vehicle on British roads as a

serious criminal offence, so you take your chance."

I think this needs to be clarified, driving a foreign registered vehicle on British roads as a

serious criminal offence
with, by a UK resident.[:)]

[/quote]

Googling 'Operation Andover' and looking up the Opas case discussions on this forum should provide the necessary clarification.

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