Buying a car in France

[spiceoflife]

We are thinking of travelling to France to buy a car, driving it back to the UK and then using it for our big departure to a new life in May! Is there any paperwork we need to provide when buying a car in France? How easy is it to fly over, buy a car and drive it back? All help gratefully received.

[Âme]

I bought a car when I arrived in france, can't remember any particular paperwork... except the obvious: some method of payment!  A credit card probably won't cover it, unless you have an exceptionally high upper limit.

The garage organised the carte grise (took a few days) and collected me from home to sign the docs & collect the car.

I found that cars are much more expensive in France. Second hand vehicles hold their value better, so buying a LHD (from e-bay) is probably a smarter option. Then you can sell it, in France, in a few year's time and get back what you paid for it.

Bonne chance, it's an exciting time for you. [:)]

[spiceoflife]

I have seen some cars on French ebay. Haven't managed to find anything suitable in the UK and thought it might be easier to buy a French registered car in France.

Is it possible to buy a car and drive it away the same day?

[AnOther]

There is a fundamental and fatal flaw in your plan, as a UK resident you are not permitted to drive a foreign registered car, so if you bought a car in France and took it to UK apart from driving it from the port to your home you could not legally drive it again unless you UK registered it, clearly not a practical or economic proposition given the short time frame.

[RicandJo]

If it were me........and I had the opportunity to come over and bag a French car in preparation for my forthcoming move to France in two months time........I reckon I'd go ahead and get the car, declare myself French resident at that point and then drive the car back to uk 'to collect some stuff and tidy up loose ends'......[Www]

Just be sure to have your ferry booked to come back in case PC plod asks.........

Simples.

[AnOther]

How do you 'declare yourself' French resident and to whom ?

It will take far more than a ferry ticket to convince plod that you are not a Brit winging it, the presumption will be that you are and the onus will be entirely upon you to prove otherwise. Somehow I can't see making a stand and uttering 'I declare myself French resident' quite cutting it [;-)]

[RicandJo]

I just can't see it being a problem to be honest. Like I said - that's what I'd do. What anybody else would do is up to them.

[spiceoflife]

So......if you give a french address when buying the car, there is nothing to stop you bringing it back to the UK and using it for the trip back to France??

[AnOther]

You do not have to give any address when you buy a car in France, you do when you register it, which incidentally you are supposed to do within 15 days of purchase if you wish to continue driving it, another rule you won't be complying with if you take it to UK for a couple of months.

In any case none of that is relevent as far as UK are concerned, it's carrying foreign plates and therefore as a UK resident you are not allowed to drive it - end of story. You can dance around that as much as you want but like it or not that is the plain fact of the matter.

[RicandJo]

I think you'd have to give a French address - French insurance won't insure it to a UK address and vice versa UK insurance won't insure to a French address!

Like I said that's what I'd do but maybe I've been in France too long and have developed their 'rules are only there for guidance' approach...........or did I learn that in Italy............ :)