DRIRE dont recognise a Vauxhall Vectra!

[dave21478]

Well, thats a bit of a pain!

Whenever I have registered cars, I have applied for a certificate of conformity from the manufacturer. Costs vary but £100 is an aveage. I have got a Vectra nice and cheap so am about to register it, so thought I would give the DRIRE route a go. Filled out the form and sent it with the cheque away last week. A couple of days ago a lady from the drire phoned up and asked what size of tyres the car had (this isnt asked on the form) so I told her. Today I got a letter back from them, including my original form, V5, cheque, envelope and everything I sent to them saying that they are unable to identify my car!

"Il n`a pas ete possible d`identifier celui-ci a un type receptionne en France ou en Europe"  

Its a 1997 Vectra 2.5 SRi. Hardly a rare and unusual model I would have thought, but over the last few weeks I have been looking out for cars on the road and I have seen less than 10 vectras in use! they have all been low-spec 1.8 or diesel models too. I have never seen an SRi or GSi variant here at all. Opels in general arent too popular but vectras in particular are really not commonly seen round here.

I have just had a look at an online insurance quote thing, and choosing the car from a list....that year and a 2.5 engine only lists the CDX model. The CDX and SRI are indentical mechanically, with the only differences being more supportive seats in the SRi, different fabric patterns and a different boot spoiler, which was optional anyway.

Seems a bit nit-picky to me, but there doesnt seem to be any way or point in arguing the case. The VIN plate on the car has the No de reception CE, which I put on the form, I thought this was supposed to identify the car easilly?

 

Ah well, off to the manfacturer I go....Has anyone had any joy from an Opel dealership here or am I best going direct to their head office?

 

[Benjamin]

Not all models are available in all markets. It wouldn't surprise me if it's the 2.5 engine that's causing the trouble.

Just as an example, we have an automatic diesel Focus. You can't get one of these in the UK.

[Ron Avery]

The Vauxhall brand does not exist in France, try OPEL Vectra

[dave21478]

Thanks for stating the obvious [;-)], but yes i tried that.

They refered me to GM France for the approval certificate, so it seems to make no difference which subsidiary company badge is on it, this specific model wasnt sold here. The thing is, the letter states that not only was it not sold in France it wasnt sold in Europe but it clearly was sold in UK, there are loads of them on the roads there.

 

[Sunday Driver]

If your 1997 Vectra has a No de reception CE, then it looks as if it was one of the first to be build under EU Whole Vehicle Type Approval rules, so the DRIRE should have found it listed on the centre national de réception des véhicules (CNRV) database under it's CE number.  It may be that they have mis-identified it or you transcribed the CE number incorrectly.

In any event, it should qualify for an EU certificate of conformity which you can obtain from Vauxhall UK.  If so, that should enable you to register the car here.  However, the insurance is another matter and you may have difficulty in matching your particular model to their vehicle database.

 

[bigears]

hi

don't follow ron's advice, the car is a vauxhall, don't be tempted to misrepresent it as an opel.

 

[Ron Avery]

i'll maker it simple for youu bigears the op posted that his car was not on DRIRE database so i suggested he try it as an opel not to misrepresent anything.isnt unpunctuated prose hard to read

[bigears]

I've a nissan van, if I tell them its really a renault the drire may be able to nod it through. 

[Will]

Somewhat useless piece of information: the Renault Master, Nissan Interstar and Vauxhall/Opel Movano are virtually identical vans. Even so, I can't really see anybody getting away with getting an attestation from DRIRE for their Vauxhall on the grounds that it's a Renault.[:P]

 

[allanb]

The manufacturer is General Motors and the model name is Vectra.  Would that work?  It certainly would not be misrepresentation.

On the other hand, I don't know anything about DRIRE procedures or its database.

[Twingoman]

Sounds like it's more to do with the specific model rather than the manfacturer.  Looks like the SRi model was solely for the UK market.  I've done a search for Opel Vectra SRi on Google and it only came up with cars for the Irish market.

I'm pretty sure I've seen a couple of Vauxhalls in the past that have been re-registered on french plates.

[tracteurtom]

Of course they don't recognise it, the great JC sorted that one out for

Vauxhall when they lanuch the Vectra.  I'm falling asleep just thinking

about ........those .....cars zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..

Call it want you want, the whole thing about registing UK spec cars in

France is a farce, just do want they ask.  Why not change the badges to

Opel or better still remove the badges - that'll confuse 'em !

[dave21478]

The problem is that the chassis number, which is asked for on all forms, corresponds to a certain make and model. Its irrelevant what the badges on the car say. ( i have taken all the badges off the boot anyway to confuse the locals!) When checking this chassis number they find that it corresponds to a model never sold in France. My gripe is that externally and mechanically, along with the engine power, it is identical to a model that was sold in Europe, which was called a CDX Sport, plus, my car HAS a CE number, so should be easy to get the paperwork for, but this also isnt recognised by DRIRE for some reason. Little point in arguing though I would imagine. Nitpicking over the details its what the French "system" is about isnt it? ;)

I have contacted GM France now for a certificate so will see what they say. Double the cost of the drire route though :(

 

[Ron Avery]

Dave

Why couldn't you get your Vauxhall vectra type approved by DRIRE? As it is close to a make already on the database would it have been a fairly painless exercise? Isn't that the route that you have to take if your car or motorhome isn't on their data base, or  is it for a car, as drawn out a process as for a motorhome? 

 One good thing that would have come out of it had you persevered with DRIRE and had your car type type approved,  all the other Vectra owners would have been able to pay the reduced DRIRE fee, have you no consideration for your fellow road users[:D]

[dave21478]

Well, seeing as they cant find it on their list, to get it individually type approved (french version of the uk SVA test I would assume) would be possible I suppose, but I would also imagine it to be a hassle. As for others...well, it would only be usefull if they also have a pre-facelift vectra SRi V6 manual saloon. A limited market, I would say.

 

[Ron-sur-Marne]

The DRIRE in Clermont -Ferrand didn't recognise my year 2000 Vauxhall Vectra 2.5 V6 CDX Estate (not a model sold in France), but once I got the "attestation d'identification" from GM France, which cost 120 euros, I had no problem getting the Carte Grise, which says it is an OPEL.

GM identified the car as an Opel, even though the information I sent them clearly said it was a Vauxhall. The Control Technique also clearly called it a Vauxhalll as well.  It seems that that has no significance for the prefecture - its the VIN number (chassis number in old language) that matters on all the documents.

I didn't have to change any badges, and anyway, they have no significance in the registration process - I could put Ferrari badges on it if I wanted to.

I don't know what database the DRIRE use, but it seems a bit limited, as I had the same problem with a very ordinary 1999 rhd Mondeo 1.8 - DRIRE couldn't recognise it, but the attestation from Ford France did the trick. 

If the model has a European acceptance number, then it can be registered in France - I assume that the DRIRE only use a database of French-issued CEE numbers, but this is pure conjecture on my part.

Good Luck

Ron