Buying car in France-oops no EU licence

Cars / Motoring / Insurance
16

Grace a vous Sandcastle.My UK licence expires in 2026 which effectively stymies me from exchanging licence so am caught between two stools. I raised your point with the dealership whose response was that Brexit arrangement renders licence good for driving but not for registering :woozy_face: I am emailing Mark Rimmer and hope he can hit on a solution which I will post here.

17

When it comes to France… you are allowed to live and love… :rofl:

18

Thanks Tim. Agreed so am hoping a solution is not too far away.Woll post outcome on site.

Regards,

Dafydd.

19

A UK licence is valid here but it needs to have been issued before the beginning of 2021. I am not sure whether this refers to the date the document was issued or the date you passed your test.

20

Time for a literal lateral thinking…

The simplest solution will be to incur a speeding fine as once you have received a avis de contravention you are obliged to exchange your licence. :thinking: :rofl:

If you pass a speed camera in an 80 zone at 86 (as shown on your GPS) you’ll receive an infraction notice for exceeding the limit by 1kph. This incurs a 45€ fine and 1 point on your (yet to be issued) licence. If you don’t incur any further infractions, the point quickly disappears - it’s after either 2 or 6 months.

21

Ha,thanks Brian.That had crossed mimd as a longer-stop solution if all else fails.:smirk:

22

Thanks Mark. Both licence was issued and test passed before 2021.

Regards,

Dafydd.

1 Like
23

You speak as an expert on these details Brian…do tell us more :slight_smile:

24

Go to another dealer with more experience to get registration done…60€ well spent perhaps.

25

Nothing much to tell. Caught at 5 in the morning just south of Dieppe. I had been in a 90 zone and missed the sign that dropped the limit to 80. Receiving a speeding ticket for 1kph over the limit seems harsh but (a) it’s the law and (b) it meant I could change my licence!

2 Likes
26

I think there are trap zones on the Southern side of Dieppe on the routes Brits are diverted to from the ferry for a reason. Jus’ sayin’ cough! cough! as a longstanding Dieppe ferry user

27

I’ve just imported my UK vehicle and received the carte grise, and that was also after sharing a copy of my UK licence, which I also can’t change due to the Brexit arrangements. In addition, I also recently recently received a carte grise for a quad that I purchased in France.

I’d hasten to add that before the last and final application, I somehow got involved with some ‘cowboys’ located somewhere in Northern France who were applying for a carte grise on my behalf and they were adamant that I couldn’t get a carte grise with a UK licence. I swiftly ditched them after finding out that this was not correct, then received my carte grise in days, after having wasted months with the cowboys.

My advice would be to go through Mark Rimmer and I’m sure you wont be disappointed.

2 Likes
28

Thanks Jane. I’m giving dealer one last go…:smirk::+1:

29

Can anyone explain why you have to show your driving licence when registering a car in your name?Is this part of the new ANTS online system?I have registered several cars here in France under the good old system when you could talk to humans,i can,t recall ever having to show a licence.

30

As I mentioned, I registered 2 vehicles. For one I had to share my uk licence, the other I didn’t. Re-registering the ‘French’ quad did not require it.

31

What about doing it through an SCI?

The part where they call it a ‘scheme’ is a bit worrying (here in the States that has shady implications) but since my property purchase will be an SCI I plan to have the company buy and register the vehicle.

32

Thanks Letsmile
Very helpful.At the moment they’re still digging their heels in - insisting that they won’t agree to outsource registration.It’s a Breton dealership for one of the main French marques.As you’d expect,HQ is not contact-friendly so am going to try phoning them first thing tomorrow…Will keep posting. :+1:

1 Like
33

I wasn’t aware that any Dealer could force a client to use their Registration Service… :roll_eyes: so I hope you get them to see sense and let you get on with it elsewhere.

(but… are you seriously expecting HQ to be open on Saturday ??? :crossed_fingers:)

34

Ha no Stella.My post was drafted yesterday but I was grounded for excess posting. Am new to this so is a curve.Thanks for your interest.Will update anon.

1 Like
35

Seconded, in Spades.