Hi Sunbeam, Could you inquire from your friends where they lease from? Renting last time I was there was roughly $1K a month and the only short term lease I saw was the Eurodrive at even more. We plan on maxing out our 90 day stays at least the first few years so thats $6K I could put towards a purchased vehicle each year and be money ahead.
If I recall… they used to rent but found it cheaper to lease… and they’ve been doing it for some years now…
They’re out at the moment… I’ll ask later and zap back to you.
You can rent from most supermarket’s like Super U for around €300 a month, also have a look at Bipi Auto.
https://www.ulocation.com/accueil/1-vehicules/2-tourisme.html
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Just had a word
Seems he works out the best deal (each trip) for the car of his choice, by checking several sites… including
TTCar
Kemwell
Peugeot Open Europe
Renault Eurodrive
Thoroughly enjoys getting a brand new vehicle each time … with no worries or extras…
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Thank you both. @Griffin36 @Stella for the advice. I will check all those sites, I will probably be renting again for this next months trip but certainly feel like a purchase will be a better long term solution.
Don’t forget the extra costs if you buy:
registration (one off)
insurance (annual)
maintenance (as necessary)
control technique (every 2 years on vehicles over 4 years old)
Being in the process of changing cars my experience suggests this is not the time to buy anything. New cars are in very short supply because of supply problems and, as a result, the price of second hand cars is ridiculously high. You could rent cars for your 90/180 days for 12-15 years for the same prive as a banger.
And that’s forgetting the legality of it. (We’re picking our purchase up on Friday and garagiste has asked us to bring copy of carte de séjour, ID, driving licence, proof of domicile as well as insurance cover as they are doing the carte gris for us as I’m too lazy).
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Hi there stumbled onto this thread, perhaps my situation is unique.
I am an American on holiday here in France I bought a 1931 Terrot Motorcycle (vintage/classic) I want to send it back to the states how can I or do I have register it to take it back to the US?
You need to be a french resident to register a motorbike here, so you would probably better off asking the relevant US authorities about importing
Ok well that’s strange because how can I take a car out of the country if it’s not registered in my name? I have the bill of sale and all the paperwork, I don’t understand how I could take a vehicle out of the country if it isn’t registered to me. I’ll try calling today to the US. Seems really bizarre
We have bought cars outside France and brought said vehicles into France. .(with a “cover note” from our Insurers and Invoice from the Seller)…
Had the vehicles officially Imported and Registered here, in our name, as we are French Residents.
Something similar would presumably work for you… France and US - wise. You just need to check things out…
ok thank you very much i appreciate that§
An original bill of sale and the french registration document (cancelled) and of course the necessary customs documents should be all you need. Speak to the shipping agent, they will tell you what is required. Some years ago I imported 2 Mack RW’s from New Jersey to germany and all the US customs required was the bills of sale, the US registration and a copy of my passport. The shipping agent did the rest.
I know this thread might be a bit old but I myself am still wrestling with what to do for a vehicle while in France.
So far this year I have spent about $2K in car rental fees and next year I expect to triple my time at least.
I read this thread with interest several times trying to figure out what to do and recently discovered a website catering to people buying Motorhomes (Caravans) in France. How does the vehicle registration scheme work in practice and what does it cost? | Euro Camping Cars
It appears that they have figured out the workaround for not having any ‘domicile’ at all.
Since many people buying second homes in France do so through an SCI it certainly seems like an option. I don’t know if one could add the vehicle to an existing SCI or need to create a new one but I am going to look into it.
I thought I would post the link as I think many people come to SF for info and if they use the handy search option…
For info, an SCI has to haves 2 associés when it’s set up although you can later transfer everything to one associé see here for more 
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Very interesting and useful website. Thanks for the link.
I was thinking on the lines of using an existing SCI that owns the 2nd home in France to purchase the vehicle. Maybe consider the vehicle as a tool used for the maintenance of the 2nd home or something along those lines? I’m not sure if that will work or if a completely new SCI needs to be created for the vehicle.