I haven’t recently bought a car in France; didn’t realise I had implied that. Had it done because it was due!
Thanks, Anna.
No need for what, Nellie?
Thank you. It’s surprising that a car with a serious DOF problem did pass a CT as there’s not much room for error in the emissions tests. Perhaps you should enquire how that happened at your test centre. A car that doesn’t drive properly would normally be evident during a test drive which is a normal part of buying second hand.
From my experience of America a lot of the cars on the road needed a fair bit more than a valet service. It’s interesting to hear that Australians are influenced by such detail.
Frankly, I do not think any of the above come under the CT except the DPF…if the pollution test is not within guidelines. Does the CT say the pollution is over the top?? or what… why do you think it needs a new DPF??
and unless the accelerator pedal did its "spasmodic " thingy while the Tester had his foot on the pedal… how is the Tester supposed to know it even happens “spasmodically”…
If a car owner has experienced this “spasmodic” happening… the car owner is responsible for getting it looked at and sorted… IMO.
Locking and USB’s are nothing to do with the safe usage on the road…IMO
but it might be useful for Lee… if we could find a list of just what IS covered in the CT… thinking about it… it might be useful for everyone…
I’m sorry but I’m only going on what you’ve told us. Either I don’t understand Australian or you’ve missed out something.
Thanks, Stella.
I won’t write more because I’ll be repeating myself! Am not sure why Nellie has taken offence but maybe she’ll let me know.
The CT is a legal requirement every 2 years and max 6 months before selling. Having one makes your car legal on the road. We know what is on the CT and it isn’t exhaustive, people advertise the vehicle’s CT status purely because it is a legal requirement. An intermittent fault may not be picked up, because (you guessed it) it is intermittent. Things like no brakes or an oil leak will be picked up. There are things they tell you at the end of your test as well as the forms they fill in, I have always found them helpful.
As an aside, we aren’t massively bothered on how clean a car is, it won’t make a difference to the price. (We don’t go in for home staging etc either.)
We aren’t hugely interested in how people in the US or Australia do administrative things, or only anecdotally.
Have already listed the faults and, no, I haven’t been had. My questions were posted so that I’ll be better informed when I do buy and sell…when I get the answers.
As I explained very early on in this thread the central locking and faulty radio (usb in your case) would not be part of the CT. Would they be included in an Australian test?
Nellie didn’t take offence but read your post as being quite snidey to David and Stella. Nellie apologises if she misunderstood
Your car has to have 18 months left on the CT when selling, not six.
You have to have had the CT done less than 6 months before you sell it, is that not what I said? Damn it has been a long day at work 
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I suppose I could be pedantic and point out that I asked what the faults were before you listed them. I thought details were important.
Sorry it’s probably me. The 18+6= 24 and the 6+18=24 always causes confusion. 
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I can only speak from experience of first importing my uk car…and it being looked after by my local garage and then when it eventually developed problems buying a used French car from the very same local garage…
When my uk car ran into problems I debated with myself whether to try and import another car from uk…and briefly scanned private sellers here but knew that I’d be taking a stab in the dark…
My local family run garage is wonderful…a service that would be impossible to match in uk…
In fact I was there today…they answered my emailed sos on Sunday just gone …”if you ever have a problem”…he said today…don’t leave it to email…just call…you only have to leave your name on the voicemail and I’ll be straight there…”
He understands (or tries to…!)…my mangled French and imperfect tenses and between us we spoke about all sorts today…
I took them some chocolates and a bottle of red wine…he didn’t want to take them but I insisted he did and we all shared artisan dark chocolates…He asked about my kids…he’s met two of them… and said “did you drive to Dinard or did he…??? when will your son next visit…I like him…”
“I think it will probably be May time…” I replied…”we’ll call in to see hi…” x 
Lee… if you have the time and the inclination… you could always chat at the local CT Testing Station. Best to find a DEKRA one… 
Often they have paperwork/handouts which explain what is tested and why… actually quite interesting. I used to gather such stuff for newcomer Brits…but it is a few years now and my stock is long-gone…
“1. when considering buying a used vehicle, is it normal to have it checked over as the CT check seems rudimentary to me? And who do you ask to do it if you’re as incompetent and unknowledgeable about vehicles as I am?
2. when selling a vehicle privately, what responsibility does one have after the sale; meaning, of course, what recourse does the buyer have?
3. when preparing a used vehicle for sale in Australia, we had it what we called “detailed”; in other words, it was made to look spic and span inside and out. Is that done in France and, if so, what is the term used here?”
i. Up to the buyer.
ii. None.
iii. No.
DPF, not DOF. The reason is that a CT does not include a diagnostic check.
Re Australia and detailing, it’s a question of first impressions…not really a detail. Our first impression of people has, so I’ve read, a significant effect on how we feel about people going forward (a phrase I do not like); the same with a house for sale.