Hi I am looking for either some advice or a rope so that I can go hang myself in the barn…let me explain, I have a car here which I brought over from the UK it a Mitsubishi shogun,I had some work done on the car,i handed over the car and the log book to the garage who repaired the car but never returned the log book, when I came to register the car I noticed the logbook was missing,I could not go back to the garage as the proprietor had died.
I contacted the Dvla but they would only give me a certificate of permanent export, now I am being told that the prefecture will not accept this document as there are details on the logbook which are not on the certificate so I am stuck between the devil and the deep blue…anyone have any thoughts …or should I just go get the rope…
OK , this sounds a bit of a cock-up. A writer asked about the logbook being behind the sun visor which is common in France and I thought about the late garage owners next of kin or even his lawyer. Two trains of thought here one is to go to the Police in France who are handling the poor mans case and the other is to get in-touch with the AA or RAC if you are a member and get their legal bods on it. If you have to go to a legal beagle here it may cost you a fortune . Good luck
Hi thanks for all the input …the car was repaired here and the log book is not in the car and the garage owner committed suicide ( nothing to do with me )can’t get a replacement log book as it is registered as being exported permanently the details as far as I can see are are all the relevant ones on the car reg number chassis etc …don’t know what to do for the best…
:~) best idea!
Hi Steve,
Did you have the repairs done in France? If so, it's a long shot, but have you checked behind the sun visor? On a couple of occasions, I have had work done by my local garage and when I thought they hadn't given me back the carte grise I went back to collect it, only to find out they had put it behind the sun visor. I really kicked myself the second time, as I should have remembered! (to some of the other readers, I hope my spelling and grammar are ok?) ;-)
You need a new log book that is issued by UK authorities. There is no other way! If you can't obtain this log book you can not identify the car as your rightful property.
Good morning I slept well - unaware of the effect of my contribution. Catherine, I think you will have seen what I was referring to. Steve Clinton was looking for help/advice just as the other guy had and someone who offered got a load of buckshot!
I assume the repairs were done here in the UK and theres no chance of getting the paper work from the garage or the people handling the owners estate. The best thing to do is chase up the DVLA I have heard of people even going down to Swansea and getting things sorted out down there. The DVLA can be hard work when it wants to be.
I think that a Shogun may have to go through DREAL/DRIRE anyway and for that you will need all sorts of information and paperwork, but also either the Log Book or Certificate.
What information is on a certificate of export. Surely it must describe the vehicle and give you some proof of ownership. You could take the Shogun to the DREAL? and get it homologated that way?
Who said the Prefecture would not accept the Certificate of Permanent Export? I have a Log Book and a Certificate in front of me, admittedly only for a moped, and they have the same information on them. I have read on other forums that some Certificates were accepted by their Prefectures and others were not. You will have to go to the Prefecture and explain the situation before being defeated. In France you ask three different officials and you will get three different answers, so wait till you get the right answer and run with it! Early days yet with your vehicle especially if you are going to immatriculate it so don't give up just yet!
Blunt putting it mildly, a couple of them are downright rude and offensive. Never used, but Tim Abady has often enough offered friendly advice and the comments about his spelling and grammar contribute nothing to the actual question being resolved.
some rather blunt comments about the errors on his site, Catharine. have a look here. Tim seems to have wisely not taken the bait but might be worth a look ;-)
Eeerm - abuse? On SFN? If so we missed that and I can but apologise. Can you point me to the post in question please Roger? Thanks!
And yes, I would fully agree with your endorsement!
If the car is still registered in the UK then it will be registered to a UK address. Declare the logbook lost and ask for a replacement, which will be sent to the UK address.
Tim Abady - a member - tried to offer help to someone with a car purchase problem and for his pains got a lot of abuse that I read a couple of hours ago. I have absolutely no axe to grind and I haven't seen Tim for years but I do know he is bi-lingual despite what I read here and is also experienced in running a business here in France.
You could do a lot worse than try him. He may be able to help you find the missing logbook. From what I saw his rates seemed reasonable.