Yes - on 3 occasions. Westfield 7s seem to slip through the net but the Eleven meets a strict ‘Non’! I have been offered the Dreal route but with a likely cost of 3-5000€ and a 25% chance of success I’m not keen.
this vehicle did not slip through the net 
3 Likes
It’s Led Zeppelin on tour.
2 Likes
I can relate to that.
Bought a Mercedes estate in 1989 complete with seats 6 and 7 rear facing in the boot as we had 4 children. It really was a sedate looking car.
It had grandad and sports mode. In sports mode it left everyone standing.
Our lasting memory of that car was collecting in from the factory in Germany all paid for by the cost of delivery by the franchise, those were the days.
2 Likes
There were indeed. The “collect at factory option”. That was probably a W124, the last of the great Mercedes, built by engineers not cost accountants 
I had one in South Africa and we travelled all over SA, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia on dirt roads and she never missed a beat.
3 Likes
Who refused you in the past?
Have you taken it through FFVE? I heard that if an XI is made with the original BMC parts and roadworthy, it stands a good chance without DREAL. The trouble with the XI is that many have been modified by Lotus wanabees.
Hi Adam and thanks for the suggestion.
I’ve tried FFVE as the donor car was a 1971 Midget. However, after construction, the Eleven passed its UK SVA test in 2004 so that’s the date on the V5C, and the date that denies its acceptable by FFVE.
Ah, ok, so technically the car needs a CofC.
i have a similar problem trying to bring in a Vegantune Evante. Despite it being a 70s design, it was made from original molds in 1994 when the company tried to revive itself.
I wonder if you have a case to get DVLA change the date based on the parts age and not the SVA date?
I live in Charente, and I feel like every time I go out, I take my life in my own hands - just yesterday I went around a corner on a small rural road and a huge lorry was completely on my side of the road. There was a junction on my right which allowed me to slam on the brakes and leave the road to avoid a head on collision or from throwing my car into a ditch.
There are bad British drivers too, and forgetful ones. I’ve twice witnessed UK cars driving on the wrong side of the road, and had to flash and horn them like a maniac before they tried to go around the corners. A nearby biker (originally from the UK) was seriously injured not long ago when he drove on the wrong side of the road, took a corner and came up against a vehicle.
Probably my worst experience was last year. I was on a long rural road, with a van behind me. A car flew up on a side junction from my left with two men, probably early 30’s. I thought they were going to pull out on me, but thankfully stopped last second. They followed behind the van that was behind me, and after about 2-3 minutes they overtook us both, although they could easily have done so earlier if they’d so wanted. I was doing about 70/75kmh in an 80km/h zone. After getting past us, the driver slammed on his brakes as hard as possible, as the car snaked, barely holding onto the road, tyres smoking, and rubber marks everywhere. I had just enough time to apply my brakes, before they sped off. I wasn’t tail gating whatsoever and hadn’t done anything to initiate such a reaction, but subsequently discovered I wasn’t a target, they were just doing it for fun - maybe drugs or alcohol was involved… As I went around the corner, I saw them do the same thing (no-one else was on that stretch of road). As they raced off, around the next corner I could see a plume of smoke and could smell the rubber. It was obvious their tyres won’t going to take much more of it, and I said to my wife, I’m not going to stop and help them if they crash… A few minutes later I could see vehicles passing an accident, and some people stopping. As I passed, their car was in a ditch (thank goodness no-one else was involved), tyres completely blown out. The passenger was out the car with his door open, and the driver was just sat there behind the wheel looking stunned like he couldn’t believe what just happened.
‘Bien fait pour leurs gueules’ as we charitably say. Very lucky nobody else was involved.
1 Like
I tried for about 3 years and got nowhere…
Have DREAL told you how much it will cost to go via them??? or are your figures guesswork.
I know several people in our commune who’ve successfully used them., but no idea what they paid…
(I merely helped to get the paperwork together and translate… )
That was an informal estimate by DREAL. They wouldn’t put it in writing though!
Hmm… might well be a guestimate of the total-process (Registration + DREAL) …
it’s certainly more expensive now to Register some vehicles as Prefectures are charging more (via ANTS)… depending on the engine size/pollution etc etc the price goes through the roof…
EDIT Might be worth checking what it costs to register said car … as in a few year’s time you might be able to go via FFVE for Classic Car… if it’s going to cost a bomb to Register it’s not worth the wait… if it’s cheap enough though… why not hold on a little longer… ??? I’d do a bit more checking, if it were my car…
1 Like
Thanks for the advice, Stella. I don’t believe that the car can be immatriculated via ANTS as it does not have a
CofC - just a UK-issued single vehicle type approval certificate (SVA), which, as I understand it, is only valid the the UK.
Is it still possible to register cars at the Prefecture? I thought that ANTS was now the only possible route but you obviously know much more about running classic cars in France than I do!
ANTS only, as you suggest.
Could you explain, please, Stella? I thought that to qualify for FFVE the vehicle had to be 30 years old. Has the threshold changed?
1 Like
Nope, still 30 years.
Beg pardon @_Brian misread the screen… yep 30 years…
what I meant about checking the costs is on the Prefecture/Government site which tells you how much such things as Registration (and all its bits and pieces) will cost you…
anyone should be able to find out such information… before they consider applying…
On the other hand… looking at your lovely car… it is very low to the ground and, from personal experience with similar cars… I think you might run into trouble/problems with the road surfaces…
If you really love the car… get yourself a cartrailer and transport the car to the many, many circuits in France and elsewhere… you can race it to your heart’s content… without the need for Registration (so not road legal)… just make sure you have it insured, of course…
We’ve done just that ourselves in past years… and have friends who still do this with their own beloved vehicles.
The registration costs don’t bother me - just the cost (and uncertainty) of DREAL.
The ground clearance is indeed on the low side but I have found French roads to be far more friendly than those in the UK where it spent the first few years of its life!
I’m lucky to live about 25km from the Val de Vienne circuit and have done a few track days there. The only other circuit it’s been on in France is Le Mans and that was a splendid day out!
2 Likes