I was given a LHD while mine was in the garage. We had thick snow at the time and I think I held my breath on every journey I had to make. My passengers were not very keen either, they sensed my apprehensionā¦
Not sure all that stuff is required Stella. For example a contrĆ“le technique was only required for vehicles over four years old and Iām not sure a driving licence is required at all. Iām trying ANTS for the first time now and can report back.
Ahhhh, an old Trannie. I was a Bedford CF man myself.
Fair enough Johnā¦ I found a website, but it might be out of date or whatever. Mind you, best to have too much info than not enough. Letās see how you get onā¦
of course, younger vehicles wonāt need a CTā¦
Thoroughly agree driving a RHD car in France is not a problem. Just said goodbye this summer to our 23 year-old merc. Fantastic car. Brought it with us 12 years ago and itās like losing a friend. Because of its age it was quite costly to change for the French market because we had to get new headlights - these days I understand they just swivel. Only got rid of it this year because it wouldnāt pass the new (stricter) Controle Technique.
On our narrow country lanes I enjoyed being tucked into the verge, which I could see. Around us motorway traffic is light, so overtaking isnāt a problem. And we too have one of those thingies for opening the toll barrier automatically.
Is it possible to get a ātoll thingyā before arriving in France?
we have 2 RHD cars and it would be a lot easier to use the motorways
without having to get out, get a ticket or get out and payā¦
See here:
Is the OP based in France or the UK?
If based in the UK then registering a car to a holiday home can be a problem & accessing ANTS will not be possible. Keeping a UK car at the holiday home would be the safe bet but it will need to meet all UK requirements, i.e. taxed, insured & MOTād in the UK.
UK insurance is valid in France for the whole of the contract period although cover might drop to the legal minimum required in Europe.
I donāt see why not, provided you have a French bank account.
You donāt need a French account - my brother uses one and he only has a UK account. They are easily available to UK residents.
Even easier then!
Maybe doofer companies have become more inclusive or maybe it depends which you use. I used to use one based in Normandy and I remember once recommending it to a Brit, and they got cross with me because it wouldnāt accept them because they couldnāt provide French bank details. But that was many moons ago.
Some French companies can be quite āmodernā these days (either that or some bright spark realised that there was money to be made)
I imagine that the ease and reduced cost of inter EU banking with the introduction of SEPA payments in 2017 has been a big factor. Wonder if it will change in the event of Brexit and the UK being excluded from SEPA, which will likely cause bank charges for FR/UK transactions to rise significantly. I can see it going back to the days when UK bank account holders were treated differently, either extra charges applied or not accepted.
Just get a Revolut account then it doesnāt matter as you can have a Sterling and Euro account with all sort codes / IBAN etc and the best exchange rate.
Thank you Anna,
found - the thingy - website & will call and get them. We have a french bank, but also found out you can now get them with UK banksā¦
GREAT!
I never have a problem with a RHD car either. Whilst it is a tedious business registering a RHD car, when you see the prices of second-hand cars in France you may understand why some of us took vehicles from the UK. In many ways it is the exact opposite of property prices.
We got a motorway toll tag from Alis while we were in UK and they posted it to us. They also send the replacement to our UK address. You do need a French bank account to handle the DD for the monthly bills. Some tags give you a discount on their own motorways ( they all operate on any motorway toll and some also do certain car parks eg BORDEAUX park and ride). Some charge for the tag. Others donāt.
Have found an obstacle to my aquisition of a transponder for our journey to the new home. French libert-t will not post to the UK (we have a french bank account) and the UK emovis site requires a UK bank (which I wonāt have once we move)
On the liber-t site it is mentioned that a transponder can be bought at one of their service centres. However, the website will not show where these service centres are (maybe I am too thick to find the right page).
Can anyone please help and point us to the nearest place to Caen to get these transponders set up?
Thanks
At the bottom of the page it says there is an International Shipping Fee of ā¬10.00
Ignore the above, it takes you to a UK site.