Where, do you think?
With all the aggro and the tax and TVA is it still worth buying a vehicle in the UK?I know the prices in France can be outrageous for second hand vehicles but after the Brexit disaster,is it still worth buying in the UK?
In my experience [x2] - Yes.
The day before making the trip to FR, which was my permanent move, I decided that my wheels, a Vauxhall Movano [a.k.a. Renault Master] LWB/Hi-roof was going to be a liability to park, as at the time I was assuming Iād have to find a flat and flats are in towns - town centres, in fact.
I didnāt know then what I know now - parking in country towns in Normandy is not a problem. In the event, my digs were on a farm!
So I put 'Car/nearest to meā into ebay and bought this for Ā£995, 20 mins away. 10 months MoT, in excellent condition - a trade in.
Next day I arrived at Caen and started life in FR
I started the procedure to re- reg it, with the services of Mark Rimmer, who does this for ā¬50.
A key aspect is the entry on the V5 at D2. Those codes are the EU Type codes and eliminate the requirement to provide a Cert of Conformity. Cars going back 20-odd years have codes at D2 on their V5s, vans from around 2010
It was no aggro at all. I gathered together the docs that Mark needed and left it to him. A Very Long Time Later [4 months], as is the FR way with admin, my C.T. turned up and all was done.
GB plates going into the p/belle
Despit Mark submitting some paperwork - perhaps the actual application itself - post Brexit, the current MoT was accepted, so I didnāt need a fresh C.T.
My local garagiste looked in a book and told me that the car would be ā¬3k-ā¬4k on sale in FR.
Case 2. My Movano was almost a camper - a bedroom on wheels in effect. The FR have changed the rules and DIY campers cannot now be C.T.'d. I decided to down-size and do a āday vanā - another bedroom on wheels with de-mountable stuff to make C.Tāing āas easy as Frenchly possibleā to steal @fabienās company catchline.
I bought a Renault Trafic in UK for Ā£3k. Arriving at St. Malo I went straight to Douanes. Presenting the bill of sale and the V5, in 45 mins I left with a certificate of import and minus ā¬1120.
The rest of the procedure was never done because the van had terminal problems and the dealer refunded me - undeclared existing faults.
NB. If you have to return a vehicle to UK after paying to import to FR, you must complete a form declaring you are exporting it. That itās still a GB reg vehicle - no matter, you still have to āre-exportā to get your original import charges refunded. I didnāt know this ā¦ 
As far as the new van is concerned I have no qualms about the procedure. Been there, done that - or Mark Rimmer has.
The issue then is money. Is it worth it?
This van is costing me Ā£7k. I know Sanjay, who has played with a straight bat throughout, is cutting me a deal because of the debacle with the last one, which, I made sure he undestood, cost me +/- Ā£2k in import charges, ferry tix and fuel between Vire and Slough x 2.5
If I budget for 32% import costs that gives Ā£9,200. This van is worth Ā£5/Ā£5.5k [inc VAT] more than that in UK. Checking AutoTrader for 2018 Sportline Vivaros/Trafics ā¦ +/- Ā£14k inc VAT with low [70k/80k] miles.
As against a FR van, look how much they want for this write-off! 
ā¬13068 TTC and the rest, to rebuild it.
Hereās a going one - ā¬19140 TTC. Low miles 60500kms. 12 monthsā gātee.
There are tens of thousands of Renault Trafics/Opel Vivaros running around Europe. Why 2nd hand are so expensive - esp FR ones - I cannot understand. Or maybe itās the other way around - UK vehicles are very cheap.
So, yes. If my figures hold up - and I canāt see why not - well worth the modest effort to do the ādocamentiā . Faaaar less hassle than getting a CdS, for example.
Boot on other foot re property, thoā !
2 Likes
I put mine [for the car] bottom rt corner but as itās not going to have a UK MoT I hope the C.T. doesnāt do the same thing.
Good point! I stuck mine just by the rear left fog lamp to avoid any potential problems.
Mine fits comfortably in the glove box.