I was wondering if anybody has had experience of the new CT test yet and whether their vehicles had sailed through it as usual or had perhaps found the extra details annoying. I have a car which passed its CT earlier this year and another that’s not due until late August 2019 so I’m not concerned, just interested.
Hi David…
The 2012 RCZ went through end of May/beginning of June. The Test seemed to take the same amount of time as before… and there were no advisories. A clean bill of health. Phew, what a relief.
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A friend of ours who has a Toyota pick up, (I think it’s Toyota), that he uses for work has been an absolute disaster. The problem is it is difficult to know whether some of it is purely down to the new CT and how much to Feu Vert just not coping with the changes. All he knows is that it normally sails through and this time there is a list of problems as long as his arm and the thick part of 2000€ for repairs.
Hi Dave…( I’m confused… did Feu Vert do the CT?? or just a beforehand check??)
Just wondering… did your friend have anything mentioned at the previous CT (eg not obligatory, but noticed).
And can you tell us what sort of mentions he has been given this time ??
Depending on the age and condition of a vehicle…how well/often it is serviced etc… each CT is likely to throw something up… 
Quite a few items have moved from advisory to major, such as warning lights on the dash, front fog light alignment, rear number plate lights & rear fog light position (for ex UK cars). Rusty bodywork which would affect the structural integrity of the vehicle but not all rust.
Mixing tyre brands on an axle has crept back in as a failure, having been just the same type, size & specification for some years, although tyre sellers have been known to forget that in the past!
Loose bits of trim & bodywork will require fixing & liberal use of duct tape to attach things will also lead to a fail.
Oil leaks & drips will require repair too & the engine undertray will have to be in good condition.
There are plenty of other things which could result in a failure but it is really the uncared for cars which will have problems. Just today I had a look at a 1996 Citroen ZX which had failed. All 4 tyres were different makes, one headlight was adjusted too low, the front brakes were out of balance & it needs a front wishbone rubber bush. Not bad for a car with over 330000 kms on the clock!
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I’m not sure in any great detail. There are certainly things that have now become compulsory repairs that would have been advisory and he does have a dashboard light on. I think his beef with Feu Vert, and they have done all his previous CTs, is their attitude to fixing the car when it failed. They just seem very disinterested in doing the work. In as much as there are now more things that need repairing, there is more work than they want to tackle, even though they do all the necessary repairs.
That is an interesting car Stella.
Feu Vert is not one of the companies authorised to perform the CT. they are just a group of motor stores who sell car stuff like Halfords.
They offer to check the car over before the CT to “make sure” it passes. So the poor car owner pays a bunch of blood sucking parasites, sorry, a garage, which has neither the equipment or in depth knowledege, to do exactly what the CT station is also paid to do, plus pay for any work that these bunc… people think might be necessary.
As a garagiste myself I prefer that the CT people tell me what is defective according to the rules & use their printed sheet as a job sheet for any work required.
The ZX mentioned in my last post also went to Feu Vert & the owner was told that her old car needed 1500 euros worth of work to pass the old CT. It didn’t.
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The great thing about the French system is that the people who test cars and those who repair them when they fail are not located in the same building. The testing is independent.
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I imported my uk car to Brittany approx 18 months ago (by the time it took me to deal with the process which at the time was at the prefecture) My car…still with just less than 6 months uk MOT passed the controle technique with advisories on two tyres…sorted…and multiple corrosions underneath…My exhaust started blowing on the way to the airport so I took her in for a checkup…a new exhaust would have cost €450…I have a dashboard fault on the petrol gauge…(cost unknown) always have had…an electrical fault on the drivers side window (cost unknown) but even if I spent the money to put those faults right I would have still had the multiple corrosions…so with heavy heart I’m letting her go to the big scrapyard in the sky and embarking on my next adventure into owning a French left hand drive…(none of which would have been possible without my mom…next year I’m thinking that the gift from my mom will come under “exceptional income”…cross that bridge when I get to it…! x 
If your car is old enough Helen, it may qualify for a 2k € subsidy/scrapping grant, we are thinking of claiming it for my old Saxo and keeping the RAV4 as the second car for me.
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It’s 2002 bill…how old do they have to be to qualify…???
Older than that I think H’, but I will check with B’ when She’s back from work, I know our Rav doesn’t it’s 2003. So if we go ahead, will keep it as the ‘back up’ 
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