Risking fines seems to be the only “benefit”.
The authorities will track UK owners to their supposed UK addresses for fines, etc.
Why abuse the rules in the country you live in, unless you are a scam artists?
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I have been trying to register a jeep for two years, even using a French garage to help. No dice and no explanation (is it because it is RHD?). I have tried with others; some OK, some not. I have no idea now what the criteria are as all went with the same papers appropriate to the car, and yes a CoC.
Would you mind telling me what you had to supply in terms of paperwork please?
If you log on to the ANTS.gouv.fr website it will detail the steps and paperwork required for registering a car in France. Under the heading Registration there is a section titled ‘Your Steps’.
This site should provide all the info you require.
It is the file called RT101.2 Non conforming vehicles - about 6 pages of paperwork required. It deals with European cars…
There probably is a file for ‘rest of the world’ as well.
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The eu is funny when it comes to this and especially France don’t now any country in the eu where it is this complicated to register a car
- Laziness.
- Cost of registration, depending on the age of your car. Cert of conformacy can cost anything from 0£ to lots (mine from BMW cost nil).
- No carte gris means no reg, no insurance, and, at least for the odd pull-over, no problem with the police.
The fact that you no longer need to show a tax disk doesn’t necesssarily cut any ice with the police, who are well aware of the situation. This means that if you have been driving a UK registered car for ages without reg or ins, you need to be VERY careful you don’t get involved in an accident. If the police think you are deliberately flouting the law, the sky will descend om you. If it’s here permanently, REGISTER it and accept the cost. Interestingly, my son;s off-roader, being more recent, already had all the necessary details in his log nook. No CoC really needed,
.
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We haven’t been able to log in to ANTS. For some unknown reason, I am finding accessing the online French systems incredibly difficult and French connect impossible!
We ended up using a chap we found online to complete the registration after finally getting a COC (department issuing them for our car were closed until August) and it only took 3 weeks to get the CG after everything was forwarded!
The insurance here is more than in the UK, but the lack of RFT more than makes up for it!
As well as RFT insurance here also includes the equivalent of AA breakdown. Although they can be a bit reluctant to answer the phone, we were hanging on for nearly an hour recently!
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I’ve registered an imported car in Sweden, Finland, Luxembourg and France. The process and requirements have been more or less the same in each country. France was not more difficult.
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I have been trying to register for months but it’s because the other half used a company called cartegriste.fr who have been shockingly poor. The CoC was issued free by Skoda UK but refused as the intermediary company said it had duplicate on it. Legal advice was needed but of course it was acceptable. Then they insisted we prove VAT paid in UK which meant eventually someone from the tax office called them to say it was not necessary! It has gone on so long we had to do the CT twice!! Now they say as it’s an import they cannot do it!!! So they have sent it to someone else… I too could not use the French ANTS system as had not at that time got tax or health or anything to substantiate my status here. My understanding is France gives you 6 months and then cars must be on French plates.
Hi Bob could I ask you why you mentioned that insurance company? Do they insure UK register cars ?
Hi Tim
I spent several years with MMA; I had nothing problems with car, house & professional policies with them.
I switched to Allianz o recommendation from another english bloke I know here.
They did all the paperwork for me no problem. I’d changed my van by then, & it was still registered in UK…didn’t worry them them; & though they’ve mentioned it several times, it doesn’t appear to worry them now.
They know I’m in the process of re-registering, but they also know my circumstances.
Whether they would take new clients with UK reg cars, I don’t know.
I think you may have been misinformed Bob, All CoCs IMO, at least for cars manufactured in the EU, come from the manufacturer and by definition are not country specific. I’ve registered cars bought abroad with CoCs issued in Wolfsburg (2), Stuttgart (2) and Malvern (1) and a little Peugeot convertible I picked up in Germany obviously had a French CoC.
It’s no skin off my nose Bob but as far as I’m aware it is illegal for a French resident to drive a foreign registered car (as it is for a UK resident to drive a French registered one in the UK). One runs the risk of the car being confiscated. I don’t think they crush it or anything but some regularisation and fine paying is probably involved.
Maybe the law hasn’t really been enforced but after Brexit when import duties and TVA could well apply the authorities might take a bit more notice. Before the single market I got lagged in my French registered Autobianchi 112 outside my flat in Ladbrook grove and the cops got a HMRC guy out of bed to come to the flat and check my paperwork (which was all completly in order, much to his annoyance 
)
I think some of these CG intermediaries are cowboy outfits. We used one for a friends car and it was a disaster. I used the ANTS system myself late last year to register a UK import and it worked like a dream. Because the car was only two years old I didn’t need a CT so technically it needn’t even have been here. Unfortunately that only struck me after after I had driven it back 
I wish ANTS were as efficient at issuing replacement licenses as they are new CGs.
I got a coc thru’ an intermediary when I had the Merc…tried the same with the Iveco & it wasn’t possible (believe me,I persisted.)
Iveco UK sent 2 no problem, but the chap I spoke to by phone wasn’t convinced it would work, even if translated; & advised me to be prepared to buy them here.
I had to get mine from land rover france, as not everything is on the British CoC, for my old D3 it cost €220, for the FFRR €240
…because you were reg’d as a FR res, presumably?
Malvern? A Moggie! As a TVRista I used to rather pity the Moggistas, driving around in a car basically designed in 1930-something. But Morgan is still going. TVR is not. 
No, it was way before that law came in Christopher. it was in order because I had this (and a bunch of other supporting documentation).
The tax man was very pissed off with the cops for wasting his time. If I remember correctly, he still had his jammies on under his overcoat 
I like the older TVRs. Tuscan, Vixen sort of thing. I remember when a colleague’s Mum passed away he consoled himself with a Chimarra or a Cebera, I can’t remember which.
I wouldn’t own a Morgan in anything other than a sunny climate. I’ve had her five or six years and we only had the roof on (yes, even though it’s a soft roof it doesn’t go “up”, it clips on with fasteners) about five or six times. Though once we had a long haul in the rain on autoroutes and we did get quite soggy. The little wipers aren’t too efficient either. That day we passed the Mercedes formula one team heading to some circuit or other that day They were so well turned out despite the rain, immaculate.
While the chassis is pretty well the same as it was at launch in1950 I’ve uprated front suspension and replaced the cart springs at the back with independent coils, so she handles well. She’s also got throttle bodies and a few other engine mods so she puts out a bit over 200BHP. Since she weighs nothing, she quite good fun (in the dry),
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