Car import

[hanneke]

Can anybody tell me in simple terms what's involved in 'imorting' a car into France please?
I am currently borrowing my father's car which has Dutch plates on it and I need to get it onto French plates, but am not sure which order things ought to be done in.
Any suggestions?

[Bevdeforges]

OK, in simple terms, you need to go to the préfecture (or sometimes the sous-préfecture) to get a carte-grise (registration) for your imported car. Your local mairie should be able to tell you what documents you will need for the registration, but generally they require an inspection by the Directions des mines to make sure it is up to French standards and a VAT certificate from the local tax office.

If you are borrowing your father's car, you may run into some trouble transferring the car into your name unless you have some form of executed sales documents to "prove" your ownership. If the car is new (say, within a year or so) you will also have to prove that you have paid VAT on the original purchase - otherwise they will assess you French VAT.

Anyhow, the short answer is that you should ask at your local mairie and they usually can tell you where to go and what you'll need to get all the paperwork completed.
Cheers,
Bev

[wanda]

Originally Posted by hanneke

Can anybody tell me in simple terms what's involved in 'imorting' a car into France please?
I am currently borrowing my father's car which has Dutch plates on it and I need to get it onto French plates, but am not sure which order things ought to be done in.
Any suggestions?

Hi, we are also thinking of importing our GB car to France, I am trying to find out how much import tax costs. I have found out that coming from GB you can get 50% no claim s bonus on your insurance if you can prove a clean licence for 5 years, and claim no accidents for 13 years.
Do they charge for road tax/tax disc in France ??

[wanda]

Originally Posted by wanda

Hi, we are also thinking of importing our GB car to France, I am trying to find out how much import tax costs. I have found out that coming from GB you can get 50% no claim s bonus on your insurance if you can prove a clean licence for 5 years, and claim no accidents for 13 years.
Do they charge for road tax/tax disc in France ??

You also have to register the car within 6 months, i have been told this costs a 'few hundred' euros.

[wanda]

Originally Posted by Bevdeforges

OK, in simple terms, you need to go to the préfecture (or sometimes the sous-préfecture) to get a carte-grise (registration) for your imported car. Your local mairie should be able to tell you what documents you will need for the registration, but generally they require an inspection by the Directions des mines to make sure it is up to French standards and a VAT certificate from the local tax office.

If you are borrowing your father's car, you may run into some trouble transferring the car into your name unless you have some form of executed sales documents to "prove" your ownership. If the car is new (say, within a year or so) you will also have to prove that you have paid VAT on the original purchase - otherwise they will assess you French VAT.

Anyhow, the short answer is that you should ask at your local mairie and they usually can tell you where to go and what you'll need to get all the paperwork completed.
Cheers,
Bev

Any clues how much this all costs?

[Bevdeforges]

Originally Posted by wanda

Any clues how much this all costs?

It has been "a few" years since I imported my car from Germany. A few folks here in the forum have indicated that they may not require the special inspection anymore (at least not on cars being imported from another EU country). As I recall, that was the expensive bit.

The VAT certificate is only expensive if you haven't paid the VAT on the car. My car was less than a year old, so my bill of sale showing payment of German VAT was still valid.

Actually, if you ask at the mairie about where to do all this good stuff, they may well be able to tell you roughly how much it will cost.
Cheers,
Bev

[praedo]

What you actually need to get is a European Certificate of Conformity if you're bringing a car across from the UK to France (currently in process of registering my second from the UK) - the inspection is not needed if the car conforms to French spec. Cost depends on manufacturer and if the car has already been registered previously - for example I'm importing a Nissan and it will cost 140€TTC as it was previously registered in the UK - it if was brand new and unregistered (I wish!) it would have cost me 250€TTC. Certificate to show that you've previously paid tax in country of origin is free (at least, here in Ariege it is) and you will have to pay for a Carte Grise at your prefecture - I think cost of this depends on the power of engine.
Order to do things:
Apply for certificate of conformity either before leaving UK or from the manufacturer in France (couple of people I've helped before did this before leaving the UK and got it free)
Get headlights changed to LHD
Get Controle Technique done (equivalent of MOT)
Get certificate of tax paid (I believe that this only applies to vehicles under a certain age)
Go to prefecture and get the form 'Demande de Certificat d'Immatriculation d'Un Vehicule' and fill in (also available as download from the net)
Go back to prefecture with certificate of conformity, controle technique, certificate of tax, 'Demande etc' filled out, proof of French address (utility bill), UK V5 document, cheque book or CB, passport (I always take this just in case). Can't remember whether or not you have to show proof of insurance or not, but take it just in case - French insurers will insure a car on UK plates for up to two months whilst you're in process of registering.
Get carte grise, take it to local friendly number plate making place and get plates.
I think that's it - I would add that this works here in the Ariege - I know that each department is a law unto themselves, so as per previous advice - ask