Registering our prized woodie in France permanently?

[toots]

I know this has been discussed before but not, seemingly, for years! I'm knocking my pan out to get the car through its UK MoT and all that sort of stuff before it gets trailered over there. Can anyone advise me, or tell me who can, as to what I need to do or have as I don't believe I can leave it UK registered although there does seem to be a debate about that too elsewhere. Or is it all going to an absolutely glorious waste of time!!

[faversham999]

you can use it in France for 6 months then it has to come back to the UK or registered.One year for your driving Licence
any time you return to the UK the time starts again , so you could have a day trip to Dover

[John Naylor]

When I was living and working in France my modern had to be re-registered with a French plate and French CT (Controle Technique or MOT equivalent). My English insurer didn't want to know and so I had to buy French insurance which over there, related to the car and not the driver but was quite reasonable. The whole re-registration process took several months and was quite expensive at about £600, luckily my employer paid. They adore creating a 'dossier' and it was dealt with by the 'Service des Mines' who finally invited me for a CT when I had to change headlights and door mirrors (different magnification each side) and fit the plates.
I bought a 1965 2CV van as a run around and had the choice of having a CT bi-annually or declaring it 'Collection' which restricted me to drive within our Departement and the neighbouring Departements. I went for 'Collection' and the insurance was about 30 Euros. Road tax was discontinued whilst we were there - I would rather pay the tax and have free Autoroutes!
Caravans and larger trailers also need a log book and mine caused all sorts of problems till I 'sourced' (or 'sauced?') a printed card which they loved and issued my carte grise.
This was all around 2001-2003 so things may have changed but there must be some be some expert ex-pat who can advise you better than I can....
Good Luck, sounds like you will have lots of fun!
John

[morrisminorbzh]

If you are planning or already live permanently in France you have three months to register a privately imported car.

You will have to opt for "véhicule de collection" .

My Traveller (sold in 2013) had a "carte grise de collection", mainly because Minors were not imported into France via a "concessionnaire" It is not easy to get a "CG normale"

Just worth noting that the French authorities are considering a "clamp down" on foreign registered vehicules especially in areas where there are high concentrations of Brits - many run around for years without MOTs on their cars

Morris Minors were not imported on a regular basis into France and "certificat de conformité" did not, as far as I know, exist at that time.

By consequence you will have to register it as a "véhicule de collection" (classic car).

Contact the Féderation Française des véhicules d'époque - see ffve.fr for address in Paris. They will send you a form to fill in which must be returned with copy of UK logbook, 2 photos of the car, a certificat fiscaux n° 1993VT from your local tax office the FFVE fee was €50 in 2009. All documentation in English must be translated. In return you will receive an "attestation" which will serve as a "certificat de conformité".

As your Minor comes from the UK you will need to go to your local tax office in France for the certificat fiscaux n° 1993VT. You will need the bill for the car (make sure that the UK reg n° is on + chassis and engine number), copy of logbook.

Get a French MOT done as soon as possible - you will need copies for your dossier in particulier for the Prefecture. I'm not sure how things are now - my first "contrôle technique" (2009) was valid 2 years as with recent vehicules. My Traveller was retested in 2011, the "CT" being valid 5 years as it is a "véhicule de collection".

Getting a classic car tested in France came into force during the second half of 2009. This was the "contre-partie" for getting rid of the stupid and restrictive system of only being allowed to drive freely within your own département and is related to the new "for life" car numbering system. Now you can go anywhere you like, but you can't rent your vehicule (weddings etc....) however you can offer a "free" service I presume for family and friends. You are basically restricted to private and pleasure motoring - check with your insurance - you will need to be covered by a French company.

I may have forgotten something or there may be new things on the list so it would be worth you contacting David and Mary HALL, rue Paul Tourseiller, 46700 DURAVEL, tel 05 65 24 66 46 or morrisminorfrance@neuf.fr - They run the Amicale Morris Minor France, a useful club for Morris Minor addicts and have lots of interesting info on running Minors and have helped a lot of people getting their cars registered in France. All this may seem a drag but I got it all done in three weeks.

I'm "Minorless" at the moment but certainly ready to go all through that again the day I get another one !

[woodiesenfrance]

Hi, Mary Hall here! Yep what morrisminorbzh summarised is fundamentally right. It's not complicated, but it is a paperchase and you must have all the right bits in the right order, and smile very sweetly at the bureaucrats you meet on the way.
If you (or anyone else) would like our infosheet plse email me at the address already given.

[toots]

Can I just say a huge thanks to you all and, to use a good Scots word, jings!!!! But it must be done so I'll follow up nearer the time. Thank you again.

[woodiesenfrance]

One little thing to pay attention to now: make sure your V5 is in the name of whoever is to be registered as the owner in France.That may sound startlingly obvious, but it's all too easy to forget that the Moggie Uncle Joe gave you is still in his name, or it belonged to your late wife and you've never changed it.....