Taking car to France - and leaving it there ! - Page 2 - Boxster/Cayman - PistonHeads UK

Hi All, I am considering purchasing a property on the French south coast and wondering if anyone can advise me of my dilemma ! I bought a Cayman during lockdown on online auction which was originally from Qatar - thus LHD. Its 2015 model with 29k miles on it in good condition. So, if my plans go ahead the car would be left in the garage at the property and just used for a few months each year. Would it need to be French registered or would it be ok kept UK registered. Not sure how insurance would work? It seems since Brexit life is now complicated on this? I believe cars are more expensive in France but not any evidence ! many thanks!

2Hooky said: Hi All, I am considering purchasing a property on the French south coast and wondering if anyone can advise me of my dilemma ! I bought a Cayman during lockdown on online auction which was originally from Qatar - thus LHD. Its 2015 model with 29k miles on it in good condition. So, if my plans go ahead the car would be left in the garage at the property and just used for a few months each year. Would it need to be French registered or would it be ok kept UK registered. Not sure how insurance would work? It seems since Brexit life is now complicated on this? I believe cars are more expensive in France but not any evidence ! many thanks! We have a place in Marbella and we considered taking a lhd Uk car out there at first, wasn’t worth the hassle. If it stayed on Uk plates it would have needed to come back yearly once the MOT was due. Cars do seem to be a little more expensive in Europe, but not enough to put anyone off. We bought locally in Spain in the end to make life easier.

If you have a French address and pay local taxes you can apply for a Carte Gris and have a car registered in your name. You will have to pay import duty based on the value of the car when you bought it and to be registered, it will need a valid Controle Technique (French MOT). There is a helpful English language step by step guide on the French Govt website. It's not complex but quite time consuming

It'll cost you around €900 (non S) or €1,200 (Cayman S) to register your car in France. That will help mitigate the extra cost of just buying a French car.

I keep a UK RHD 992 and Polo GTi in France, where I actually do most of my annual mileage (not a big fan of driving in the UK these days). Each car comes back to the UK occasionally for servicing etc. Strictly speaking I think they probably should be French registered, but I kind of review that each year. If I went down that route, I’d buy LHD in Europe. Ironically, I’ve kept a LHD 911 in the UK for many years. Which side I sit on doesn’t really bother me, same in a/c.

ClaphamGT3 said: If you have a French address and pay local taxes you can apply for a Carte Gris and have a car registered in your name. You will have to pay import duty based on the value of the car when you bought it and to be registered, it will need a valid Controle Technique (French MOT). There is a helpful English language step by step guide on the French Govt website. It's not complex but quite time consuming This.

Geneve said: I keep a UK RHD 992 and Polo GTi in France, where I actually do most of my annual mileage (not a big fan of driving in the UK these days). Each car comes back to the UK occasionally for servicing etc. Strictly speaking I think they probably should be French registered, but I kind of review that each year. If I went down that route, I’d buy LHD in Europe. Ironically, I’ve kept a LHD 911 in the UK for many years. Which side I sit on doesn’t really bother me, same in a/c. Just interested in if your cars are insured by a French company or are there deals to be done with an English company, as usually one is restricted to a total of 90 days a year with a caveat that a single trip being no longer than 30 days. I may consider doing the same thing as I don't want to get rid of my current car

Anything newer than 40 years old needs MOT every year in UK and insurance will be tricky.

Insurance is available that will cover you 12 months a it’s (I used to have it), but it’s 3xthe price. You’ll still need a MOT if not a new car though once every 12months. But more to the point you won’t actually be legal in France . From memory if you are living there after 3months you have to register the car and swap your license to a French one. But…. You can probably get away with it unless you live in a small village/town there.

It's doable, but would be easier just to buy something in France or at least the EU. You can keep the car in France on British plates. As you are not French resident this is the only legal way to do it. However it must be legal in the UK, which means Road tax, MoTs and valid insurance. It may be difficult finding an insurer to give you anything other than 30 days cover for driving in France, but if it's not being driven and not on the road then your 30 days can be when you are actually there. You can register it in France legally only if you are a French resident. Being non-resident would make it illegal to drive on French plates, and being resident would make it illegal to drive on British plates. (This means all of us residents who imported a car here were breaking the law for a while as we waited for the French registration to arrive.) You will need to import it properly, pay French import duties and VAT at the douanes. Then you can register it. Being a non-EU car you will probably also need to get an EU Certificate of Conformity from Porsche proving it meets EU laws. You'll also need to change the headlights back to right hand traffic (and the rear fog needs to be on the correct side) and get a CT. You can do the latter on UK plates. Gone are the days of popping to the prefecture with some paper. You have to have an ANTS account with full privileges, which only come with a French social security number, which only comes with working here, running a business here, or on an S1 via residency. With all that being said there are hundreds of resident Brits driving about France in untaxed uninsured British registered cars, and hundreds of non-resident Brits driving French registered ones. There are ways. Without an ANTS account is to pay a friendly garagiste to register it for you. You provide the proofs of "residency" (utility bills, etc), proof that you have paid the French their import duties and VAT and pay the registration fee. Job done. The fee will be very high but it will be the last tax you ever pay on the car.

Many thanks for all the response! Seems to me that better to off load the Cayman and buy a French car !

ClaphamGT3 said: If you have a French address and pay local taxes you can apply for a Carte Gris and have a car registered in your name. You will have to pay import duty based on the value of the car when you bought it and to be registered, it will need a valid Controle Technique (French MOT). There is a helpful English language step by step guide on the French Govt website. It's not complex but quite time consuming You can't do it fully legally, but you can usually get away with it. As with lots of things legal, it's fine until it isn't. In order to be able to register a car in France the actual law says that it must be registered to your primary address. Many Brits seem to interpret it as your primary residence in France but that a is not what the French law actually says. It refers to a French residents' primary residence. French Law is codified, so if it isn't in the law, you can't do it, as opposed to UK common law which if it isn't forbidden, it's usually OK. Some of the groups I am a member of back in France are now flagging up ANTS asking for a copy of the owners Carte de Sejour / Passport with visa in order to complete the registration.

INsurance is the big issue and if you are happyt o pay 2x or 3x the annual premium to getan extended green card/EU cover. Also the car needs to meet UK regs - MOT and Tax Also the EU rules state a UK registered vehicle can only spend 90 days max in a 6 month period. Yes it is doable if the car is garaged but to bring back every year for an MOt, insurance against buying a EU regd car

garypotter said: INsurance is the big issue and if you are happyt o pay 2x or 3x the annual premium to getan extended green card/EU cover. Also the car needs to meet UK regs - MOT and Tax Also the EU rules state a UK registered vehicle can only spend 90 days max in a 6 month period. Yes it is doable if the car is garaged but to bring back every year for an MOt, insurance against buying a EU regd car Please reproduce said EU laws as having lived in said EU for quite some time, I'm aware that all traffic regulation is decided by each sovereign country in isolation, so what is good in, say Germany, won't necessarily work for Greece or Spain. For both France and Spain, if you take a foreign registered vehicle into those countries as a resident, then you are required to commence the transfer of the vehicle onto a local registration within one month. If however, you are. merely a visitor or second home owner, then, for example, a UK registered vehicle, can remain in country for up to 6 months before it must leave whilst remaining fully legal in it's country of origin for the duration. Your 90 days in 6 months comment may be a confusion with the rules for third country nationals being allowed to remain within the Schengen region for a maximum of 90 in 180 days without holding the requisite visa or residence certificate.

garypotter said: INsurance is the big issue and if you are happyt o pay 2x or 3x the annual premium to getan extended green card/EU cover. Also the car needs to meet UK regs - MOT and Tax Also the EU rules state a UK registered vehicle can only spend 90 days max in a 6 month period. Yes it is doable if the car is garaged but to bring back every year for an MOt, insurance against buying a EU regd car Please reproduce said EU laws as having lived in said EU for quite some time, to my knowledge all traffic legislation and regulation is decided by each sovereign country in isolation, so what is good in, say Germany, won't necessarily work for Greece or Italy. There is harmonisation to a degree, but not all countries have the same rules. Ages for drivers differ, requirements to obtain a licence differ, speed limits differ, annual / biennial or even 5-yearly testing for vehicle roadworthiness differs. For both France and Spain as an example, if you take a foreign registered vehicle into those countries as a resident, then you are required to commence the transfer of the vehicle onto a local registration within one month. If however, you are a visitor or second home owner, then, for example, a UK registered vehicle, can remain in country for up to 6 months before it must leave whilst remaining fully legal in it's country of origin for the duration. Your 90 days in 6 months comment may be a confusion with the rules for third country nationals being allowed to remain within the Schengen region for a maximum of 90 in 180 days without holding the requisite visa or residence certificate.

ClaphamGT3 said: If you have a French address and pay local taxes you can apply for a Carte Gris and have a car registered in your name. You will have to pay import duty based on the value of the car when you bought it and to be registered, it will need a valid Controle Technique (French MOT). There is a helpful English language step by step guide on the French Govt website. It's not complex but quite time consuming This. Chap I know was just stopped in Germany for taking his 911 over for 6 months while working over there and because of this they wanted money off him to temp import the car or they would seize it. Same goes anywhere in Europe now sadly.

Its not worth trying to use it on uk plates. 20 years ago it was possible but it slowly changed way before brexit. You could import it and register it legally in france as a non resident (expat forums say otherwise) You'll have your own address so can reg it there. You can reg at a friend's address but they would need to be 1st name on CG. You 2nd. You would have to pay 30% import duty, no idea how valuation works. My 3 rhd cars have fog light on wrong side, 2 have uk lights (adjusted) and pass french CT for last 5 years I've had them, flat beam lights rather than curved beam, one with curved beam lights needed changing. Once on french plates it's illegal as a uk resident to drive it in uk, although your french insurer may cover you. Edited by Lee-S2K on Sunday 29th September 10:44

Bit of a minefield all this stuff. Provided the car is correctly insured and tax'd in its registered country, I always think you'd have to be quite unlucky for the authorities to dig any deeper than that. I'm insured with Admiral, 90 days EU cover is standard, but twice now I have had to extend it. Both times just a simple phone call, no hassle, no extra fee.

Rushjob said: garypotter said: INsurance is the big issue and if you are happyt o pay 2x or 3x the annual premium to getan extended green card/EU cover. Also the car needs to meet UK regs - MOT and Tax Also the EU rules state a UK registered vehicle can only spend 90 days max in a 6 month period. Yes it is doable if the car is garaged but to bring back every year for an MOt, insurance against buying a EU regd car Please reproduce said EU laws as having lived in said EU for quite some time, to my knowledge all traffic legislation and regulation is decided by each sovereign country in isolation, so what is good in, say Germany, won't necessarily work for Greece or Italy. There is harmonisation to a degree, but not all countries have the same rules. Ages for drivers differ, requirements to obtain a licence differ, speed limits differ, annual / biennial or even 5-yearly testing for vehicle roadworthiness differs. For both France and Spain as an example, if you take a foreign registered vehicle into those countries as a resident, then you are required to commence the transfer of the vehicle onto a local registration within one month. If however, you are a visitor or second home owner, then, for example, a UK registered vehicle, can remain in country for up to 6 months before it must leave whilst remaining fully legal in it's country of origin for the duration. Your 90 days in 6 months comment may be a confusion with the rules for third country nationals being allowed to remain within the Schengen region for a maximum of 90 in 180 days without holding the requisite visa or residence certificate. This for Italy, too. When the Carabinieri have a crack down I dump my car with a friend in Switzerland for a month or two, the six month rule referring to each individual jurisdiction rather than the EU/Schengen as a whole. These rules have been like this forever. This is one area where I don’t think Brexit has any impact at all. Saga offers year round insurance at not silly prices btw, if you are eligible.

Lee-S2K said: Its not worth trying to use it on uk plates. 20 years ago it was possible but it slowly changed way before brexit. You could import it and register it legally in france as a non resident (expat forums say otherwise) You'll have your own address so can reg it there. Edited by Lee-S2K on Sunday 29th September 10:44 Can you explain how you can continue to support your assertion above after you've read this response to an FAQ on service-publique FR ( a French government website ) Peut-on choisir son adresse sur la carte grise ? Vérifié le 16 novembre 2021 - Direction de l'information légale et administrative (Premier ministre) Non, vous ne pouvez pas choisir l'adresse qui figurera sur votre carte grise. En effet, la carte grise doit obligatoirement indiquer l'adresse du domicile principal du titulaire. Vous ne pouvez donc pas immatriculer votre véhicule dans le département où vous possédez une résidence secondaire. Vous devez régler la taxe correspondant au département de votre domicile principal. La carte grise sera envoyée à cette adresse. The important bit is Domicile Principale du Titulaire. If you are not resident in France then your primary residence is in the UK or whichever country you are resident in. It also specifically references you being unable to register a vehicle to a secondary residence As a non resident you cannot have a French address as your Domicile Principal, therefore you cannot register a vehicle in France and remain legal. I know it's possible to do it, I know many have done and will continue to do so, but ANTS is now often asking for a copy of your CDS to allow registration to be finalised.

Rushjob said: Can you explain how you can continue to support your assertion above after you've read this response to an FAQ on service-publique FR ( a French government website ) Peut-on choisir son adresse sur la carte grise ? Vérifié le 16 novembre 2021 - Direction de l'information légale et administrative (Premier ministre) Non, vous ne pouvez pas choisir l'adresse qui figurera sur votre carte grise. En effet, la carte grise doit obligatoirement indiquer l'adresse du domicile principal du titulaire. Vous ne pouvez donc pas immatriculer votre véhicule dans le département où vous possédez une résidence secondaire. Vous devez régler la taxe correspondant au département de votre domicile principal. La carte grise sera envoyée à cette adresse. The important bit is Domicile Principale du Titulaire. If you are not resident in France then your primary residence is in the UK or whichever country you are resident in. It also specifically references you being unable to register a vehicle to a secondary residence As a non resident you cannot have a French address as your Domicile Principal, therefore you cannot register a vehicle in France and remain legal. I know it's possible to do it, I know many have done and will continue to do so, but ANTS is now often asking for a copy of your CDS to allow registration to be finalised. In Italy, where the car rather than the driver is insured, it is not unknown to have a resident mate ‘front’ the car for a non-resident. The big risk, of course, is that if they fall out, the “fronter” has title rather than the “frontee”…but I wouldn’t want anything other than a wreck for daily driving there anyway.