How to buy a used boring estate car and moving to France and buying a replacement ...

[gentlegreen]

Fairly soon I am going to need some sort of estate car to get my house empted - I may well want to tow a small trailer...

Dealer or private ?
In the past I obtained cars from family or friends ...

I'm relieved to find I'm outside Bristol's low emission zone and so is the recycling centre so perhaps I might not have to worry about such things.

I also plan to move to France - so once there will probably want to replace it ASAP with a LHD - as yet I don't know how to get rid of a RHD car in France......

In France , I'm thinking of something like this :-

Hopefully it will be up to towing a wooden dinghy.



One of these would have covered most of my driving needs :-

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Re RHD car in France, easy enough to live with if it's a banger, if it has any value stick it on Autotrader in the UK and bring it back over when you have a sale, then buy a LHD car in France, saves taxation issues too.

 

[Elpenor]

If that’s a Citroen berlingo they might be priced at a premium as they can be used as camper van / wheelchair transport

What about a Kia Ceed estate, they tend to be petrol rather than diesel and Kia have a good rep I think

 

[Elpenor]

Regarding trailers I think tips only allow single axle trailers

 

[gentlegreen]

Maybe I'll mention it to my family.
I had two previous cars from my brother - and my nephew may have connections ....

I rather hope my family will take my house off my hands too it isn't worth much and I would like them to get the benefit of fixing it up ... I could even arrange staggered payment ...

 

[The39thStep]

Re RHD car in France, easy enough to live with if it's a banger, if it has any value stick it on Autotrader in the UK and bring it back over when you have a sale, then buy a LHD car in France, saves taxation issues too.

Isn’t there a matriculation cost after six months or a year ?

 

[jontz01]

I've got an old high mileage Berlingo as a temporary run around while in here in the UK. I have to say that apart from the turbo pretty much dying, it's been a great car for what we paid for it. Capacity is great. Perfect for the kids, bikes, camping gear, landscape business. I'd buy another one tomorrow if I was staying here.

 

[A380]

If it’s going to be mostly just you and you really want it for moving why not get a Transit Connect van. Based on Ford Focus running gear, lots more space, drives like a car not a van and basically bomb proof.

The LWB onefFits in normal car parks, both for height and space and charged as a car on the ferry / tunnel.

Then when the move is done you could either sell it or insulate it and use it as a stealth camper and would also be good for the bikes.

 

[CosmikRoger]

Wouldn't hiring à removal firm work out cheaper than buying à car that would need to be re registered?
I cant remember exactly how I did it, but I think it cost me around 300€ and at least 2 visits to the préfecture, plus à fée to one of the agreed official translaters who had to translate the log book to import à van from holland to france about 10 years ago.
Having à rhd in France will put up your insurance premiums too.

 

[A380]

Or the old one if your budget is limited

 

[gentlegreen]

Wouldn't hiring à removal firm work out cheaper than buying à car that would need to be re registered?
I cant remember exactly how I did it, but I think it cost me around 300€ and at least 2 visits to the préfecture, plus à fée to one of the agreed official translaters who had to translate the log book to import à van from holland to france about 10 years ago.
Having à rhd in France will put up your insurance premiums too.

I'm trying not to keep much so I may get a man with a van or a skip at some point...- no furniture - the most important items are six large loudspeakers - but there will probably be more than I can carry in a small van and I will need to rent storage - I suppose I could do multiple trips in a small van . It's mostly to take stuff to the tip and then get me to France with enough clothes and stuff to get established.

Unfortunately a Peugeot 305 van was my limit so I may have to lean on my brother to help me out with a rental transit .... I haven't actually driven for nearly 14 years so I'm not going to be buying a Transit myself - even a people carrier
I learned to drive a Reliant on a MC licence in 1984 in half an hour, took my test in a 2CV.
I don't do motorways (slip roads) or night driving.
I'm going to attempt to do the French online theory stuff before I go.
At the moment, even the thought of driving makes me nervous,

 

[A380]

I'm trying not to keep much so I may get a man with a van or a skip at some point...- no furniture - the most important items are six large loudspeakers - but there will probably be more than I can carry in a small van and I will need to rent storage - I suppose I could do multiple trips in a small van . It's mostly to take stuff to the tip and then get me to France with enough clothes and stuff to get established.
Unfortunately a Peugeot 305 van was my limit so I may have to lean on my brother to help me out with a rental transit .... I haven't actually driven for nearly 14 years so I'm not going to be buying a Transit myself - even a people carrier

Start looking early if you are going to hire. Lots of van hire places won’t let you take them abroad at the moment because of the risks of another lockdown. (Some places got badly burnt during Covid with vans stuck on the other side of the channel with no way to recover them. )

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Isn’t there a matriculation cost after six months or a year ?

Yeah, mate of mine done it in Andalucia, but gg is only wanting to move to northern France, so flogging it back in Blighty will be easier…

 

[Puddy_Tat]

a few disjointed thoughts -

some councils do not like vans and / or trailers at the tip - as they are more likely to be carrying trade waste. i think (i've not needed to do it) you can take a van to the tip here as a private individual, but you have to book in advance, and no more than X times a year. each council has its own rules, of course.

the process for registering an 'imported' vehicle in the UK is a bit long winded, and you have to get things done like the headlights re-aligned, and the speedo converted to read in MPH not these continental kilometre things, and in some cases you can be liable for paying VAT here. UK insurers aren't that keen on left hand drive vehicles (pulling out to overtake is the awkward thing) - and then there might be problems getting it serviced if parts are subtly different and so on.

i know nothing at all about the process in france, but can't imagine it's any easier or less long winded, and with UK not being in the EU any more, it's probably not got any simpler either way.

again, not something i've done personally, but think the rules here are you can drive a non-UK registered vehicle here on a non-UK driving licence as a 'visitor' for up to X amount of time and presume similar applies in france.

personally, unless i was very attached to a particular vehicle, i wouldn't think it was worth all the faffing about.

 

[DownwardDog]

as yet I don't know how to get rid of a RHD car in France......

You won't for much more than scrap value unless it's gone through the Immatriculation/Controle Technique process and has French plates. Even then it'd be very hard to sell to anyone other than members of the Middle Eastern community who will put cards under your windscreen wiper offering to buy it. They won't go above 500 EUR in any circumstance.

You want a private purchase Hyundai i40/Subaru Outback/Mazda 6 that's about 10 years old to hit the sweet spot of reliability/value. Petrol and automatic ofc. Use it for the move but don't take it to France permanently. Just send it to webuyanycar just before you leave for France as that will save a lot of hassle and give you total control over exactly when you dispose of it. Buy something else in France once you're settled. Any shitbox off Au Bon Coin will do at that point as you (presumably) won't be doing mega mileages to the UK and back.

E2A: it's worth stating again. Do not take a UK registered car to France permanently. You only get 3 months now to register it in France which is a colossal pain in the dick and you're going to have many other concurrent pains in the dick going on with adding another pointless one.

 

[existentialist]

FWIW, the ex took her UK RHD Citroen when she went. It had to go through the CT to be registered in France, and on the next CT they told her she'd have to replace the headlight units to make it France-compatible. But, overall, it seems not to been all that much trouble - beyond the usual trouble that driving a Citroen C3 involves.

 

[gentlegreen]

DownwardDog Those car recommendations look a bit Australia-specific ?

Are you suggesting I put everything in storage, sell the UK car and go to France on a bus with a suitcase and buy all new clothes once there ?
I suppose there are issues involved with doing it differently - like me hating the idea of driving from Bristol to Plymouth once - let alone more than once - with the fuel and ferry costs each time - were I to move myself with van and/or trailer ...

I'm subscribed to a YT-er who has chosen to keep his French-registered UK car for quite a few years ... can you convert a car BACK to UK registration ?

 

[gentlegreen]

FWIW, the ex took her UK RHD Citroen when she went. It had to go through the CT to be registered in France, and on the next CT they told her she'd have to replace the headlight units to make it France-compatible. But, overall, it seems not to been all that much trouble - beyond the usual trouble that driving a Citroen C3 involves.

Yes.
I would never voluntarily drive at night even with French headlights fitted - and I always drove French cars so that might make it easier ?

Overall - dealers ? - perhaps car manufacturer ones ?

 

[existentialist]

Yes.
I would never voluntarily drive at night even with French headlights fitted - and I always drove French cars so that might make it easier ?

Overall - dealers ? - perhaps car manufacturer ones ?

No, the CT - like the British MOT - requires certain aspects of the car to be configured properly, whether or not you use them.

It probably does make it easier if it's a French car, as parts will obviously be a lot easier to get in France - the ex just got her garage to source a pair of headlamps from a local breakers.

 

[Elpenor]

It sounds like you only want the hassle of having one vehicle.

It might be easier to do the following

To get rid of shit - hire a skip or use a hippo bag which can be. Unless you want to do it in a slow piecemeal way? (Which you might I suspect - in which case you’ll need a uk car ?)

Use a man and van to move you over. That way you’re covered for anything you can’t carry yourself as well. Then buy a vehicle in France

Or… Buy a car in France just before you move, bring it back to Bristol to use it for the move, then keep it in France. Unless it’s difficult to buy a car in France without being a resident

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

1 - Pay a removals/shipping company to get all your stuff to France

2 - Buy a car once you’re there if you need one

 

[gentlegreen]

I somehow need to organise a rental to get my visa.
Set myself up there in a basic way - hopefully making good use of my time - and after 3 months, assuming I get my carte de séjour, start looking for a house...

 

[DownwardDog]

DownwardDog Those car recommendations look a bit Australia-specific ?

Are you suggesting I put everything in storage, sell the UK car and go to France on a bus with a suitcase and buy all new clothes once there ?
I suppose there are issues involved with doing it differently - like me hating the idea of driving from Bristol to Plymouth once - let alone more than once - with the fuel and ferry costs each time - were I to move myself with van and/or trailer ...

I'm subscribed to a YT-er who has chosen to keep his French-registered UK car for quite a few years ... can you convert a car BACK to UK registration ?

I just picked three estates from the more reliable brands. All are available in the UK. Get a VW or Ford if you want to spend your weekends diagnosing EGR/oil pump issues.

You are never going to move your entire life in one trip anyway. Take your shit over, come back, sell the car and get the train back to France (fuck the bus). If you were arsed about money you wouldn't be moving countries anyway as it is a staggeringly expensive operation. Ask me how I know... (UK -> Bahrain -> Belgium -> Australia).

 

[DownwardDog]

1 - Pay a removals/shipping company to get all your stuff to France

2 - Buy a car once you’re there if you need one

Quite like this idea as well.

 

[gentlegreen]

. If you were arsed about money you wouldn't be moving countries anyway as it is a staggeringly expensive operation. Ask me how I know... (UK -> Bahrain -> Belgium -> Australia).

The French tax system is generous to those of us on modest incomes (If my modest LG pension wasn't trapped in the UK tax system I would save £300/EU a year for a start even allowing for exchange rate) - and apparently even my band A council tax is significantly higher that their equivalent for a house where I want to live...
And houses are cheaper and luxurious by my standards - even in the not-cheap area I'm looking at - also local taxes - and in the UK I would struggle to get somewhere with a garden big enough to grow my own food ...
I will be significantly better off over there so I need to get philosophical about spending money to achieve my aim...

 

[existentialist]

It sounds like you only want the hassle of having one vehicle.

It might be easier to do the following

To get rid of shit - hire a skip or use a hippo bag which can be. Unless you want to do it in a slow piecemeal way? (Which you might I suspect - in which case you’ll need a uk car ?)

Use a man and van to move you over. That way you’re covered for anything you can’t carry yourself as well. Then buy a vehicle in France

Or… Buy a car in France just before you move, bring it back to Bristol to use it for the move, then keep it in France. Unless it’s difficult to buy a car in France without being a resident

Buying the car shouldn't be a problem. Insuring it might be - I'm not sure that a French insurer is going to want to cover someone who does not have residency, and is essentially "just visiting".

 

[The39thStep]

I don't know what the specific French rules are but here in Portugal a non resident can buy a car and get it insured providing you have proof of a rental address and have a finance number .

 

[felixthecat]

Nothing to do with moving but I would suggest a couple of driving lessons if you haven't driven for years and are lacking in confidence. Particularly if you are looking to drive a van.

 

[Riklet]

I think maybe just borrow or even rent one for a month or two? is that an option? Or just get a man with a van to do stuff?

Otherwise buy an estate around 1.5k cheap so youre not so arsed about the money. I would buy a Honda accord higher mileage on Gumtree. The good thing about having a car is it will let you explore France and the area you are keen on. Seeing as you dont know it that well and public transport may be limited this is a big plus. You can take it back to the UK or leave it on your French driveway once youve rented somewhere to give the area a go.

 

[gentlegreen]

I don't know what the specific French rules are but here in Portugal a non resident can buy a car and get it insured providing you have proof of a rental address and have a finance number .

I won't even be in France unless I have a long-stay visa - for which a rental agreement is a pre-requisite.
Bloody annoying I can't call in a favour from one or other of my ex-colleagues who have retired back to France .. one or two of them actually in Brittany ...
But I was rather lowly in my role so we didn't socialise...