Moving to Paris & taking the car with me!

[Andy Roe]

Hello all!

I'm moving to Paris in May and want to take the 964 with me. Has anyone done this before & knows what I need to do (incl. costs involved) to get the car registered in France & any French insurance companies that will take my UK no claims bonus into account?

Many thanks!

Andy

 

[jr2015]

Salut Andy, I registered my 2cv in France some years ago and it proved to be a perfect example of the dreaded french beurocracy, the fonctionaires were not exactly obstructive but distinctly unhelpful. It took about 2 months and a lot of toing and froing between several offices, each independant of one another. the offices were closed more often then open and if the person in the office concerned with your request is on holiday no-one else in the office will touch it!
You`ll have to deal with 2 departments ,one to check the vehicle is as described, and the local departmental office that will finally issue the carte grise.I can`t remember the name of the first dept and initially thought they were being unhelpful because I was foreign , but speaking to my local friends was assured that they`re like that with everybody as they`re largely ex service personnel and usually enjoy a liquid lunch.
bonne chance mon ami!
jr.

 

[Dave Wilkinson]

ORIGINAL: Andy Roe

I'm moving to Paris in May

Andy,

I can't help you on the move to Paris other than to say that the car will undoubtedly suffer with the way those Parisians drive!! The other thing to say is to be sure you make the effort to come over to the Worcester Park on 16th March for a farewell bacon buttie!!!! Hope to see you there!!!

Regards

Dave

 

[Andy Roe]

Hi Dave! Hope you are well! I may be able to make the 16th, but I'm on-call that day, so may have to work.

I know about the Paris drivers. I'm still not 100% sure I should take it, but instead sell and buy something cheap to run around in. It will be garaged though, so no dodgy parking! Will mainly use it at the weekends for trips out of Paris!

Oh yes, the French beaurocracy. Great! Luckily, I can't speak French, so my wife will have to do the talking! She's also italian, so well versed in all the Red tape!

Does anyone know how much is costs to get French plates? I'm ok with it taking a while, but not if it costs 2000 Euros!!

Thanks guys!

 

[jr2015]

I forgot to mention the cost, can`t remember exactly, but it was nominal. As for driving in Paris; buy a bike.Ones insurance is nul and void on L`Etoille Charles de Gaulle ( Arc de Triumph) and its knock for knock.If you must drive, concentrate on whats in front of you and hope for the best, it works 90% of the time and make sure your horn works! Prioritie a droite no longer exists legally but a lot of people still believe it does and will claim this when they cut you up.The road fund licence and the MOT ( controle technique) are interlinked and are renewed every 2 years and you have to display an insurance sticker next to it on the windscreen, a system the UK could benefit from.
jr.

 

[Andy Roe]

Thanks JR! No, not really planning on driving in Paris (our Apt. is virtually next door to a Metro station!). Rather would like the car for escaping Paris at the weekends! I'm also looking at the possibility of keeping it registered in the UK and having it insured for use in France too. Not sure how much that's going to cost though yet (the insurance company is calling me back tomorrow!) and how long I can keep it out of the UK each year. This would probably get around the no claims bonus issue though.

 

[colin129]

Is it a permanent move?

Have you considered selling your RHD 964 in the UK and buying a LHD 964 in France? Prices, I seem to remember, are somewhat cheaper in France than in the UK.

This does not work if your 964 is already LHD.....[8|]

 

[Andy Roe]

Hi Colin! It's going to be a permanent move out of the UK I think. The car is already LHD, so luckily that's not an issue.

A.

 

[jr2015]

Andy, It takes 13 years to get full no-claims bonus in France they work on a different system to the UK, not surprising when you see their driving. It could well be beneficial to check with your current insurer as they might have a french parent company like Axa and can come up with something better.Now our 2cv has hit 20, our french insurance company will only cover it 3rd party.
jr

 

[Andy Roe]

OK. I have 12 years no claims so far... From what I can see, Axa may well be the way forward and it seems as though they will honour my UK no claims bonus. We'll see. If I kept it UK registered, most unsurers only insure 3rd party anyway. I am still trying to work out exactly how much it'll cost me to import it first though!! I have worked out that the car is 17CV so I am making progress, but the calulation on how to work out the rest seems a bit confusing! Especially as I can't speak french and my wife has never had a car before. My wife can speak french though, and is going to call someone in Paris tomorrow to try and find out the cost.

A.

 

[chfs911]

Try my pal Jean Christophe in Paris.

http://hpfr002.free.fr/forum/viewforum.php?f=7&sid=eeb7ceb95906923b8d0d8fffda55c7c4

I am sure he can help with some answers.

 

[Andy Roe]

Thanks. I've registered with the site, but it doesn't seem to be working properly. Do you have an email for him that you could PM me?

Andy

 

[Andy Roe]

Actually - just found an email for him!

Thanks!

 

[smallspeed]

completely off topic, but that is a gorgeous colour; my godfather has a 993 C2 in that colour scheme and I always loved it, but never seen a 964 in Burgandy before..

good luck moving to france; my car did it the other way around; starting life in paris and coming to the UK

ben

 

[Andy Roe]

Thanks!! A lot of people have commented on the same thing. Here's a link to some more pictures. It's a one-off colour. Not quite the same shade of red as the dark red (Arena Red) used in the 993, but close!
http://members.rennlist.com/andy_roe/index.htm

 

[smallspeed]

fantastic colour combo; looks awesome with the light interior, and that carbon wax is worth every penny isn't it?!..
Also, nice house; I think I need to move now Ive seen that []

 

[Andy Roe]

Sadly, I only own a 2 bed apartment in the house! I've actually just sold it ready for the move to Paris. Crazy prices here in London - if you wanted the whole house, one's just come on the market for a cool £1.8m!!