Buy a classic in France

To buy a classic in France:

"Acheter une voiture classique en France". You can do that by going to a French classic specialist who speaks more than just his native language. There are quite a few of them. Then you can buy a classic car or motorcycle. But before you go to the French classic country, it is interesting to do a price comparison between our country and France. You will see that many reasonably accepted classics are cheaper here than in France. For many of the approximately 100 brands manufactured in France itself, that comparison is somewhat more difficult.

Take a look around on the internet

Even if your French is poor. After all, we all use the same euros? The price is 'le prix'. 'Prix à débatre' stands for price in consultation. And 'dans son jus' is unrestored, sometimes with so much patina that it makes you sad.

To actually score a French classic, a few things are important to know. Firstly, the internet in the French countryside, whether hilly or mountain-strewn, has not penetrated into the pores of the system as it is here. The speed of the local network can often best be compared with the stroll of a tired hiker.

Another factor is the far-reaching aging of the outer-city areas. And France has a huge amount of suburban area. And there in that desolation there are still many, often eccentric, greyish people waiting for the end of time without the Internet. A considerable concentration of that type of elders spends his days in the areas where WWII was the busiest. The men who were teenagers or early adolescents at the time grew up while standing in their left-behind war goods.

A Schwimm wagon for example

And a Schwimmwagen left behind was gladly used for shopping, dragging branches. Or he was simply placed somewhere on the back of the plot next to even more where. Because if there is enough space for a huge White tow box, then there is also room for a Schwimm wagon. In the sixties and seventies, men of this kind often crystallized into collectors who gathered up cars and motorbikes left over everywhere for little money. Because also a Facel Vega, an Alpine with some damage or another classic from the sixties and seventies was once just a thing worth a few thousand Francs. And that was at the time that a Franc was about thirty cents.

Classics and aging

These kinds of collectors, who are now elderly, are still under the radar. They are often withdrawn and distrustful of strangers. And for an older Frenchman, anyone who is in a hurry, focused or direct, and who doesn't speak French is suspicious. And strange.

That is why, as mentioned earlier, we occasionally help people who go hunting in France or have found something special. We employ a few French-speaking freelancers who do more than speak French. They know the French cultures know that our much-praised directness in doing business is seen by the French as enormous bone, crap and farmers. As an example: There is a process of four years in which we quietly massage such an old collector until he decides to award a number of classics from his collection to the one who has been following it for so long. But because that is about a few vehicles that are now, after restoration, worth tons, it is worth the effort.

A few things count for buying a classic in France

• You must speak reasonable French in any case.
• When purchasing from a private individual, you should take into account that you can only convince the selling party after a few meetings and dinner that it is appropriate to say goodbye to his property.
• Importing a classic from France takes some time, effort and some money.
• In practical terms, it is usually faster and cheaper to buy your dream car in the Netherlands.