Living in France, exporting car

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Purchasing classics there

It is an aside because we also include some younger cars here. Our approach is namely a Chevrolet Silverado of just under thirty years old. He is with an AMK reader and his partner to France. Just like the subscription to Auto Motor Klassiek.

There are quite a lot of Dutch people who (will) live there. To have or want to buy a second home. But if you live in France, your car must also get a French license plate. And that is why it is useful to drive a classic. Because with cars under thirty you often have to have a long breath. Ilja Gort has tackled this cleverly - and sponsored. It drives classic.

France and Europe

The French bureaucracy is convinced that France and European regulations do not have much to do with each other. That the universe should turn to France. That has already led many import French M / V to despair. We even know people who came back to the Netherlands because of it. Transferring a Dutch license plate to a French butter note can become extremely challenging. Especially if you don't speak the language well.

It starts with running the car in your home country. This is possible at dealers and traders and usually costs up to 50 euros.

Then the export story begins

The effort is in the legalization of cars up to the age of 30. First, ask a dealer of the relevant brand for the EU Certificate of Conformity. If you bought the car through a dealer or private person, you can contact the importer of the make of your car. That is, if that is a model of a common brand known here. Of course the car must be registered in your name and / or exported before you can export it to France. It helps if you let the car enjoy a very fresh MOT. That export-ready is an administrative thing in which the car is stripped of its Dutch number plates. These are cut in three and that is usually possible at the better traders. From that moment on you no longer have any obligations such as road tax, MOT and insurance.

A lot of administration

As soon as the RDW approves the export, you are no longer allowed to drive on public roads. You have to leave the country anyway, so apply for an export registration number. It is valid for two weeks. Please note that you do need separate insurance for this! The vehicle must also be inspected during the trip itself. If the car is older than 4 years, you must have a technical MOT check done in France (Contrôle Technique). This is possible at almost all local inspection stations. Count on costs around 50 euros. You also need to get a Certificat Fiscal or Quitus Fiscal at the Hôtel des Impôts. This statement indicates that you no longer have to pay import duties or VAT. The Impôts address can be found on the taxe foncière and the taxe d'habitation. You must bring the registration certificate and purchase contract.
You can ask for and fill in the completed Demande d'Immatriculation form on site. On the second part, you copy the data on the EU Certificate of Conformity.
A Justicatif de Domicile. This is, for example, an account from the French telecom company or another utility company that has your address on it. The bill may not be older than 3 months.

What else is needed

  • Your driver's license or passport. (preferably both)
  • All parts of the registration certificate.
  • Invoice of the car
  • Fiscal certificate
  • Certificate of Conformity
  • Proof of the Contrôle Technique
  • The puissance fiscal, that damned fiscal wealth. this is often taken from the proof of the Contrôle Technique. Or not…

The trouble often starts with the part of the puisasance fiscal, the tax on engine power on which the French government has the bizarre patent. The Chevrolet in question requires a CVO. But GM and Chevrolet and a few other brands are no longer very active on the Benelux market. That can be a hassle. The factory data files are no longer accessible. We try to help our reader through a Canadian connection. However, there are companies that can professionally provide CVOs. The costs can amount to about € 450.- But even then it is usually the case that the fiscal capacity is not stated on it and you are dependent on French whims. If you do not speak (perfect) French and do not know the tone of the country, then you are irretrievably lost.

So do a classic

No CVO is required for cars and motorcycles older than thirty. So it might be most convenient to emigrate with your classic. So there is also a classic back in the country where we Dutch have so many classics from. Importing a classic from France is much easier by the way. So maybe it's better to just stay here.

Regarding regulations in Europe? American cars? The French laugh about it

French driving. The simple way

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8 comments

  1. Interesting article. What is that situation like with regard to Italy? Traditionally a country with a lot of bureaucracy, forms and stamps.
    Does anyone have experience with that ?
    I would like to know a little more about that. Tips?

  2. I have lived in FRANCE for 25 years and tried twice to import and register a car. The first was a 2 PONTIAC, which I had bought in the US and imported in Rotterdam. All import duties and VAT paid. In France I went from pillar to post and the Impots didn't want to give me Quitus Fiscale. All my customs papers were in order. Just pure ONWIl !! Ultimately il transported the car back to the Netherlands and put it on a Dutch license plate. The second was a 1952 LEXUS LS 400 which I had bought in Germany. All papers in order but to eventually get the Carte Grise, for which you can pay around a thousand euros because it is an 1991 cylindre, if I had to pay another TWENTY THOUSAND euros BONUS MALUS on top of that in connection with the 'POLUTION' This car is now also on Dutch registration and in the name of my brother.

  3. Hello,
    I have been living in France for almost 50 years and have imported several cars. Your story is quite correct except for the control technique: now costs 70 to 75 euros ...
    But you do not mention at all the possibility of requesting a carte grise de collection for classics (> 30 years). It is simpler for non-Europe cars or “separate” classics such as my Buggy Ruska that I am currently introducing. The certificat de conformité must be requested from the Fédération Française de Véhicules d'Epoque (FFVE) and costs 60 euros.
    The great advantage of a collection license plate is the Contrôle Technique, which is only mandatory every five years.

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