Moving to France

[sue_5076840]

Hi folks, we are looking to buy a caravan to take with us when we move to France in April. The guy at the local Bailey dealer said that it is near impossible to legally take a van permenantly to France due to the lack of a certificate of conformity.

It had never occured to me that we would need to register a caravan. Is he right ? Has anyone ever heard of this ? Thanks for your time Sue

 

[Rod_5041370]

If you are moving to France you will need to get your caravan registered and it is difficult but not immpossible. If you are taking a Brit registered car you have to complete a DVLA export certificate and then have a limited time to register it in France and fit French plates (there isn,t any vehicle tax).

Many Brits are driving their Brit registered cars illegally in France by retaining Brit plates, not having an MOT, not registering it in France, not exporting it and not having a Controle Technique. I just hope that they do not have an accident.

If your car is dual fuel or LPG it is near impossible to register it in France.

It would be a lot easier to sell your caravan in the UK and obtain a French registered one when you move there.

I do keep a Brit registered caravan in France but as I spend less than the magic 183 days there I do not have to re-register my car which is taxed, MOT'd and insured in the UK. I can, therefore, tow my caravan in France on Brit plates without registering it

 

[Rod_5041370]

If you are moving to France you will need to get your caravan registered and it is difficult but not immpossible. If you are taking a Brit registered car you have to complete a DVLA export certificate and then have a limited time to register it in France and fit French plates (there isn,t any vehicle tax).

Many Brits are driving their Brit registered cars illegally in France by retaining Brit plates, not having an MOT, not registering it in France, not exporting it and not having a Controle Technique. I just hope that they do not have an accident.

If your car is dual fuel or LPG it is near impossible to register it in France.

It would be a lot easier to sell your caravan in the UK and obtain a French registered one when you move there.

I do keep a Brit registered caravan in France but as I spend less than the magic 183 days there I do not have to re-register my car which is taxed, MOT'd and insured in the UK. I can, therefore, tow my caravan in France on Brit plates without registering it

NB. I've just noticed that you haven't bought a caravan yet....phew!!

Your dealer/Bailey must be very honest, most would have sold you the caravan and let you find out the hard way.

 

[Lutz]

Of course, Rod's good advice applies to the car, too, not just the caravan. But why buy a UK caravan for the purpose of taking it abroad permanently anyway? The door will be on the 'wrong' side and you probably won't find a franchised dealer locally for service and spares either. Add to that the hassle of registering it and you'll find it much easier to buy one when you get there.

 

[CliveV]

A client of mine who now resides on the French side of the Pyrenees looked at this before moving and decided that selling and buying in France was the only sensible option. The only vehicle that he re-registerred in France was his MGBGT V8 - which he just could not leave behind or sell.

This went OK tho' there was some difficulty with the paperwork (there always is!) - Only problem he has now is that he regularly gets pulled over by the French Police when driving it - not because he has done anything wrong but because they want to look at it!

 

[sue_5076840]

A client of mine who now resides on the French side of the Pyrenees looked at this before moving and decided that selling and buying in France was the only sensible option. The only vehicle that he re-registerred in France was his MGBGT V8 - which he just could not leave behind or sell.

This went OK tho' there was some difficulty with the paperwork (there always is!) - Only problem he has now is that he regularly gets pulled over by the French Police when driving it - not because he has done anything wrong but because they want to look at it!

Thank you all for your answers. I think the reason we were thinking of buying here is mainly we can barter better in English than French ! Also we had no idea we would have to go through the hassle of registering a caravan !

One thing that now has me worried, thanks Rod! We are going to buy a car in September when we go to France and had planned to get the LPG conversion done here when we get back is this going to be a problem ? Thanks all for your time, Sue

 

[David_5072296]

Hi there,

The quick answer is, yes you can take it there. You can get insurance, but it will be expensive. Also the caravan will have to have test every 2 years as for conformity. however it will fail this test because the door is on the "wrong" side.

I lived in Brittany for 5 years, and sonme of the legalities are a bit strange. Insurance, for example, you cannot just say you have sold/scrapped the car or caravan. You have to prove change of ownership or scrap dealers receipt. They will direct debit your account otherwise.

I recommend you buy a car and caravan over there. There are loads of dealers, and its a very popular French past time.

Dave

 

[sue_5076840]

Hi there,

The quick answer is, yes you can take it there. You can get insurance, but it will be expensive. Also the caravan will have to have test every 2 years as for conformity. however it will fail this test because the door is on the "wrong" side.

I lived in Brittany for 5 years, and sonme of the legalities are a bit strange. Insurance, for example, you cannot just say you have sold/scrapped the car or caravan. You have to prove change of ownership or scrap dealers receipt. They will direct debit your account otherwise.

I recommend you buy a car and caravan over there. There are loads of dealers, and its a very popular French past time.

Dave

Thanks for that David. Although I have really fallen for the Bailey I think you are right !

I don't surpose you know of any dealers with a large selection of vans in the Limousin ? Preferably near Limoges ? I have tried to look on the net but am not getting very far ! Thanks again, Sue