Whether because your old British car has just died or because you are fed up with being unable to overtake, if you live in France sooner or later you’ll be forced into the swirling waters of French car purchase. So why not leap before you’re pushed? You’ll definitely appreciate having a left-hand drive car.

If you’re fortunate enough to be considering a brand new car, ask around and see if you can find a garage that imports brand new cars from Spain where car prices are much lower than in France. My neighbours did this and tell me with satisfaction that they saved a fortune on their Renault and the garage dealt and paid with all the paperwork involved in changing the log book and the number plates.

Doing this is becoming more and more common in the border regions of France and is not only perfectly legal but also very straightforward. You simply go to the French garage, choose the car you want, and they import it for you. Look for small ads in the local paper.

If you’re buying second-hand then you’ll need to choose whether to pay the extra in order to buy through a dealer, or whether to take your chances and buy direct from someone through the local paper.

Whichever you choose, naturally there are hoops to jump through and a few ‘circles vicieux’ to circumnavigate: you have to insure before you buy but you can’t buy before you’re insured, etc. Don’t panic. Insurance companies are very used to all this and will obligingly cover you even if you haven’t yet organised all the paperwork.

Search for insurance

For best prices on car insurance, try perusing les pages jaunes for direct companies – ie those which do business solely over the phone, by email or internet. You can also halve your insurance premium by producing paperwork from your old UK insurance company showing your no-claims bonus, which is generally capped at 50 per cent in France.

A word of warning: you can’t cancel French car insurance except in special circumstances so unless you give warning two months in advance you are automatically obliged to renew the policy. Special circumstances can include moving out of the country, sending your car to the breaker’s yard, and selling it, but check your insurance policy very carefully – and remember, you have to prove everything by sending all documents recorded delivery. To change insurance companies, (ie if you find a cheaper one) you have to give a minimum two months’ notice by recorded delivery.

Road tax is easy – there isn’t any. The government abolished it in 2001 (for private cars) in response to nationwide strikes about the price of petrol. And you won’t have to change your driving licence, either.

But you will need to deal with the ‘contrôle technique’ or MOT. If you’re buying a car, the old owner must produce a pass certificate issued within the past six months, and don’t even think of buying a car without one because without it, you won’t be able to change the carte grise (log book), which is your next job.

Your number’s up

The local préfecture will give you a form and a list of documents to produce. You fill this in, do some photocopying and the official will print out the new carte grise, which you send to the insurance company. If the préfecture is miles away, the sou-préfecture will send the dossier off for you, and give you a paper confirming that you have asked for a new carte grise, which you copy and fire off to the insurance company.

And that’s more or less it. Except that until 2008, if you have bought your car from outside the département where you live, will have to get new number plates.

If, after all, you do decide to formally import your British banger, first get it MoTed in France, then get a form from the préfecture plus a list of documents to collect. This will take around five to six weeks, and involves various charges including around €120 for a certificat de conformité from the French maker/importer of your car. When you’ve collected all the paperwork, the préfecture will issue a carte grise along with a number so you can get French plates made. (Often, there’s a handy number plate shop just round the corner from the préfecture.

TIPS AND TRIVIA

Cars are generally cheaper in France than in the UK. Check prices carefully before formally importing your car. L'Argus magazine lists prices for all makes
Make sure number plates are riveted rather than screwed onto your car (which is illegal in France).

When choosing a car, remember that in rural France getting spare parts for exotic cars (Volvos, Sodas, etc) can take substantially longer and cost substantially more than getting parts for French cars.

Apart from local papers in each region, there are freebie small ads papers named after the number of your département. So in Lille, ask your newsagent about Le 59: le magazine des petites annonces.

Number plate games for long motorway drives: Experienced players know that 30 is Nimes, 06 is Nice, 13 is Marseilles, etc – because French departments are numbered in alphabetical order, starting with Ain (01) and ending with Val-douse (95). The number 99 is used on French forms to indicate somewhere outside France.

Even today, Renault is partially state-owned as a punishment for the company having collaborated during WWII. Thankfully, road safety is improving although 102,291 people were injured and 4703 people died on the roads in 2006 - 40% more per head of population than in the UK*.  Breathalyser tests, hidden radars and speed traps are increasingly common and fines are rising, so don't be tempted to join in with young men desperate to prove their machismo by driving insanely fast. Pull over and let them past.

Avoid driving on ‘black’ days (see http://www.bison-fute.equipement.gouv.fr/fr/rubrique.php3?id_rubrique=41)
MoTs are only bi-annual, so get your car’s brakes, tyres, suspension and steering checked at a garage annually

FACT FILE
AA website for insurance, routes and more (www.theaa.com)
French government road safety site (in French) www.securiteroutiere.equipement.gouv.fr/
Seafrance site (speed limits and driving tips) www.seafrance.com/en/what_s_on/driving_in_france.php

Disclaimer
This dossier article is intended as a general guide only.  For specific information relative to your own situation, please use the contact details in the factfile.  The information given here was correct at the time of publication.  However, if you notice a gremlin causing typos or any other inaccuracies, do please let us know.

Updates
This article was last updated 15 September 2007

*Stats from www.preventionroutiere.asso.fr