Insuring car in France

I had a similiar problem a couple of years back 2003/2004.
Things may have changed.

Also means you don't pay for TAX in the UK until you return!

The French insurnace company had no problem insuring my car.

I did go with a French person which did help.

They didn't ask for a MOT so no problem.

As for MOT you must go back to the UK for it. You can drive a car in the UK
without MOT IF YOU ARE GOING TO MOT

Always carry your documents with you because they can impound your car if you don't have them. But don't forget it is technically illegal to drive a car which is not legal in it's country of registration!

 

Jack - it sounds like you are resident here, given you don't want to go back to the UK for an MOT.

However, if you are NOT French resident and you are running a UK registered car in France, it must have a current UK MOT - I don't know about UK road tax. A French insurer will be happy to insure you under these circumstances.

If you are resident in France then you MUST register your car here within six months of importing the vehicle and inform the DVLA that you have permanently exported the vehicle. You can reclaim any outstanding Road Tax. You will need a Controle Technique to obtain a Carte Grise, as well as a declaration that VAT has been paid on the car from your centre d'impots - just show them your purchase receipt. Most cars under 10 years old have a certificate of EC conformity so that should not be a problem unless your car is exotic or modified so we won't go into that aspect!

If you had the car here over 6 months and are French resident then you are breaking the law by driving a UK registered car - you cannot insure it here.

 

MoT's done in french garages??

is this true? is it possible to get an english mot in a french garage? I need to get one for my car as I dont want french plates but I need to get an Mot for insurance purposes etc.

 

All I know about that is when we took our RHD car to a CT centre the chap there asked whether we wanted a French or an English test - I took this to mean did I want a CT or an MOT. I can't think what else he could have possibly meant. I was as surprised to be given this choice. Maybe he was just joking?

 

french

french wouldnt do something english , maybe, can u really imagine DVLA sending MOTS to a french garage???

 

If you want to ask the bloke yourself it was Autosur at Alençon 02 33 82 04 04.

 

NO WAY! A UK MOT test is issued in the UK - end of discussion!

As regards the original post, the situation is as follows:

For a UK plated car to be used on the road in France it has to be road legal in the UK. This means valid MOT, valid tax disk and insured. If the car is not legal in the UK then it should not be used in France.
If your MOT expires whilst in the UK your are allowed to drive to the nearest MOT station for an appointment. With an appointment booked at Dover you could roll off the ferry and head straight to the test centre. However your insurance situation remains a problem. To be honest the only solutions are to tow it to the Uk or to register iut in France.
As for importing a car into France, it is not generally a question of choice but is dicatated by residency:
- If you are a UK resident visiting France you can use a UK reg'd vehicle in France for up to 6 months of a 12 month period.
- If you are resident in France you have 2 weeks to import your car (or 4 months if it requires single type approval).

European legislation bluntly says you cannot drive a foreign registered vehicle in your country of residency. There is no grey area in any of this.

Apaprt from the time limit, Cassis has outlined the process well for registering in France