France boating and a motorbike. Pitfalls?

[Ronalan]

When we take our boat with the motorbike on the front to France, do we have to register the bike in France? How do we insure it for the roads without a French address?

[Graham Davis]

If you are a tourist with a permanent address in another EU country, then as long as it is registered and insured in that country there is no need.

From a friends experience it can be very difficult getting a UK vehicle registered in France, and he lives there!!

[Guest]

When we take our boat with the motorbike on the front to France, do we have to register the bike in France? How do we insure it for the roads without a French address?

A lot will depend on how long you intend to stay.

 

http://www.french-property.com/news/travel_france/importation_car_france/

 

A complicating factor if longer than six months will be your lack of permanent French address. (And the French can do 'complicated' to not seen before levels)

 

Eg

 

http://www.lifford-cooke.com/motorbiking/documents/French%20Motorbike%20registration%20rules.pdf

Edited February 12, 2016 by MJG

[Graham Davis]

My friend in France has just done:

His 3 year old car:

Needed to get the headlights changed, the rear fog light changed sides, proof from DVLA that he had told them he had exported the car, and a letter from the EU manufacturer that it was produced to French standards.

His kit car:

Again all the lights, plus a speedo that showed KPH, the DVLA export letter, but nothing else

His trailer, produced by Brian James 20 years ago:

He needs the original registration document and they will NOT accept that the UK doesn't register trailers, the original Conformity Certificate, also not issued in the UK, plus various other documents; he thinks he will give up with this and buy a new trailer!!

[Paul C]

Trailers are usually a nightmare and the only way round it is to not export one; but simply buy the equivalent trailer in France instead.

[bargemast]

My friend in France has just done:

His 3 year old car:

Needed to get the headlights changed, the rear fog light changed sides, proof from DVLA that he had told them he had exported the car, and a letter from the EU manufacturer that it was produced to French standards.

His kit car:

Again all the lights, plus a speedo that showed KPH, the DVLA export letter, but nothing else

His trailer, produced by Brian James 20 years ago:

He needs the original registration document and they will NOT accept that the UK doesn't register trailers, the original Conformity Certificate, also not issued in the UK, plus various other documents; he thinks he will give up with this and buy a new trailer!!

 

I'm quite amazed that your friend managed to get his Kit-Car on french papers, as is almost impossible for a french resident to get a kit car licenced, unless you have more money to waste than the value of one of the more expensive kit cars on the market, and still without the certainty of succes.

 

Peter.

Edited February 13, 2016 by bargemast

[Graham Davis]

He said it was quite easy once he had produced all the UK documentation and done the few alterations they wanted.

He reckoned the person at the Prefecture was a petrolhead.

He had more problems with his Yeti, and that is available in France!

[bargemast]

He said it was quite easy once he had produced all the UK documentation and done the few alterations they wanted.

He reckoned the person at the Prefecture was a petrolhead.

He had more problems with his Yeti, and that is available in France!

They ask for a European c.o.c. which an English kit car can't have had. If it was an old one he only had to get it weighted and m.o.t. approved, more recent ones have to pass a S.V.A. to become road légal and get their UK licence. The french are stupid as they don't allow french residents to licence kit cars, saying that they don't allow this sort of vehicles on the french roads, while in summertime hundreds (or even more) of English, Dutch, Belgian, German etc kit cars can be seen on the roads of France.

 

There are several french kit car sites complaining about this absolutely stupid rule, which should be against the European law, where there should be more egality in this sort of rules, but the french being french don't give a Sh.t.

 

 

Peter.

[Leisure boater]

The French are strange you have cars for the banned (sans permis) and i drive around in my excavator which only needs to have insurance and nothing else.

[Graham Davis]

They ask for a European c.o.c. which an English kit car can't have had. If it was an old one he only had to get it weighted and m.o.t. approved, more recent ones have to pass a S.V.A. to become road légal and get their UK licence. The french are stupid as they don't allow french residents to licence kit cars, saying that they don't allow this sort of vehicles on the french roads, while in summertime hundreds (or even more) of English, Dutch, Belgian, German etc kit cars can be seen on the roads of France.

 

There are several french kit car sites complaining about this absolutely stupid rule, which should be against the European law, where there should be more egality in this sort of rules, but the french being french don't give a Sh.t.

 

 

Peter.

 

Funnily enough my friend has been in touch today.

Seems the Prefecture have had a change of heart and have accepted all the documentation from the manufacturer of the trailer but want a receipt for the original purchase of the trailer 24 years ago!! I'm sure something can be "found"!!

 

His kit car is a Marlin and he said he had less problems getting that registered than he did with his Skoda Yeti. I also know of a (born) French friend who built and regularly drives a Lomax 223 over there, and he said he had no problems getting it registered.

Edited February 14, 2016 by Graham Davis

[Stilllearning]

He said it was quite easy once he had produced all the UK documentation and done the few alterations they wanted.

He reckoned the person at the Prefecture was a petrolhead.

He had more problems with his Yeti, and that is available in France!

Having registered two vehicles in France in the past two years, a Ford Galaxy and a motor home, we would say that it isn't complicated, you just need to have a few pieces of paper. I suspect that some Departements are more fussy than others, and we certainly were never told to change rear fog lights, just the headlight glass. MOT was done while still on British plates, as the V5 had the appropriate section filled in with the vehicle ID number (section k?).

I wouldn't have wanted to try a kit car or something truly old or exotic though, despite our local vehicle and licence office being really helpful, patient, and possessed of a sense of humour.

[bargemast]

Funnily enough my friend has been in touch today.

Seems the Prefecture have had a change of heart and have accepted all the documentation from the manufacturer of the trailer but want a receipt for the original purchase of the trailer 24 years ago!! I'm sure something can be "found"!!

 

His kit car is a Marlin and he said he had less problems getting that registered than he did with his Skoda Yeti. I also know of a (born) French friend who built and regularly drives a Lomax 223 over there, and he said he had no problems getting it registered.

 

I'm sure that something can be " found" for your friends trailer, that should be easy enough.

 

Many years ago there bas been a Lomax importer for France, based at Le Mans, but he had to give up as the buyers of the few kits he managed to sell in a short period, never managed to get them licences.

 

I've spoken with a couple of French people driving french registred Lomax 223 and 224 kit cars, but they were illegaly driving on their original 2CV papers, which could cost them a fortune if they're ever involved in a serious accident, as their insurance won't be valid.

 

This is in the country of "Vive la Liberté"

 

Peter.