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ForumRead Message
| Subject: | shipping a new car to france |
| Date: | Friday, September 17, 2004 |
| Name: | Linda Hervieux |
| Message: | We are planning to ship our 1-year-old VW Beetle to France in November and are concerned about having to make expensive EU-required configurations when we eventually register it in France. Volkswagen says major changes are required in older cars, but as ours is still relatively new we will only have to change the speedometer and the headlights. The French consulate in New York says they have no idea and the US Embassy in Paris is no belp either. Has anyone ever done this before? Thanks for any advice. Linda |
Replies Posted 10.
| Name | Linda |
| Message | There is likely no list you can obtain in France of the estimated costs to requip your car. You can call the manufacturer and double-check, but everyone we talked to at Volkswagen said they had to see the car first. But they did tell us it would cost thousands of euros and it would take months. It is never worth doing this, unless the car itself has a high emotional value to you and you don't mind the time it will take and the destruction (to the vehicle) involved. |
| Name | Liz |
| Message |
I'm married to a French national. We've been living in the US for two years. We leased a Nissan Quest in 2005...2 more yrs of payments or we buy it outright when we move(another story).
Thomas (and others), is it really helpful to contact the French representative of your manufacturer? My husband loves the car...go figure, a guy who loves a minivan -- not to mention a French guy. Shipping costs are manageable, and swapalease.com won't work for us, since Nissan maintains the original lessee legally remains the lessee 'til the end of the lease (i.e. we swap, the person doesn't pay... we're liable). What to do? If there were a chart of French charges to adapt, register, accept the car to compare against early termination of the lease and shipping abroad, that would be great. I guess we need to do some math. Any suggestions? (By the way, the whole swapalease.com thing doesn't always have to be complicated. Certain companies, like BMV, allow your to totally transfer the lease to the new "buyer."_ |
| Name | Keith |
| Message | Any idea of the cost if the car has a certificate of conformation? |
| Name | bill |
| Message | Better make sure 1 of you is French to avoid the VAT Tax as well |
| Name | geronimo |
| Message |
I understand that you CAN ship a car that is at least 25 years old to France with a lot less cost and hassle, but it will be licensed for use only in your Department and neighboring Departments.
However, from what I have seen buying a car in France are not THAT expensive...I suppose the new car VAT is high, but used? |
| Name | etienne |
| Message |
Unless you have an antique Rolls-Royce with lots of sentimental value, my suggestion about shipping a car to France is "don't". I have known two people who did this and both would have been better off financially to sell their cars (Mercedes) and buy a new one after arriving in France. Car registration in France is much, much more complicated than in the US.
Be very careful and good luck in your decision, Etienne. |
| Name | Linda |
| Message | Wow! This process appears to be even worse than I expected. I kept thinking I could talk my way out much of the bureaucracy. What are you going to do, Thomas? |
| Name | Thomas |
| Message | A French friend of mine moved back from the States to France and brought his motorcycle. He jumped through all kinds of hoops and never got the motorcycle approved and ended up bringing it back to the States when he moved again. |
| Name | max |
| Message | And then after you have spent the thousands to get your car to French specifications, you will go to the Drire several times over several months, because they will undoubtedly find something wrong every time you go. In the end, it wasn't worth it to bring the car. |
| Name | Thomas |
| Message | You're asking the wrong people! You have to contact VW France. I'm going through the exact same thing for my BMW. I found BMW France by Googling. I called them and they gave me somebody in their "Service de Homologation". This person mailed me a form here in Detroit asking for several serial numbers from various places on my car (VIN, chassis, engine, etc.) I'm supposed to send them back this form and they will figure out all the modifications necessary for my particular car. You then ship your car over, take it to an authorized dealer, they do the "modifs", you then take your car to get blessed by the DRIRE (what French people call "les mines", yup coal mines, get a native to explain it to you). You will finally then be eligible for your "carte grise" (registration). The first thing the BMW France guy told me - DON'T! Even though my car was made in Germany, they will change the head and tail lights, tires, dashboard and other things. It will cost a few thousand dollars and they'll keep it for a few months. |
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