Collioure_Bee

I have now moved my stuff down and am moving myself in a fortnight.

I have just spoken to my licensed muggers aka my car insurance company, who charged me an extra £11.90 for what is NEARLY two months left on my policy for a temporary move literally round the corner in Fareham, not exactly the crime capital of Hampshire. That is around £90 a year pro rata. They want an extra £25 for fully comp in France (for NEARLY two months) and then an extra £70 RAC breakdown for NEARLY two months. This to me is extortion of the legal kind because I HAVE to have it. To cancel early would have been another £30 but the operator says they don't charge admin costs like all the others. No, they just call them penalties instead.

QUESTION (at last!) is would I be better off getting my right hand drive car insured in France or England? Can anyone recommend any decent companies that aren't expensive?

A_n_g_e_l_a

If your car will still have its UK registration then most French companies will not want to know you. However, Axa is the exception. They are not the cheapest but they WILL be cheaper than insuring an English car, kept in France, with an English insurance company. Get a letter from your insurance company showing the number of years you have for no-claims. This is important, having the percentage discount shown is not enough. Make sure you have your years of no-claim entitlement clearly stated.

The EU was meant to be about open borders; it is mainly for people but for cars it is a real pain. I think our MEPs could usefully get this sorted. How long has it been since we had the Schengen agreement?

Anyway to continue, eventually you will have to register your car in France and get a French MOT (Controle Technique), so plan on changing your headlights at the very least.

jdr

The UK is not in the Schengen agreement.
Read the small print in your insurance also, and how long a car can be in the country without being matriculated to local plates etc.

septimus

Think you will find it is 90 days.

Collioure_Bee

Cheers Angela, you come up trumps again.

This is going to turn out to be more expensive than I planned. Will have to look into it and if worst comes to worst, AXA will have to do. Was always planning to change to French registration but didn't even think about the headlights. It's a Renault so hopefully won't be too expensive.

My insurance says 99 days but runs out at the end of April so won't get that.

septimus

Not talking insurance.
talking E,U, law

Ka Ora!

Renault parts for Right Hand drive models are more expensive here as they have to be imported from the UK and can cost up to twice the price of the French Version if you can i would look at buying them before you come fitting them is not to hard and they can be aligned whilst getting you control techniqic. Although some models do not have to be changed as we found out the alignment bracket allowed the lights to be switched over to a Lhd country by ajustment. But that was a Mitsubishi which we have since written off. But The Lhd and Rhd models of French Cars Can vary a lot.

A_n_g_e_l_a

No, I agree. But Sweetlips, typical for a man, and I do assume you to be a man for some reason, you miss the point by focussing on the detail. Is it any easier to bring a car from, say, Germany permanently into France? Of course it isn't; so again making the point perhaps our overpaid and underworked MEPs could get around to sorting it out.

septimus

We are talking COMMON MARKET
Not your market

Ka Ora!

Yes it is. i have brought a few from Germany. As German cast offs can be better than the new cars here. That is because Coming from Germany it is a Lhd Model and its carries the same certificate on european Conformity as France whereas the English Rhd Model does not it had to go through different Crash tests to get the Cert. England is a little more Lapse with the Certificates hence the Quantity of KIT cars in the Uk my dad has a kit car built and first registrar d in the UK he can not however import it in to France unless he builds about six more and submits them for Crash Testing. France has a strict guidance system and if you know the French they are not prone from working outside the Rules if they are sitting behind the Desk.

jdr

They are all making too much money out of it for it to change. ;-))

Yes I am a man, see the blue thing beside my username, or click on my username and view my profile. ;-))

PS. sometimes focussing on the detail saves a lot of hassle later. ;-))

Ka Ora!

And JDR Rocks.....

val50

A_n_g_e_l_a

I recall it moved beyond being just a common market years ago; where have you been?

A_n_g_e_l_a

On the internet the maxim is trust and verify. Trust and verify.

And that's twice now you've made incorrect and negative assumptions about me.