As I mentioned before my husband may be moving the family over to Toulouse in Febuary.

My husband will need a runaround, he is not a flash harry and does not need or want anything that sparkles or does specacular things currently he drives a N reg Honda we have been told second hand cars in France are very expensive can someone give me some idea of costs or pm me a link to a second hand website if that is allowed I do realise you can't advertise on forum

Thank you very much in advance.

Wonkay xXx

hi there
why not buy in the uk and re register here in france
There are several uk right hand drive companies: just google them,
I'd recommend buying a diesel car for resale

Doesn`t he want a LHD for France. ;-)
Also is there no 6 month time limit of ownership in the UK to save paying taxes when you bring it over to France, like Spain ?

aargh even now after all these month!!!!
I paid the tax on reregistering the car but it was a small amount (so small i cant recall how much) so yes there is a tax but overall it still costs less than a 2nd hand car in france

You`ve been sitting on the wrong side too long. lol

lol
- it has been a lONG day !!

grit your teeth and buy a lefthand drive.....less hassle....low key option....better for autoroute payments!!!

I totally agree, buy locally. Far more advantages than drawbacks.
Not only that, but since the recession, car dealers are desperate for customers. The Government scheme for new cars is very tempting which results in additional cars being traded in. It's these vehicles that the dealers just cannot move and are open to offers well below Argus published prices. So with the dealers, if you check the market well you will find some excellent deals with some back-up warranty.
On the other hand, if you prefer a private deal, check out one of the freeby weekly papers such as ParuVendu.
http://www.paruvendu.fr/auto-moto/recherche/voiture/
Limit the search by putting the type of vehicle in the 'Recherchez' search box, and 3100 in the 'Localisation' search field.

Or try the mammoth-size car mart just off the N20 on the north outskirts of Toulouse. I believe it's held the first Sun of each month. Take someone who speaks French well! It's pretty well organised. The private sellers who have contacted/paid the organisers set fee, receive an official large data sheet which is completed and placed on the car windscreen. This shows the make/model/year/mileage/ number of owners etc. These 'official' private sellers make up approx 1/4 of the cars exhibited for sale. I bought a superb little Fiat Panda for my OH (after a test drive) at a super bargain price many years ago.
Word of warning though - the other 3/4 of the cars exhibited are by the 'pirate' sellers who have paid no entrance fee, and park their vehicles around the main car park - beware of these, easily identified as Boycie/Delboy characters with gold bracelets, flowery shirts, rings on each finger - "As new Ford Cortina, only 1,500miles, super-tuned to 300bhp, driven only on Sundays from the convent to the local boulanger by the original Mother Superior owner; look, even has her bible in the glove compartment, luvvly-jubbly". I think you get the picture!
Even for the non car buying public, it's an interesting Sun morning sortie with refreshment stand for coffee, merguez etc.
Good luck.

Use your car when you get here......Then buy a LHD car. Toulouse has lots of Free ads and a very good second hand market in cars, You just have to go in to Muret on the A64 to find them which is Toulouses main shopping zone other than the city center.

Have you tried
http://www.leboncoin.fr/
Click on your region, then on your department
then click on the category of object = VEHICULES
then add a maker's name if you want a particular car make/model

Sometimes you'll find nice surprises - even from professional dealers
which are marked with (pro) and must show their "siret" number as proof!
These days it's much more a buyer's market in the car business!

At the moment, the offering for Haute Garonne (includes Toulouse) is
http://www.leboncoin.fr/li?q=&ca=16_...ex%3A75001&fu=
Click on each picture that interests you for complete info.
Scroll right down for following pages.

I finally bit the bullet and bought a second hand (but nearly new) car form a main dealer - I decided a cheaper LHD car bought in the UK and driven down south would be a lot of hassle, especially if I need to claim on warranty! Now I have two cars, each with steering wheels on opposite sides, so will have to make a conscious effort to remember which side of the road to drive on...

I have arranged insurance through the local AXA agency and its turning out not too bad cost wise as they allowed my maximum no claims bonus to be used from my existing UK insurance. Just interested in whether anyone finds organising insurance over the internet in France any better (or cheaper), as everyone seems to do in the UK? I suppose having a local office to call into does offer some personal service, but not sure how much that helps in the event of needing to claim?

Excellent links those.
My Audi 80 needs 1100 euros spent on it Tyres/Shockers etc to pass the Control Technique so I am about to scrap or give away 'Old Faithful and am in the market for a newer car. I also looked at UK Auto Trader LHD cars but it does appear cars are up to £2000 cheaper in UK. Weigh that up against getting them here and the paper chase and the deal isn't quite as attractive. I didn't know about the tax thing either.

There are many different sites in france similar to england for second hand cars, but the price difference is astounding! Personally I bought a car in england, then imported it into france, even with import charges, i saved a lot of money! Before you think about taking a car to france make sure you can get the papers needed to import it. One of these is a certificate of conformity, Usually available from dvla if it is an english car, to import the vehicle to france you have to have this form!

Something for you to think about, at present i am looking at new LHD cars in france and i have actually managed to find a new car cheaper than the same second hand model. If you specifically want LHD, I would consider looking in england or belgium as prices are more reasonable even with import charges!

For having a car in france, i pay no road tax, insurance is a little more expensive, but controle techniques are every 2 years rather than one! If you have an english car in france, to have it under french insurance you will have to import it after a certain length of time, i had 6 months to fully import after getting insurance!

For the difference in english to french warranties, usually 5 to 3 years, there is international warranty services that can transfer costs so the 5 year english warranty will still work in france.

I must agree with Tcal5.
Used cars are ridiculously expensive in France and with high mileages!

Look around at the deals available on new cars at the moment, decide what sort of vehicle you need, hatch, saloon or estate and look at French cars - they are designed for French use, are reliable and can be serviced anywhere.

Peter.

Be aware when comparing advertised prices - dealerships are including discounts for the scrappage of old car (1000 Euros) plus an eco bonus (700 Euros) off new car prices - but don't include all the "on-the-road costs". If you are not scrapping your old 8-10 year old car then you could end up paying a lot more than advertised. Used car sticker prices seem to be what you pay, minus any negotiated reductions.