Buying a car in France seems to involve a lot of unexpected steps, so I thought I’d share what we’ve learned about it.
Step 1: Car must be checked by garage
The people selling the car need to take it to a garage and get it checked over sometime in the 6 months prior to the sale. No-one seems to check this on any of the forms, but it’s known to be required.
Step 2: Get insurance cover before you buy the car
Get hold of a copy of the seller’s Carte Gris so you can quote the license plate number, car number and other details. Get your insurance sorted before you drive the car. The insurer should then give you a month to get your new Carte Gris information to them.
Step 3: Fill out prefecture forms when sale is made
Don’t expect the person selling you the car to know this step – I think it’s one of the changes to the Carte Gris system in the last few years.
Before the sale, go to the prefecture and get two forms:
- “Declaration de cession d’un véhicle”
- Application for “Certificat d’immatriculation” (Carte Gris)
The first form needs to be filled out by both parties and the other just by the buyer, but both parties will need information from the old Carte Gris. So, it’s better to fill them out together while all the information is in front of you.
Note: There’s usually a counter in the Prefecture where you can get the forms without waiting.
Step 4: Take forms to Prefecture
The buyer has one month to ensure these forms are taken to the Prefecture. Any later and they’ll be fined for driving the car. Technically, I think the seller is responsible for the first form. However, the prefecture had no problems with the buyer bringing in both forms. Also bring ID, proof of address and some money for payment for the transfer (in May 2010 the fee was 94 €).
The Carte Gris system has changed in recent years, so the Prefecture helpfully supplied me with a step-by-step guide for what happens next. Basically, it involves waiting patiently and not bothering them unless two weeks goes by without your Carte Gris arriving in the mail. Strangely though, in an entire A4 sheet of helpful information, it didn’t bother to mention the next step because it’s so obvious to French people.
Step 5: Get new number plates
When cars are sold in France, the registration number/number plates need to be changed. The new number is printed on the Certificat d’immatriculation. So, with the provisional Certificat d’immatriculation, you can get new number plates made for the car by going to any garage/mechanic (in May 2010 it cost me 23 €).
This last bit really surprised me. I knew that the plates would be changed, but I thought there would be some sort of centralised process for it, eg. the plates being sent to me. If mechanics in Australia started printing their own number plates they’d get investigated by the police. So, I never expected that the next step would involve casually strolling into a garage with a photocopy and getting new number plates made for the car. I still wouldn’t know if I hadn’t happened to have spoken to someone who knows I don’t know the process here.
On that note, I also noticed that you need to apply for an updated Carte Gris if you ever move house. Wouldn’t have expected that either. Hope it doesn’t cost as much as when you transfer in to your name!
Image Credit: Karol Siedlaczek
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