S

steve c

New Member
Hi all
Im in the process of trying to get french paperwork for my defender 1986 pick up, had a shock this week when Landrover france informed me that my vehicle used to be petrol originally, now its got a 200tdi in, they said it would be v difficult to get certificate of conformitie due to the engine change...I can take it to DREAL (formerly known as MINES) but they would charge me 1000E per test and it might involve several tests, they advised me to take it back to the UK and sell it there to try and get my money back. Obviously this is very annoying, I only paid 2000 quid for her so dont want to spend at least 2000E more for paperwork. Anyone had any experience of this? or anybody have any ideas as to what I could do to get round the bureaucratic french system?
thanks:doh:
 
yes, im finding that out, they are saying it affects braking speeds etc etc etc, though the french are known for making a big deal out of paperwork, seems the uk landy culture of swapping bits around, hasnt caught on here yet!
 
steve c said:
Hi all
Im in the process of trying to get french paperwork for my defender 1986 pick up, had a shock this week when Landrover france informed me that my vehicle used to be petrol originally, now its got a 200tdi in, they said it would be v difficult to get certificate of conformitie due to the engine change...I can take it to DREAL (formerly known as MINES) but they would charge me 1000E per test and it might involve several tests, they advised me to take it back to the UK and sell it there to try and get my money back. Obviously this is very annoying, I only paid 2000 quid for her so dont want to spend at least 2000E more for paperwork. Anyone had any experience of this? or anybody have any ideas as to what I could do to get round the bureaucratic french system?
thanks:doh:
Click to expand...

Speak to a member called datatek he lives in France now;)
You can find him in the range rover section or click on the member online page at the bottom of the forum .
He might be able to help
 
My brother-in-law found it easier and cheaper to buy a Frogmobile

they really can be a pain the French bureaucracy ... :rolleyes:
 
With the bureaucracy here it might be easier/cheaper to convert it back to the original engine??
If you're up in the Brittany area James Barrington at Garage Barrington in La Cheze is a very handy contact
 
Why not leave it registered in the UK. You can get continental insurance for six months on your UK policy. I found Insurance in the UK was much cheaper than here in France.
 
My mum and dad lived in france for 8 years they had a total mare registering their little clio and then when they came back to the uk the French would not accept that they had sold it! If you've got a uk address you can use for insurance I would do that, that way you don't need a uk mot or tax or the French mot! double bonus! lol
 
yes that is an idea, tho i live here full time so i wouldnt get away with that permanently, the police would eventually get on my case...plus the uk mot runs out fairly soon so i would have to take it back to the uk to renew that, if that was the case, i might aswell sell it whilst its there, very annoying
 
The answer is very simple really, leave the cheese eating surrender monkeys to stick their stupid paperwork where the sun don't shine and move back to blighty.
 
What you can do is to take it back to the UK and get a fresh MOT on it and then register it in France, and yes this is gospel!!!

It is against the European law for them to refuse registration even if it does not have a CoC as a valid safety test within 2 months is classed as a CEC and therefore they have to register it, yes they can look over it visually but that is about it.

I live in Belgium and my little EU county got dragged over the coals for continuing that practice of CoC only registrations not so long ago, if it had a valid MOT within 2 months you could actually appeal it to the European courts and get their ruling slam dunked.

I am just about to(read as when this Disco is finished) take a Dutch registered 110 and fit an Isuzu 4BDT1 engine in it and then send it back to Holland for the safety test and get the paper work amended and then it can be registered here for about €410.
 
dieseldog, that would be great but im not sure who i would talk to about that, the prefecture who issues the carte grise? (v5) im pretty sure I would know there response when I tell them its against european law. As far as my french insurance company is concerned they are getting impatient that I am still on english plates, I suppose I should go to prefecture and see what they say
 
It is best policy to be open and honest with them as they are the rule makers and often use them to suit themselves.

Speak with them about the fact that it has a diesel engine but also be quick to point out that this is represented on the V5 from the UK and that this is also a Land Rover engine.

Although perhaps it would have been better to have had it re-VINed in the UK with a DVLA vin to represent the diesel engine conversion? A CoC can be issued on a valid VIN describing it as being diesel engined.

But it is for sure against the European law to refuse registration and this is a point worth pressing as they are relying on people being scared to press the issue to continue under their current communistic regime, BTW this is how Belgium got kicked into touch, a Belgian guy bought a truck in the UK and tried to register it here, they said no CoC no go, he scoured the European laws and statutes and was happy to go to appeal their decision in the European courts, perhaps you need to grow a pair, I for sure will be getting very excited about the birth of the Dutch 110 if they try that shizzle on with me, perhaps the financial backing from a couple of big 4X4 workshops is a help to fund legals though!

Let me put it this way, my 110 project is going to set the bench mark for import of a custom commercial enterprise importing Land Rovers with exotic engines and getting them approved.
 
good advice again, what is the process of changing the vin to accomodate the engine changes? do you think i could do this by post without taking the vehicle back, the current vin does say diesel engine but obviously the vin number when checked does show original petrol engine. As far as pushing the case with the prefecture, I would probably need a recent mot to go that route, I think the uk mot runs out fairly soon. As the vehicle is quite old 1987 there is no type number (k) on v5 so dont think i can get a controle technique without the coc (well, not easily)
youre being v helpful thanks and your project sounds great!
 
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