I'm not sure if this counts as a technical query, but it's certainly giving me grief...
I live in France and I am trying to buy a classic car in the UK to bring over here. Importing it doesn't appear to be a problem but I want to insure it the way I insured my old cars in the UK, ie a straightforward classic car policy.
Problem is, over here classic insurance seems to be dirt cheap but all you get is the equivalent of third party cover and no agreed valuation. Presumably the old car fraternity over here only take their little Simcas and Renault 8s to village fetes on Sundays. If you ask for comprehensive (own damage) cover the price is immediately comparable with an ordinary policy, which gets pricey if it's for something like a Jaguar. One guy in a broker's office asked me the price of the car in 1975 and what I was paying for it now. He said (in French of course...) 'but that's more than it cost when it was new'!
Faced with that sort of thing, what I need is a British-based Lloyds underwriter or company that will provide classic insurance for a car based in France. Does anybody know of one?
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will be moved to \"Discussion\" in a little while. {Done (obviously). DD}
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Are you intending to re-register in France?
If you keep your UK regn you need to take it out of France every 6(?) months and you will find nobody in France will(should) insure it against a UK regn, altho some insurers may take it on pending CT and French registration. They normally impose a time limit.
If you reregister you will need the manufacturers Certificate of ???Conformity??? (I cant remember the correct name). For an old car with a now defunct manufacturer this may be diificult to come by or expensive. If there is an age exemption please let me know because I may consider taking my convertible to France and reregistering it (it only seems to get 10 days per annum use over here!).
There are some EU restrictions on insurance of vehicles not registered in the same country, but I cannot recall where to find this.
pmh (was peter)
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I live in France and I am trying to buy a classic car in the UK to bring over here.>>
You think you?ve got problems? I moved to Poland at the beginning of this year and recently brought over my Peugeot 605 (on UK insurance for 3 months). Any queries regarding re-registration and insurance are met with blank faces. I?m not surprised though, it took six months of dogged determination (and bribery with chocolate) just to get a bank account. I also want to bring over an old XJS and insure it as a classic but I haven?t found the strength to get that ball rolling yet, so if you have any luck finding a Uk company that will insure abroad I?d love to hear about it. Anything here that involves any kind of rubber stamp of officialdom seems to come only after several months of waiting and a hefty fee.
My 3 months remaining UK insurance is fast running out and I?m no nearer a solution. Several companies will insure it if I convert it to left hand drive. Yeah right. It?s only worth about 500 quid. Maybe I should just be done with it and buy a Wartburg.
In addition, the roads here are so bad, the car takes a hell of a pounding. It?s gone from being a tight motor to rattling like a minicab.
Is it a Jag you?re trying to insure?
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yes, it is a jaguar - XJ6 coupe. I thought it would be good to have because there are very few over here. I do intend to re-register it (if it ever happens) and I know the score because I have already imported my Honda Accord. A 4.2 XJ6 is classed as 24 horsepower over here for taxation purposes, which makes the woman at the Prefecture throw up her hands and shout oooh-la-la, but at least you only have to pay once. In fact, if you register it as a collector's car you only have to Controle Technique (MOT) it once as well - but that seems rather foolish to me. A neighbour, who used to be in insurance, thinks he knows someone in Paris who has a contact at Lloyds who might insure it if I submit it to a locally-based 'expert' to confirm my valuation. That may be the answer, perhaps. I'm not holding my breath - around here (Limousin) 'demain' (tomorrow) is said by the French themselves to be like 'Manana' but without the urgency!
Meanwhile, Big Bad Dave - buy the Wartburg! I actually owned one about 35 years ago and it was a great bit of kit. I still drive automatics for preference because I got so used to the freewheel transmission! It was a bit of a pain to put 10 gallons of 2-stroke mixture in it though, when you had to work the pump with a handle because it was only used otherwise for scooters!
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