Safe Speed Forums

as Johhny Foreigner has 6 Months to get His (6 Months Grace?) doesn't He/She?

so why don't I?, I want my Free Tax and MOT Please!, after all if not this is Discrimination isn't it?

don't forget that NO ONE is above the Law, or are they?

and another thing, how come they have Valid Insurance without either valid Tax or MOT as we don't?

Not if you can go abroad and get treated likewise...

There is no "grace" period involved at all.
You are entitled to exactly the same concession as "Johnny Foreigner" if you take your vehicle to his country.

They don't get free tax or MOT at all.
The car only has to be legal in the country of registration in order for it to be driven over here.

They don't have "road tax" full stop, and their MOT is every 2 years.

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What makes you think I'm drunk officer, have I got a fat bird with me?

In respect of France: Their "Control Technique" (MOT) is rather severe compared to ours, but since repairs are cheaper it's less of a problem, and it does cover two years.

It's carried out at special centres which are independent of any garages too.

Insurance is displayed on the vehicle in the form of a sticker, is generally cheaper and includes headlight cover under the excess. Renewal of insurance takes place 1 month before expiry automatically. If you wish to change companies, you MUST arrange it before that date, or you are stuck with the old company for nother 12 months!

What IS a little off putting is when in France, and you get pulled over by the Gendarmes, they have an Automatic pistol on their hip!!

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Time to take responsibility for our actions.. and don't be afraid of speaking out!

If you think that is off putting, then wait till you get woken up at 5.30am and find yourself surrounded by MP5's while having conflicting orders screamed at you

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What makes you think I'm drunk officer, have I got a fat bird with me?

If you buy your next car in france and bring it to the UK you have six months tax-free so long as the car is registered, insured and road-legal in France, so there's your 6-months tax free you want. In fact, if you lease-hired a car in France on a 6-monthly rolling basis, changing the car every 6 months, you could drive a French registered car here all the time and never pay any UK road tax. That's entirely legal under EU law and with my son moving to live permanently in France I may well do this. He and I could share 2 cars, with me returning every 6 months to swop them over. The actual regulation says that a foreign registered car may remain in the UK for a maximum of 6 months in every 12.
Think of it: tax-free, camera exempt, congestion charge exempt, parking fine exempt, etc. (so long as one doesn't really abuse the system).
Actually I do know a guy who has an office address in Gremany and his Audi A6 is on German plates. He lives and mainly works in the UK, goes abroad quite often, and his cars are always on German plates. He ignores the 12-month rule and in many years has never had any problem.

I think theres a story in there Gixxer, care to elaborate?

Are the Gendarmes' pistols not semi-automatic Ernest?

My understanding of that rule is that once the car in question leaves the UK for 24 hours or more, when it comes back the six month "countdown" starts all over again?


Not really Robin

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What makes you think I'm drunk officer, have I got a fat bird with me?

My understanding of that rule is that once the car in question leaves the UK for 24 hours or more, when it comes back the six month "countdown" starts all over again?

Well, that's even better as it means that one 'booze cruise' every 5 months will validate the vehicle here permanently. What a good ideaa.

That's what I said on another thread the other day.
Not only will the "booze cruise" validate the car again, but the money saved will pay for the booze cruise in itself.

My plan is that once the road tax runs out in May, then I will export the car to France and register it over there at my friends place.

It is going to cost me €110 to change the headlights, €35 for the "control technique" (MOT), and fully comp insurance is €190 (we currently pay about £320).

My savings won't be that much in the first year because of the initial outlay in making the car legal over there (although I am still saving), but come the second year we will have saved approximately £400 straight away.

We then of course have the added bonus in that we don't have to worry about camera's, parking fines, etc (not that we take the piss as such now anyway).

As for getting pulled and actually having the car checked out to see how long it has been in the UK, that is never going to happen for at least 2 reasons:

1. The only time you see plod these days is when they are hiding behind bushes
2. In the highly unlikely event you encounter a patrol on the road, they won't be pulling you in a foreign registered vehicle because they are worried about the cost of getting a translator to the roadside to talk to you.

The car isn't being registered on foreign plates so that we can take the piss (far from it), it's being done so we can save money and spend more time concentrating on what matters rather than worrying about some twat pointing an LTI 2020 at us.

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What makes you think I'm drunk officer, have I got a fat bird with me?

I think a left-hand-drive car is best if going the French-registered route, as that's what the Old Bill will expect to see.
Actually someone else I know has done this with an Irish registered car, which would be expected to be RHD. However, I don't have details of the cost of taxing in Eire, although I do know that most of the main English insurers have offices in Dublin and will accept transfer of ncb from England. All you need is an address there and since my wife's family all come from Waterford, that would be no problem for me. The advantage with Eire is that all the cars are identical with UK-market models and the suppliers there all speak English.

They are indeed... they used to have Berretta's but there was a new one over the last year or two, which I have determined is THIS


They also seem to have reigned back from unholstering them at the slightest suspicion - perhaps as more municipal police forces expand into the suburbs, and the Gendarmes territory shrinks a little.
Ten years ago when my parents first moved there, the local gendarmes shot dead a man who threatened them with a chainsaw. No investigation, or public concern of excessive force. From all accounts he was a head case, and even his mother told the press he deserved it!!
Most supermarkets now secure ammunition in a locked cabinet, and an assistant has to serve you specially - no questions asked though!!

Good job it's only cars you can buy and register in France.... or is it!

When we came back via Jersey a few years back, security was a chap in a dayglo jacket, who knocked on your window to ask if you had any guns, explosives, inflammable materials or fireworks in the car!
Thinking there would be effective security, we had omitted to purchase any!

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Time to take responsibility for our actions.. and don't be afraid of speaking out!

2 years ago, firearms could be purchased in France without any problems at all.


Same thing in Portsmouth 2 years ago when we drove back on the ferry.

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What makes you think I'm drunk officer, have I got a fat bird with me?