Importing a bike into France?

Thanks, if it doesn't then it'll likely be my fault and there's no rush, this is France after all!

Basically yes, just a receipt and a CoC for both, but I can't stress enough, make sure that every bit of paperwork, receipts, V5, Coc, etc., has the same name and address on. I had Jon instead of Jonathan on one bit of paper and it was only after some heavy complimenting on her detective work and a lot of brown nosing, that I got the lady to issue the paperwork I needed to register the ADV. That won't work with the online system. I read this morning they now want a scan of your driving licence and insurance when applying. It's not known if this can be UK licence and insurance yet! You will not believe how bad the French admin system is. £100 seems about the norm for a CoC, some companies do them for free, but not many.

It will save you some hassle, but not as much as you researching that what I've said is the most up to date info! I can't find anything more up to date than the FB group but be careful, don't take what others say as gospel. Mark Rimmer on that site is 99% accurate with his advice and knowledge, he's written the guide on there too.

Good luck with the move, we've been here for just over 2 years now and love it. If there's anything I can help with, give me a shout.

Great stuff, thats my task now! :thumb2

Thanks again for the info, much appreciated. Myself and the missus are living for this move! Hoping to be down in Lyon next Spring!


Did you buy the bikes new? EU law states that all EU vehicles should have a CoC as part of the vehicle documentation.
Take your dealer to task on it. Did they send it to DVLA? You want it back.

Even my old shitter SLK of 2003 (from Germany) came with the CoC in the vehicle docs.

Since the new regs on car CT's this year, masking the light IS acceptable to flatten off the L/H flare of RHD motors.
As there is no CT for bikes, the same should apply.

No, I bought my 2012 Speed Triple privately, earlier this year. And my '16 GS I bought used from a dealer last year. I've emailed the dealer to see if I can get them to dig it up for me! Cheers
 
There is no way to by-pass the CoC if the vehicle is younger than the date they were brought in.
Some have done it using just the V5, but, It MUST have all the right numbers and that is a rarity from the DVLA.

I was wondering if the authorities accept a form direct from the French importer, such as when no CoC isn't available because of the age of the vehicle, or that it wasn't originally supplied to the EU. Probably not, but why are they asking for the bike to be inspected at dealer? There's no need, as the CoC is a document that states the bike conforms with EU regs, not French regs. When you get a UK CoC there's no need to have the bike inspected, so why in France? No doubt the dealer will charge for the privilege too.
 
Great stuff, thats my task now! :thumb2

Thanks again for the info, much appreciated. Myself and the missus are living for this move! Hoping to be down in Lyon next Spring!

We weren't due to come down here until this May, but the Mrs was so stressed out with work that we found a way to come down two years early. It's been a bit tough financially, but pensions have now kicked in and we're so glad we did this. My only regret is that I didn't make more effort to learn the language before we came down.

Are you planning on retiring or working while you're here?
 
Did you buy the bikes new? EU law states that all EU vehicles should have a CoC as part of the vehicle documentation.
Take your dealer to task on it. Did they send it to DVLA? You want it back.

Even my old shitter SLK of 2003 (from Germany) came with the CoC in the vehicle docs.

Since the new regs on car CT's this year, masking the light IS acceptable to flatten off the L/H flare of RHD motors.
As there is no CT for bikes, the same should apply.


Totally agree, it's a con that they charge you for something that should be supplied with a new bike.
 
We weren't due to come down here until this May, but the Mrs was so stressed out with work that we found a way to come down two years early. It's been a bit tough financially, but pensions have now kicked in and we're so glad we did this. My only regret is that I didn't make more effort to learn the language before we came down.

Are you planning on retiring or working while you're here?

It sounds like you made the right choice. If it can be done financially, even if its tough, at the end of the day, quality of life is the most important thing because life is too short.

I've started learning french at a basic level, I'm in a very lucky position that my employer has a base down there and I don't need to speak french for work (it will help though), although I do have every intention of becoming fluent.

I'm still a long way from retirement, which is part of the reason I'm so keen to go now and 'start living'! My other half feels the same, she's planning to try and do some basic language teaching to learn french before undertaking a career down there.
 
It sounds like you made the right choice. If it can be done financially, even if its tough, at the end of the day, quality of life is the most important thing because life is too short.

I've started learning french at a basic level, I'm in a very lucky position that my employer has a base down there and I don't need to speak french for work (it will help though), although I do have every intention of becoming fluent.

I'm still a long way from retirement, which is part of the reason I'm so keen to go now and 'start living'! My other half feels the same, she's planning to try and do some basic language teaching to learn french before undertaking a career down there.

Michel Thomas CDs are great and helped us out to start with, we're now having lessons with a neighbour, but I'm hoping to do some 1to1 lessons soon as I'm struggling. It is also difficult as I've been working on the house a lot and so not having the time to get involved with the locals.

We're in a very agricultural area, but from what I've learnt earning money here as a foreigner isn't easy. You can earn money working for Brits, but not for the locals. I taught in the UK, but I've never found any opportunities to use that here. If you're nearer to a city, that might well be different though.
 
Michel Thomas CDs are great and helped us out to start with, we're now having lessons with a neighbour, but I'm hoping to do some 1to1 lessons soon as I'm struggling. It is also difficult as I've been working on the house a lot and so not having the time to get involved with the locals.

We're in a very agricultural area, but from what I've learnt earning money here as a foreigner isn't easy. You can earn money working for Brits, but not for the locals. I taught in the UK, but I've never found any opportunities to use that here. If you're nearer to a city, that might well be different though.

Funny you should say that, it's actually the Michel Thomas CD's that we've been using. Hopefully it will give us a good foundation to start with.

I find it quite tricky as well but my intention is to build the best foundation possible before we go and then go for 1 to 1 lessons combined with a bit of immersion and hopefully after that I will reduce the amount of locals I offend when I talk!

Yeah I must say it is a bit of a concern whether the missus will find work or not but I'm hopeful we'll come up with something when we get down there.
I'll keep us afloat for the first while and we'll see what happens. All part of the adventure!

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You'll do fine and the French never laugh if you try, they love the fact that you make the effort. They will treat you differently if you can't be bothered to try however, after all, it's disrespectful.

One option you might want to check out is doing/making something the ex pats might want but not be able to get. For example, if there was an indian food stall at any of our local markets, they'd sell out in minutes. Everyone misses a curry here......

Despite what some may say, we've found the cost of living is lower here, but then we don't pay over the odds to have British foods, there's no coffee shops, no takeaways, no pubs. We shop once a week and grow some of our own veg. Life here has very different set of values to the UK. Luckily we worked out quite quickly that we're not on holiday, we live here.

Good luck, it sounds like you have the right attitude to make it work and if you ever head over to the Pyrenees, pop in for a cuppa.
 
but why are they asking for the bike to be inspected at dealer? There's no need, as the CoC is a document that states the bike conforms with EU regs, not French regs. When you get a UK CoC there's no need to have the bike inspected, so why in France? No doubt the dealer will charge for the privilege too.

When I imported my '94 GS, I had to go to a dealer to get an attestation that it had KPH displayed and that the light dipped right. They did it for free:)
CoC's are not EU wide in all respects. UK vehicles have a different "*e" number because of the headlight and speedo, unless the light is flat dip and speedo changeable.
Its the UK out of step with the rest:D
 
You'll do fine and the French never laugh if you try, they love the fact that you make the effort. They will treat you differently if you can't be bothered to try however, after all, it's disrespectful.

One option you might want to check out is doing/making something the ex pats might want but not be able to get. For example, if there was an indian food stall at any of our local markets, they'd sell out in minutes. Everyone misses a curry here......

Despite what some may say, we've found the cost of living is lower here, but then we don't pay over the odds to have British foods, there's no coffee shops, no takeaways, no pubs. We shop once a week and grow some of our own veg. Life here has very different set of values to the UK. Luckily we worked out quite quickly that we're not on holiday, we live here.

Good luck, it sounds like you have the right attitude to make it work and if you ever head over to the Pyrenees, pop in for a cuppa.

We'll have to do some brainstorming to see if we can come up with something like that. We're from both from Ireland so might be able to come up with some Irish foods or delicacies that might be of interest over there.

Whenever I've visited it always seemed a bit cheaper, once you buy French products. We're hoping to have some space to grow some of our own. Also, one condition of moving over was based on a promise to the missus that we could keep chickens, so at least that should cover the whole eggs situation. :thumb

Likewise, we’ll be set up over there by summer so drop in for a cuppa & an egg sandwich lol
 
I've imported various cars, vans and bike into France from the UK and Belgium. Most have had their challenges but the most straightforward was my 1989 R100GS. BMW France supplied a C of C (free for old bikes), changed the headlight (which I don't think you need to do on a modern bike), took the bike to the local dealer for a basic inspection, took the paperwork to the prefecture and got the Carte Grise. Once I got the C of C the rest was done in a morning. I think you'll need a 'Quittance Fiscale' for a newer bike which basically says the VAT has been paid. Also the Carte Grise application is online only now so that's bound to be a shambles.
 
On a slightly different note, but so as not to start a new dedicated thread...

Could anyone explain to me what the deal is with insurance that is sold by Bike Dealers in France as part of a new purchase?

I'm considering getting a new bike when I get down there and it seems a lot of dealers give an option of purchasing insurance as part of the bike purchase or finance.

I was planning on starting a multi-bike policy with my GS and whatever other bike I buy but just wanted to know if I should be considering this insurance?

I'll include a piece of translated text as an example from the French Kawasaki website:

"Z900 95bhp (2018)
For a Rent with Purchase Option, for a Kawasaki Z 900 95 ch 2018 in the amount of € 8,499.00 including VAT over 37 months, after payment on delivery of a first rent plus € 2,549.70 , you repay 36 rents of € 68.84 ** excluding optional insurance. Total amount due excluding the purchase option of € 5,027.94. Purchase option of € 4,249.50, ie a total amount due purchase option included of € 9,277.94 . The monthly cost of optional Sécurivie insurance is € 9.34 and is added to the rents above. The total amount due under optional insurance is € 345.58."

Here is the page https://kawasaki-operations-speciales.com/loa/

Is it just a basic 3rd party type insurance for the vehicle? I was baffled by them giving a fixed fee, it doesn't suggest an assessment of the rider or circumstance.

Thanks! :thumby:
 
The insurance they are probably talking about there is to protect the repayments. I certainly wasn't offered insurance when I bought a bike, or any other vehicle.

As far as I know, they don't do multi bike insurance here, if you find company please let me know. Over here the bike is insured not you, so each bike has to be insured separately. Incidentally, once a bike is insured here, it has to stay insured even if you're not using it. So you either have to sell, scrap it, or prove that it cannot be used or harm anyone.

Get ready for a world of paperwork....
 
Ah I see! I've already begun with this world of paperwork in setting up a bank account and renting a house, Its unbelievable!

Wow, so no multibike policies... that would suggest running a second could be quite a bit more expensive in France... hmmmm

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Please check what I've said, I'm pretty sure I'm right as I tried to do it when we arrived. I came over and registered my 950 and then insured it, then I bought a 1290 Adv and wanted to take the 950 of the road to refresh it. When we went into our friendly AXA agency, they explained the law to us, but they did find us the lowest quote they could, so that the bike was just insured 3rd party.

If you're planning on bringing vehicles and becoming tax resident, you ain't seen nothing yet! Apparently the Gendarmes are planning a big purge on UK registered vehicles when we leave the EU. Far too many brits running around on UK plates, with no MOTs and dodgy insurance. They've been so inundated with driving licence exchanges that they're refusing to accept new ones at the moment, just to clear the backlog.

On the plus side, it's been sunny and 22 degrees this weekend and the forecast is for more of the same for the next week....
 
I see that the bike is ‘rented’ or, I guess ‘leased’ under some sort of finance deal?

I suspect that it is nothing more than a top-up insurance policy that pays the difference between the invoice price and the market value, should the bike be stolen or destroyed or guarantees the payments in the event of some calamity.

The dealership should be able to explain it to you; it’s them that is selling the vehicle and the insurance.
 
Please check what I've said, I'm pretty sure I'm right as I tried to do it when we arrived. I came over and registered my 950 and then insured it, then I bought a 1290 Adv and wanted to take the 950 of the road to refresh it. When we went into our friendly AXA agency, they explained the law to us, but they did find us the lowest quote they could, so that the bike was just insured 3rd party.

If you're planning on bringing vehicles and becoming tax resident, you ain't seen nothing yet! Apparently the Gendarmes are planning a big purge on UK registered vehicles when we leave the EU. Far too many brits running around on UK plates, with no MOTs and dodgy insurance. They've been so inundated with driving licence exchanges that they're refusing to accept new ones at the moment, just to clear the backlog.

On the plus side, it's been sunny and 22 degrees this weekend and the forecast is for more of the same for the next week....

I will, thanks. Now that I've got an address, just waiting to sign papers, I can get a few quotes. AXA will be my first port of call.

I've got most my docs ready to register the GS so hopefully that will be relatively straight forward, I've opted to just pay someone experienced to do all the ANTS stuff for me.

I'm just bringing the GS and my missus is bringing her Irish registered car for the first couple of months while I shop around for a new one. Luckily we both have Irish Licenses so might keep things a little more simple.

Cant wait to get down to that lovely weather!



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I see that the bike is ‘rented’ or, I guess ‘leased’ under some sort of finance deal?

I suspect that it is nothing more than a top-up insurance policy that pays the difference between the invoice price and the market value, should the bike be stolen or destroyed.

The dealership should be able to explain it to you; it’s them that is selling the vehicle and the insurance.

It could well be that, as they are big on gap insurance here, although they do like to offer payment protection. Apparently they can be heavily fined if they are found to have lent you money (in effect) when you can't afford the repayments.
 
I see that the bike is ‘rented’ or, I guess ‘leased’ under some sort of finance deal?

I suspect that it is nothing more than a top-up insurance policy that pays the difference between the invoice price and the market value, should the bike be stolen or destroyed or guarantees the payments in the event of some calamity.

The dealership should be able to explain it to you; it’s them that is selling the vehicle and the insurance.

Ah I get ya. I figured it was the equivalent of PCP.

I've heard of that type of insurance on cars but never with bikes over here.

Yeh I intend to go have a chat with the dealers when I finally get down there, just trying to do some homework before and don't speak enough French to give them a call.

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I will, thanks. Now that I've got an address, just waiting to sign papers, I can get a few quotes. AXA will be my first port of call.

I've got most my docs ready to register the GS so hopefully that will be relatively straight forward, I've opted to just pay someone experienced to do all the ANTS stuff for me.

I'm just bringing the GS and my missus is bringing her Irish registered car for the first couple of months while I shop around for a new one. Luckily we both have Irish Licenses so might keep things a little more simple.

Cant wait to get down to that lovely weather!



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Cars are very expensive here and if you're after a specific model and spec be prepared to hunt high and low for one. We're hoping to buy a van at the moment and can only find 2 in the whole of France. If you can hack driving your car here, then stick with it, once it's here it will seriously drop in value and mean you'll probably have to make a trip back to sell it.

Most insurance brokers here are franchises of whoever they represent, so you can only get their products. However if you find a good one, they certainly seem to look after you. Our local office handle our home and bike insurance and will be doing the van. They also insure SWMBO's bike. When she renewed recently we went in to pay and with pen poised over cheque book the guy said, oh that looks expensive and with a few taps on the keyboard reduced the price for us. It really pays here to build relationships with dealers, shops, brokers etc....

If you're planning on staying, make your first call to the mayor's office to get an attestation which says when you became resident in the village/town. You can use that for everything, as it proves when you arrived, when you became resident.
 


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