I have my Kit Car up for sale on the website Car & Classic which seems to attract less scammers than eBay does.

I have been contacted by a guy in France who wants to purchase my kit. I was a bit sceptical at first but he seems to be genuine, he said his friend who speaks better English & imports cars into France would contact me, which he did. Asking for a walk round video of the car showing it at all angles. I sent the video, had lots of questions about things on the car and now we have agreed a price. He wants to come and collect the car with his friend and drive it back to France.

It all seems genuine, however he has asked me to send photos of my VOC certificate ( certificate of conformity) to enable homologation for France.

I have taken photos of my number plate authorisation certificate and associated letter from the DVLA, along with my V5C & current MOT certificate.

Is this what I should be sending him & is there any issues or scams I could be walking into sending this over?

Again he seems genuine but you never know these days. No money has exchanged hands at this stage.

I dont know the answer but you are right to be cautious,

I had my tiger up for sale a couple of years ago on the same site, and the same happened guy from France contacted to buyall went very smoothly he had a car sales garage if I remember sold no problems

I sold my MK to a chap in France about 8 years ago I met him at Newhaven he paid, drove onto the ferry and went home

I don't know what your car is, but if it is an amateur built kit car it will be either pre sva or sva / iva tested.

None of those 3 produce a full coc, which is required to register in france, they will accept some aspects of an sva/iva tested vehicle but the vehicle will still need testing to the current euro emissions test cycle which costs thousands if even possible.

If the vehicle is older than 30 years it can be registered if it is no longer in production as a classic vehicle without any further testing, but does involve going through the ffve to prove its classic status.

There are a few westfield and caterham models which had low volume eu type approval, they were all factory built models and should be acceptable for registration in france.


Dave

Sold my striker to a car dealer in France 4/5 years ago he needed all the details they have asked for make sure if they are doing a bank transfer you have 4 to 5 days to make sure it is cleared funds into your account

Hi everyone,

Being French myself, and trying to register in France the Haynes Roadster I built and registered in Sweden at the time I was living there, here is what I know and my experience.

Yes, to register in France a foreign car which comes from another EU country, the authorities need a European certificate of conformity (COC), which can only be issued buy a car manufacturer recognized as such by the authorities (Renault, Peugeot, Ford, Audi, and so on). For example, when I came back from Sweden with a Renault Kangoo bought and registered there, I had to write to Renault France with the Swedish papers of the car to get a COC from them, which I got (the bastards sold it 80€!), and that way I could simply register the Kangoo in France, and change the plates. Because Renault certified that the Kangoo bought in Sweden has been made with the same standards as a Kangoo sold in France.

But for an amateur built car it is a complete different matter. We (you, me, other amateur builders) can not issue a COC because, not matter how skilled we are ( ) we are not recognized as car manufacturers by the European authorities. And don't even think about faking one: COC's are made on special paper, with holograms and filigrees, a bit like bank notes and are impossible to fake.

So if it was easy for me to register the Kangoo when I came back in France, it is impossible for me to register my Haynes Roadster, without of course going through another full inspection which can only be done in ONE place: a specialized laboratory, the only one who is certified by French authorities to "IVA" amateur built cars (it is called UTAC). It is in Paris, 700km from where I live, would cost 2700 €, and I will certainly fail the emission test, as they take the year of the car to decide which emission regulation you belong to (Euro 1-2-3-4-5-6...) and not the year of the engine! My car is from 2014, so Euro 5 for me, and my engine is a Ford 2.0i DOHC from 1993, so it is almost sure I will never pass.

So you understand that, unlike the UK or Sweden, everything in France is made for us NOT to have amateur built cars. It is not completely impossible, but the system is extremely dissuasive.

Anyway, the guy who wants to buy your car in France will never get a COC from you, as you are not allowed to issue one, he needs to know that. And showing an IVA report or DVLA papers will not be enough for him to register the car in France without taking the full inspection. I speak from experience, I had all of that from Sweden, and I can't register my car without going to UTAC.

The only solution for him to drive your car in France, without taking a full inspection for amateur built cars, is to keep it registered in the UK (he will need an address for that I guess), find a French insurance company who agrees to insure a foreign car on the French territory, and go to MOT in the UK when needed. I have thought about doing that with my Swedish car, but I can't drive it up there (2200 km from where I live) for an MOT every three years. Also finding a French insurance company who agrees to insure in France a car registered abroad is a real pain...

So my car has been in my garage under a cover for 2 years now, and I can't find a solution

I hope this will help

mcramsay, good luck for the sale.

We sent a car to an English couple living in France it was a Jago with all build details and not a Q plate. They got it registered eventually as a classic. They were on good terms with the local mayor which might have helped.