Hello, this is a question I often supply the answer to. On this occasion the usual answer (SAGA) is no good as my daughter is not 50yrs yet (Thank goodness) She needs a policy that will allow her to drive a UK registered car in France without having to inform the company and pay extra on each occasion. She will probably leave the car garaged in France, and use it for 2 weeks 4 or 5 times a year. The car would return to UK every 6 months or so plus when MOT is due.She is aware of the difficulties that arise with this but feels that re-registering in France would be even more troublesome. Thanks, although not very hopeful, BB

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Circumstances alters cases!!

The rules for UK cars in France is something like you are allowed 6 months in any 12 month period so coming back here for a few weeks wont make the arrangement legal. The authorities in France will want the car to be satisfying the French safety tests and paying whatever car taxes they have after the first six months. Insurance companies may well make it possible to break the rules but they wont actively help you to do so by giving the sort of cover that you want. If your daughter is found to have seriously broken the rules, the car could be confiscated. The long term solutions for having a car in France are to either reregister/matriculate or buy a French registered car.

While I agree with most of what you've said, I am aware that many people keep UK reg cars in many EU countries for long periods without problems with the authorities. However the bit about the insurance companies not helping is not really true, as all insurance policies issued in the EU (including UK) are valid throughout the EU without limitation (check the back of any insurance cert) However the problem is that the cover is usually for the minimum in the country concerned, she naturally wants to have more than minimum cover. Thanks anyway for your input.

Edited to add- After a bit of checking the regs appear to say "A vehicle may only be used within France for 6 months in 12" Periods where the vehicle is not "in use" do not count toward the 6 month limitation.

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Circumstances alters cases!!

Yes, lots of people do break the rules and how keen the authorities are at enforcing them depends on where you are. I spent some time on Corfu and it was easier, being an island, to keep records of foreign cars. The authorities were very strict and caused a lot of problems for some people. I know a lot of people who were given instructions to take the car home and in a couple of case, things went further with the car being confiscated. I am not sure what you'd need to do to have the car counted as "not in use" but I suspect that just not going anywhere for a couple of days wont be enough and a formal declaration (like our sorn) might be needed. If so, you'll have to decide whether to involve the authorities or just take chances.

I knew Corfu well in the 90's. I worked at the yacht yard (Vangelli's) for a couple of winters and remember walking past the customs area wher the confiscated cars were kept (while they were robbed for useful parts) on the way to work each morning. As you say it was easy to check cars in from the Igoumenitsa ferry so control was fairly tight, but of course a little "coffee money" could sort the problem. Hopefully you could establish non use of the car in France by not being in France and able to prove it. That wouldn't establish that nobody else had used it though (illegal in itself) Meantime I wonder if anyone has managed to find an insurance other than SAGA that offers what she needs?

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Circumstances alters cases!!

anything except a french registered car is a nonsense ; straightforward system to change the registration , but with headlight changes etc it will cost

sounds like she just needs a runabout ; whats the objection to getting a used car already registered there , no back to uk for MOT , instead a 2 year MOT in france ; my insurance company accepted proof of no claims from UK , and with a small car in a small place will be cheaper than uk ; additionally an automatic 12 months green card

Small car in a small place won't do it I'm afraid, family of 5 plus au pair just won't fit in. No real objection to French registered car, but it seems a bit like overkill to buy another people carrier (they also need to carry luggage) The 2 year MOT will be coming to UK soon so that is irrelevant . Just looking for the best option really. Maybe she should consider running a French reg car when she is in UK. Any thoughts on this?

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Circumstances alters cases!!