Which French cars would 'wash their face' in the UK?

[Parky]

If the car is driveable and up to the trip, a flight from Stansted to Frankfurt can be found pretty cheaply on Ryanair (other German cities and miserable aviation experiences are available.

 

I would think a tank and a half of fuel will see you back at Calais, tired but with a Twingo ready to roll onto the Euroshuttle for not all that much. I would think a budget of £200 would cover transport costs there and back, plus German admin fees to be added on top

 

They are cheap too as Stormee suggests:

 

https://www.ebay.de/sch/i.html?_fsrp=1&_nkw=renault+twingo&_sacat=0&_from=R40&Erstzulassung=1995%7C1996%7C1997%7C1999%7C2000

[egg]

I'm more of a train person, I've been to Milan and the Lakes by train and Barcelona overnight, so no problem.

 

Ebbsfleet  Cologne is four hours + the hour and half to get from the Bay up to Ebbsfleet and check in - very doable.  A night in Antwerp or Ghent, and back via Calais and the back roads home...

 

Though I have never driven myself on that kind of overseas trip before.

[Parky]

Depending on diary I might be able to accompany you if you want moral support? I can wear my Mike Brewer jacket and see if the vendor will “Streck Deine hand aus”

 

Plus I have driven LHD in Germany and France so have a little local experience

[egg]

Thanks Parky, might be doable. Also Bramz is interested in an overseas collectun, RobT has offered driving duties before and Skizzer is after a proper Renault. so French Northern Europe fest might be a goer.

[egg]

Here's one in Aachen (3h21 from Ebbsfleet) at €450, that seems ok apart from a brake light? But TUV runs out tomorrow....(I expect you need a TUV to get export plates)...

 

edit: as I begin to look in to this  - you see a lot with OMGHGF

 

https://www.ebay-kleinanzeigen.de/s-anzeige/renault-twingo/876116956-216-1922

 

[stormee]

Depending on diary I might be able to accompany you if you want moral support? I can wear my Mike Brewer jacket and see if the vendor will “Streck Deine hand aus”

 

Plus I have driven LHD in Germany and France so have a little local experience

Wearing a Mike Brewer jacket in D will make price discussions a nice story to tell back home.

[Parky]

I am not sure whether Germans haggle! But if it’s an eBay purchase, the price is the price so no haggling opportunities will be available (unless the seller has withheld something crucial).

[stormee]

Here's one in Aachen (3h21 from Ebbsfleet) at €450, that seems ok apart from a brake light? But TUV runs out tomorrow....(I expect you need a TUV to get export plates)...

 

edit: as I begin to look in to this  - you see a lot with OMGHGF

 

https://www.ebay-kleinanzeigen.de/s-anzeige/renault-twingo/876116956-216-1922

 

Capture.PNG

TÜV may expire in the current month for export plates, too late for the blue AC-car now. But you will have to have a yellow one with the huge soft top. Twingos rust along the sills, there's a nasty trap to weld in the fuel tank area, Engines are Renault 5 evolution apart from the 16V so very easy to work on.

[stormee]

I am not sure whether Germans haggle! But if it’s an eBay purchase, the price is the price so no haggling opportunities will be available (unless the seller has withheld something crucial).

Offers on ebay-Kleinanzeigen, mobile.de often leave room for haggling and we love it! Code for haggling is VB (Verhandlungsbasis/debatable) and VS (Verhandlungssache/open price).

[Timewaster]

LHD will always be harder to sell unless it is something LHD only, like Barchetta or Integrale.

I don't think I would consider one.

 

Our own DW has weaned himself onto LHD via the mid seat Invacar.

[Lankytim]

Exploring ebay.de those Twingos are indeed dirt cheap, Over in the UK they traders seem to be asking 2-3k for them! No idea if they actually sell for that much of course..

 

 

They're also pretty common, so you could fly to a German city on spec and just buy one locally face to face rather than trying to buy one while still in the UK and flying out to it.

[egg]

They're also pretty common, so you could fly to a German city on spec and just buy one locally face to face rather than trying to buy one while still in the UK and flying out to it.

 

At that may the most sensible approach, because that way you can inspect each car on its merits, rather than committing yourself, finding its losing a bit of water...and think, oh well better buy it anyway

[Lankytim]

I haven't looked at this "export plate" malarky though. Presumably you can't just hand over your Euros, drive back to the UK and have a nice cup of tea?

[stormee]

 

They're also pretty common, so you could fly to a German city on spec and just buy one locally face to face rather than trying to buy one while still in the UK and flying out to it.

Very much the recommended way. Just manage to get these export plates.

[stormee]

I haven't looked at this "export plate" malarky though. Presumably you can't just hand over your Euros, drive back to the UK and have a nice cup of tea?

You won't be able to un-license a German car outside Germany. You might have the chance to import a licensed and insured car but you'll have to send the plates back and the documents back and forth, No seller won't take that risk, though.

[Dirk Diggler]

1200 euro, 1972 Peugeot 204; in Cork, Ireland imported in 1976

 

https://www.donedeal.ie/vintagecars-for-sale/1972-peugeot-204/18920793

[AnthonyG]

How expensive are French market 205 GTi’s? Have they gone crazy like over here or are they just an ‘old car’ still?

 

If they’re half the UK price that could be a good earner.

[Junkman]

What post Brexit Britain really needs is a healthy influx of French scrap metal.

No, really. Keep it coming.

Especially under the pretext that the French are notoriously easy to deal with.

[Kringle]

Thanks Parky, might be doable. Also Bramz is interested in an overseas collectun, RobT has offered driving duties before and Skizzer is after a proper Renault. so French Northern Europe fest might be a goer.

Maybe The Autoshite Twingo Mass Migration Challenge could be arranged. Certain challenges and awards could be made for

Whiffiest interior

Biggest Ding

Coolest air-con

Most Obscure Fault

Dirtiest Pollen Filler

Most baguette eaten from 0-130kph etc etc

 

 

I think I've talked myself into it.

One downside will be the collapse of the Twingo market due to us flooding the UK but that's a detail I'm willing to look beyond.

[dave21478]

Twingos rot badly - rear of the sills which can need the pez tank out to repair, and the front inner wings/top mounts. Your profit margin is already slim on one, so choose carefully to avoid having to spend out on welding repairs.

 

205GTI - you missed that boat by about 5 years. Cheapest within 300km of me is 6k for a completely unremarkable one, average is 9 to 12k and I see several for 20k+

Same goes for R5 turbo and 106 gti and clio 16v and well pretty much any hot hatch - the market has gone ape-shit.

 

Fords? There are two RS turbos on LBC. One looks nice but "needs finished" for 4k and the other has a silly bodykit and rust "everywhere" underneath for a mere 6k.

The only Scene Ford I see as being a vague possibility is the absolutely tedious in every respect mkIII Fiesta XR2i, there are a few under 1500, although all need work of some kind. Whether you could sell a LHD one for profit in UK....I have doubts.

 

If you search for things like Capri, Escort, Taunus etc, there are a few things that might be worthwhile, but dont expect a Mexico for £1800. Low spec less popular stuff like Cortinas are probably your best bet.

 

I would be extremely surprised if there was any real profit to be made from French cars. You might get lucky but you might also be stuck with it for months trying to find the right buyer.

 

 

The CT test has recently changed, getting a lot stricter on corrosion - rust holes are now a fail and few garages are used to repairing this sort of thing, so there are more and more cars coming up for sale cheaply relatively by French standards due to rot.

The registration system has also just changed and is now done all online. This is of little concern to those taking the car out of France, but is a complete cluster-fuck for us here. Cars that were previously not registered properly when changing hands could still go back on the road with some faff and expense, but that is now impossible and if the cars paperwork chain is incomplete it is now apparently game-over and I have yet to hear of a workaround. Look out for ads that say "un carte gris de retard" or "deux carte gris a faire". They should be cheaper as its no longer possible to resolve this problem, but the effects havent fully trickled down and a lot of folk still think this can be solved at the Prefecture.

 

 

IMO, buy something you want to own - that when if/when you find it wont sell without a huge loss, you at least have a car you can keep for yourself. Aiming to make a profit straight out of the gate will end badly.

[panhard65]

Dave is spot on there. My idea of a profit is actually getting back what I paid for the car. Buy something you actually want as just buying it to make a profit will not work and you will end up with a car you don't really want with a lot of cash tied up in it. I find that sub 125cc bikes will make money but once you factor in the cost of going out there and picking them up any "profit" quickley disappears. If you can find a half decent little van, Renault 4 or Arcadiane and a couple of old mopeds to chuck in the back you might make enough on the bikes to cover the costs of going out to collect the van. It is getting a lot harder though. I have been buying bikes every year when I go to Le Mans for the last 4 years. This year I am finding very little worth even enquiring about as prices have certainly gone right up.

[egg]

Here's something our French residents might be able to help with. I've seen adverts recently with people hiring out plates so people can drive to their CT?

 

[egg]

Look out for ads that say "un carte gris de retard" or "deux carte gris a faire". They should be cheaper as its no longer possible to resolve this problem, but the effects havent fully trickled down and a lot of folk still think this can be solved at the Prefecture.

 

Yes, I'm seeing this a lot. Do you reckon the DVLA would accept registering a car without the latest CG?

[dave21478]

I....dunno. I would assume it would be ok. You need something to prove the cars age and you need a sales receipt etc to prove its yours. Whether the carte gris is in the correct previous owners name I would assume is of little importance.

[warren t claim]

https://www.autoscout24.com/offers/yamaha-rd-350-lc-4-lo-two-stroke-gasoline-blue-f1f2596a-6cba-af16-e053-e350040ae5f1?cldtidx=3

 

How about importing a motorcycle from Europe?

[egg]

Do you feel lucky? €350.

 

https://www.leboncoin.fr/voitures/1441796851.htm/?ca=17_s

 

[dave21478]

Something else to consider....while sticky tape will pass an MOT, ideally you want to be able to find RHD headlights for the long term....

[dozeydustman]

Something else to consider....while sticky tape will pass an MOT, ideally you want to be able to find RHD headlights for the long term....

 

 

I know some modern motors have an adjustable dip pattern so just move a lever on each headlamp and it sets them to LHD/RHD pattern. I'm pretty sure it's not a new car thing - The Horizon I owned in my late teens had one headlamp with the LHD dip pattern, the MoT tester adjusted something on the headlamp bowl and it became a RHD pattern. Then I put in Halogen conversion bulbs so I could see where I was going at night.

[Eddie Honda]

I'm pretty sure it's not a new car thing

My 1972 DAF had headlamps like that, so it isn't a new thing.

[forddeliveryboy]

Fuckksake, do people reply pay that much for a 205GTI? For me, a 205 has always been a car for fair weather and those GTIs were always dodgy-handling and rather too much for their own good esp in 1.9 guise , yet CJs still go for £1500 and less in blighty.

 

Would still prefer an early Twingo, of course.