Selling classic car to French buyer...advice please.

[4sure]

I have just taken a deposit from french buyer on my Porsche 356b (1963) and require any advice on what it entails.
What is required in France to import the car and does it stay on uk plates for a period.
Anything i should be aware of ,or is it pretty simple ?

Thanks.

[Lowtimer]

Surely the importation into France, and what happens there, are the buyer's problem rather than yours?

All you need to worry about is ensuring that you inform DVLA that you're exporting it from the UK, via your V5.
https://www.gov.uk/taking-vehicles-out-of-uk/for-1...

As it is an old car, and staying within the EU, there ahould be no VAT implications.
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/vat/sectors/consumers/perso...

Edited by Lowtimer on Friday 19th July 06:03

[midgeman]

No problems with this all you need to do is send off the blue slip on the V5, I think this is mainly for personal export but I sent it off anyway as then at least DVLA have their own official slip saying the car has been exported rather than just a note from the seller. Signed V5 just goes off with the new owner to use to get documents in the country its going to. Taking photocopies if possible helps just for your own satisfaction.
I'v sold 3 cars to Europe now, make sure when they turn up to collect if it's in person that money has cleared or that cash is GBP! I had a nightmare trying to get quite a few 500 euro notes changed as no bank would accept that big a currency or that much in euro's and then there's the high street conversion price which is not the same as the international exchange rate you'll find when using convertion calculators online!

[4sure]

Thanks for the replies
yes it is his responsibility what to do,but i am interested in the process and as a fellow enthusiast courtesy prevails.

[benjj]

As above really.

Also depends on value and how the buyer proposes to pay. Personally I'd take up to around ten grand in cash, much more than that and I'd like a bank transfer with any fees and exchange rate oddities picked up by the buyer.

[Old Merc]

As above,just send off the strip to DVLA. Do not let the car leave your driveway until the dosh is in your bank.Watch out for bank fees etc and make sure you are paid in £££`s and not euros.
Also make sure the buyer is genuine? I had an e-mail from an eager "buyer" overseas who wanted to pay everything up front by PayPal without seeing my car?? it was one of those shipping agent scams.

Edited by Old Merc on Friday 19th July 16:21

[4sure]

Thanks guys.
Its not the problems getting paid bit that i am interested in (although that was important) thats all been covered.

How long do the brit plates stay on when exported,and what happens in reverse when you import a car here from France.

Looking around i get conflicting info.

[Lowtimer]

For importing a car from outside the UK (new or used) I think you'll find what you are looking for is all in this document:
http://www.direct.gov.uk/prod_consum_dg/groups/dg_...

I suspect if you want to know in detail what happens when a Frenchman imports an old car into France you'll probably need to look on a French website.