Exportiong a Surf to France

[richardimiles]

Hi there ....

I want to expert my Surf to France. This will (a) involve changing the headlights to the continental style (i.e. pointing to the right; (b) getting a certificate of conformity and (c) a French MOT

Has anyone gone through this process before with a SURF ? Help

[Overland Tonka]

Hi there ....

I want to expert my Surf to France. This will (a) involve changing the headlights to the continental style (i.e. pointing to the right; (b) getting a certificate of conformity and (c) a French MOT

Has anyone gone through this process before with a SURF ? Help

Yeah...someone who lives there...




I'm sure he will be along...but if he is French he may...


A) take his time.

B) not bother.

Can't remember his name...but try a search.

[4 Runner]

You need to contact S CAR GO he lives in France and I think Mark managed to get his Surf registered there

[s car go]

Hi there ....

I want to expert my Surf to France. This will (a) involve changing the headlights to the continental style (i.e. pointing to the right; (b) getting a certificate of conformity and (c) a French MOT

Has anyone gone through this process before with a SURF ? Help

Bonjour,
Yes I have registered my "Surf" in France,but mines a 4Runner.Not a great difference you may say,but to the French the Runner exists but the Surf does not.
This will make a difference when you apply to Toyota for your certificate de conformitie. You will not get a full certificate for a Surf but a certficate de conformitie partial,stating somthing like your car bears a resemblelance to the type 11GNDO. However that said,I specifically sort out a 4Runner because I thought the process would be easier,and I got sent a cert of conf partial as well,because my truck was running the "wrong" size tyres!!
I would have no hesitation in importing another surf,and in fact I may do soon,as mine is as rusty as hell.It just depends on how much beurocratic B/S you can handle and what level your French language is at??
Rest assured,if I can help you in any way,I'm happy to help!

What part of France are you coming to??

Regards

Mark

PS just remembered,if yours is a third gen forget it!!

[richardimiles]

Mark,

Excellent to hear from someone with such close experience !

We've got a holiday home in the rural Limousin, an old pile (much like my Hilux) which I've been doing up. The hilux has been doing formidable service carrying and towing piles of stuff outo to France (pic is a small load !); yanking trees out of the ground and dragging bags of gravel about. It is a veritable tractor ! There are also some good tracks where you can have a bit of fun.....

So the Surf is great for France but it is a bit slow on the long journey down - so I'd like to leave it down there..which will mean MOTing it there and tax / insuring it etc.

Thankfully it is not a 3rd generation - it is second.

What is this 'certificate of partial coformity" ? Is it enough to get it registered, or do I have to do something else before I can get it registered over there ?

I've got the lights sorted out, and I can get the MOT... but the last bit of the puzzle is this certificate of conformity --> will a partial certificate be enough ?

Thanks for the advice - much appreciated....

Richard.

[s car go]

Richard,
Legislation changed in France about a year ago,that means you are unable to get a CT (MOT) without a cert of conf. This was a move to stop ex-pats circulating with brit plates and trying to avoid speeding fine etc.. There are many Brit plated cars over here with no tax maybe a CT,maybe not,but for me I need to know if I run over a kid,or a cow (God forbid) that I'm right withinn the law!

As I said earlier,the biggest problem with "greys" is the 12 digit chassis no,and the the Surf name was not used in Europe,as you probably know.The runners have 17 digit chassis nos,and were type approved in France under the "famile" 11GNDO.
Toyota are a royal PIA,rob you of €130,and take 6 weeks to issue the paperwork.
My certificate de conformitie partial,was accoumanied by a letter stating that,other parts of the car,such as lights seat belts,glass etc may not mat-chup to European specification.
They also sent me a sample full certificate,with specimen stamped in large red letters accros it. The Guy at the CT station was happy with my tyres,as he felt they were winter tyres,and wing flares were fitted.
We took a flier and presented all the paperwork at the Préfecture in Limoges and the car was registered no problem.
I think in essence as long as you can present all the info for the French to fill their boxes,you should be OK. I will probably buy another 2nd gen soon,but an imaculate one.If I can't get it registerd(very unlikely,in my opinion) then I will rebody my chassis

I'll sort out the Adress for Toyota Paris for you!!

You are probably round the corner from me St Sulpice Les Feuilles.

Regards

Mark

[richardimiles]

Limousin

Mark,

So basically my certificate of partial conformity + CT should get me registered ?

I think I'll just try and brazen it out whatever...... I've found an insurer who'll insure on UK plates for a year which will either give me time to battle it out or give up.

We are down in St Georges La Pouge, which is near Aubusson - so certainly not far from you..... it s a holiday place rather than a permanent home.... I hope to have it habitable by next summer ! I'm a bit sick of the journey down to the Limousin in the Hilux (too slow on the motorway) and so I'm going to get some form of boring diesel estate for the journey - but the Toyota is fantastic as a workhorse and is so reliable that I don't want to get rid of it.......

I'm back and forth reasonably frequently, more so in the warmer months obviously. I have a storage unit where I work and the staff at work can take deliveries during the day - which makes sourcing things (car and otherwise) over the 'net much easier - I then lug them down to France, sometimes with a thumping great trailer I built up from a caravan chassis.......! I'd be happy to repay the help you've given me if, for example, you wanted to source some bits from the net I'd drop them down to you. I've found 'breakerlink' to be reliable in the past...... I normally come down the A20, past you, and on through Gueret.....and / or I spend half my life at Mr Brico in Gueret getting bits and bobs !

Hope to see you around. What a coincidence to have found the source of my hilux problem so close to 'home' !

Cheers,


Richard.

[s car go]

Richard,

Basically procedure is as follows:-

1/Certificate de conformitie

Address:-Service Homogolation
20 bd République
92423 VAUCRESSON CEDEX
.01 47 10 81 00

You need to telephone first and they will E-mail a form to fill in,which needs to be presented to Local Toyota dealership,and stamped.Send off form.


2/Present car for CT

3/Obtain customs certificate from local tax office to prove no VAT due on car(FOC)

4/Fill out Demand de Imitriculation,and Certificate de cessation available here:-
http://www.carte-grise.org/formulaires.htm

5/ Present massed documents,along with ID,reciept from previous owner when you bought the car (if you don't have one write your own,they can't understand it anyway)and proof of address to Préfecture.Pay fee about €220,and go and buy new number plates.

In reality it's not that difficult a process,just a bit of a paperchase,and remember inconsistancy is king in France,what one person may find acceptable is not necessarily what the next to55er will accept.it all really depends on what Toyota write down on your Cert of Conf Partal!

Please don't hesitate to contact me if you need any help,such as presenting my car along side yours to a confused MOT tester!!,or translation(I'm OK having been here 5years,but my neighbours are French and will do any thing for us)

Thanks for the offer of parts and stuff,I may just take you up on the offer(currently struggling for Magnolia paint,and the wife wants Bubble Gum Pink for the little girls room!!!)

Bon Courage

Mark

[bigbricars]

bigbricars

Just read above messages. Reading Richards posts. Looks like he has
registered a surf. We are having probs with a Toyota Hi-Lux Surf automatic.
Probs with Ins not recognising model. Any suggestions.

[richardimiles]

French Insurance for Hilux

Hi

I haven't got around to properly exporting the car yet. I 'regularly' drive it back to the UK (if my insurers ask). However I did get some insurance quotes from these people (all rather expensive I'm afraid.....):


Claire MARTINET <4005417@agents.allianz.fr>
AG COGNAC <cognac@agence.generali.fr>
Mohamed.Salah@aon.fr; on behalf of; insurexpat@aon.fr

RM.