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Old 22nd October 2016, 09:26   #1
Plezier
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Default 75's or ZT's availability in France?

If we decide after our trial peroid of renting a place that we like France and decide to buy a property to live in we will of course require a French registered LHD car. So have been doing some web surfing and it seems that finding a Rover 75 or MG ZT is not going to be that easy. It is noticable that the few ZT's found for sale are generally in drab colours Grey or Black and I much prefer brighter colours. British Racing Green is a good colour and despite being darker better than Silver IMHO.

How would it be best to go about finding a suitable vehicle in France especially as out French is very limited ....................... something which we need to address and have tried but there seems to be no availability of learnign French locally here and the computer programme bought is frankly not the best .

We could of course re-register the Copperleaf Red Classic CDT but it would remain RHD of course but that is for next year to worry about as we understand it takes a while to purchase property in France and there is the trial period to go through before we make that decision.
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Old 22nd October 2016, 16:03   #2
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It could be worth keeping an eye on this website
https://www.autoscout24.com/results?...ipr=200&zipc=F

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Old 22nd October 2016, 17:19   #3
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Proposal: Have a look in Belgium, but then you need to import. In theory should not be an issue with the 'modern' EU documentation.
In Belgium: not many ZTs available these days, but come up from time to time, but in your not preferred colours!
75s should not be an issue as they were popular when new a quite a few were sold here, especially diesel, just to find the right one which is standard for a secondhand buy.

The 75/ZT on the continent is not cheap, as they were and are considered up market and quality cars. Often people comment to me that I drive a nice Jaguar..... If they are lower priced, they were not maintained and the clutch , MOT not passed or something needs to be done. The only disadvantage is to find a place that wants to work on it and knows there stuff. Do everything myself so that is not an issue for me

France: these models always have been expensive so not many around and still expensive to buy secondhand. French enthusiasts therefore in the past often had a look in Belgium for that reason!
Think there are two places in France that are 75/ZT specialists and know there stuff (don't have their details), perhaps worth to give them a shout that you are looking for a decent one and perhaps they can be of help.

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Old 22nd October 2016, 19:40   #4
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Default Lhd

In your post you say you will NEED a LHD car WHY ?

I have been coming to my house in France for the last 12 years and lived permenantly here for the last 5 and have been driving my RHD Rover 75 Tourer all of the time with out a problem.


You do of course have to be more careful when overtaking and emerging from side roads.

Registering the Rover is a simple procedure,CT(MOT) every two years and NO road Tax.

Parts are not that much of a problem but access to a T4 is virtually impossible.certainly in the area I live.

Where are you thinking of trying (area)?
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Old 23rd October 2016, 12:49   #5
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Thank you all for you helpfull comments will keep an eye on that site thank you.


Now in answer to this question:-

Quote:
In your post you say you will NEED a LHD car WHY ?
As Mother will be in the font passenger seat a lot of the time she wold be happier and feel safer in a LHD car. Her eyesight is such that some days she sees better than others and sometimes is surprised by other vehicles even here when travellng the in the passenger seat. So imagine how much worse than could be for her sitting in what should be the drivers position?

As for area initially we are looking at Normandy/Brittany possibly Pays-de-la-Loire and are looking for a 2 bedroomed (min) property with a garden with a seperate shower as Mother cannot climb into the bath now and with no stairs and a parking place for the twin axle trailer which will be used to move once we find the place to buy. Then from this base we can explore more areas until we find the place we wish to settle in and then look for a property to purchase.
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Last edited by Plezier; 30th November 2016 at 10:52.. Reason: Missed the area out.
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Old 23rd October 2016, 14:09   #6
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Thank you all for you helpfull comments will keep an eye on that site thank you.


Now in anser to this question:-



As Mother will be in the font passenger seat a lot of the time she wold be happier and feel safer in a LHD car. Her eyesight is such that some days she sees better than others and sometimes is surprised by other vehicles even here when travellng the in the passenger seat. So imagine how much worse than could be for her sitting in what should be the drivers position?

As for area initially we are looking at Normandy/Brittany possibly Pays-de-la-Loire and are looking for a 2 bedroomed (min) property with a garden with a seperate shower as Mother cannot climb into the bath now and with no stairs and a parking place for the twin axle trailer which will be used to move once we find the place to buy. Then from this base we can explore more areas until we find the place we wish to settle in and then look for a property to purchase.


OK I can understand that,The other solution would be to sit her in the back maybe.


We live in Brittany on the borders of Morbihan and Cotes D'Armor.

When we were looking for a house we did look at Normandy but found the weather to be a lot colder than Brittany which is always a few degrees warmer than the UK,But it still gets cold.

The house market here is very slow at the moment and there are a lot of properties available,But depends on what price range you have.

There would not be a problem with a shower as a lot of the older properties have both and are normally located downstairs as is the toilet (Its a French thing).

If you want any help let me know and I will see what I can do for you.


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Old 7th November 2016, 16:52   #7
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I've just returned (yesterday in fact!) from a return trip to our place in the Languedoc (2,500 faultless miles in my Rover 75 - the best motorway cruiser I have ever driven!). Whilst I don't mind driving one of my right hand drive cars in France, and often do (I drive far more in France than in the U.K.) I much prefer using a LHD car. They are unquestionably safer, and for that reason cheaper to insure (french car insurance is expensive enough - twice the English cost). I have bought my previous LHD cars in the uk, already french-registered; there are several dealers in the U.K. who specialise in this kind of thing. One can find them easily enough on the Internet. Whilst in theory it ought be easy enough to re-register an English-registered car in France, in practice it's a nightmare involving lots of forms, documents and visits to the prefecture. French bureaucracy is unbelievable at times. This process can easily take months, during which time the car is unusable. It's much easier to buy a french car with french plates, and crucially an up-to-date Control Technique, and just register it in your name and french address. And although the recent exchange rate movements might have affected matters I have also found used cars to be appreciably cheaper in England than in France, for various reasons that have been explained to me. Also, buying a used car in France can be a depressing experience - they seem to go from shiny and new to battered smelly old banger in about three years, although this is of course a generalisisation! But finding a well looked-after car in France does seem to be more of a struggle. Ironically my last french car - a 20 year-old Ford Focus which provided me with ten years and 100,000 faultless kms - has just failed its last Control Technique and I'm back in the market for a replacement. I do see Rovers quite often in the south of France but they are usually 200s and 400s, often obviously well-used but well-loved by their owners. 600s and 800s are never seen (they're not that common in the U.K. now!) and R75s very rarely. My P6s draw crowds...

I love my 75 but I wouldn't keep one in France, at least not for long, unless I either knew a garagist who understood the car, or I was prepared to fully maintain it myself. I don't subscribe to any stereotypical notions about french mechanics; I find them to be equally good and bad both sides of the channel, you just have to find a good one, but my local garage seems far more comfortable with Citroen/Renault/Ford/Peugeot, etc, particularly if the car is a more elderly model. Dealerships for newer cars just want to plug in a laptop and replace whatever part it instructs them to replace - or sell you another one.

Bon Courage!

A
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Old 11th November 2016, 14:11   #8
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Thanks once again or the helpful insite it is appreciated. Meanwhile back at the ranch the solicitor is becoming a joke. Paint dries quicker than she moves At this rate it will be 2017 before we can move.

The nephew has also thrown a spanner in the works suggesting a move further south into Spain which mother in now thinking about soo all the reseach we have done so far might prove to have been wasted time .

We put the MGF 7th into store on Monday so that is one less one to worry about until next spring.
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Old 27th November 2016, 18:44   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Plezier View Post
If we decide after our trial peroid of renting a place that we like France and decide to buy a property to live in we will of course require a French registered LHD car. So have been doing some web surfing and it seems that finding a Rover 75 or MG ZT is not going to be that easy. It is noticable that the few ZT's found for sale are generally in drab colours Grey or Black and I much prefer brighter colours. British Racing Green is a good colour and despite being darker better than Silver IMHO.

How would it be best to go about finding a suitable vehicle in France especially as out French is very limited ....................... something which we need to address and have tried but there seems to be no availability of learnign French locally here and the computer programme bought is frankly not the best .

We could of course re-register the Copperleaf Red Classic CDT but it would remain RHD of course but that is for next year to worry about as we understand it takes a while to purchase property in France and there is the trial period to go through before we make that decision.
Hi there.

My wife and I have been coming to France off and on for 26 years now.

We have been living here permanently for 14 years.

My car is a RHD Rover 75. My wife's car is a Citroen C4 RHD.

Neither of us have problems with the steering wheel on the right.

If you need any odd bits of info them please put a post on this thread.

There are thousands of Brits living in France and it is very easy to get help with learning the French language.

There are also a number of free magazines run by English folk that will give you a wealth of information on just about anything you would like to know.



Good luck with your search.---


Colvert.
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Old 27th November 2016, 19:01   #10
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Further to my above post.

I just read one post that said obtaining a French plate is a nightmare.

My family and I have done this 4 times with no problems.

Also you can run around for six months on your British plate while getting things sorted out.

Buying cars in France is quite a lot more expensive than buying the same model in the GB.

If you pay cash for French property the negotiations can be very quick !!!

It just depends on the Notaire you choose.

As for the MOT for your car. ( called CT---Controle Technique. )

This only occurs ever TWO years. You can run about in your Brit registered car while you get this sorted out. NO RUSH.--

More info at your request.---
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