I hoping this thread can be a 'how to.'

I've done a bit of googling but I figured some people here have probably done this many times before.

Questions:
what do I need to get a french car registered in the uk?
do I get sent a V5?
How do I MOT it?
What's a Carte Gris?
Can I keep the French registration or do I get a UK one?
Do I tow it straight through customs or do I have to declare it? I didnt think you had to pay VAT on second hand cars.

Anything else I should know?

i know this soudns stupid, im sure all this info is on dvla ? surely?

i think you get english plates? i think theres a lot of paper to fill in to mot it ??
spanners is doing this in a few week, he will know

thats the most un stupid thing you've posted in a while

Give DVLA a call: someone will advise you and then they will send you a pack with all the things you need to do. Alternatively, click this link: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/Bu ... DG_4022583

When I registered my H van, I had to get a shedload of paperwork fromthe DVLA and sort through it to find the relevant stuff. If the vehicle is old (and if it's a 2CV, it'll be old enough) you don't pay any import duty on it. Then I had to get a UK MOT on it (they'll either put the French reg or the chassis number on the certificate, and then issue a new one when your UK reg arrives), and send the MOT, the completed DVLA paperwork and a letter from (in my case) John Sobey on CCC headed notepaper stating the probable age of the vehicle. After a bit I got an age related registration (NUX 520P, if I remember right) and had plates made up and that was that. It's a lot easier than people think. I can't remember what it cost, but it wasn't all that much.

What's the process like if the car that you're importing is without carte grise, or CT, or whatever it is in France (or equivalent from other countries)?

No problem. I think the DVLA appreciate as much paperwork as you can muster, but my H had been used as a chicken shed for about a thousand years and had no paperwork whatever with it. The important thing is the UK MOT and the letter authenticating the age.

Sounds good... so in theory I could go over to France, discover a barn-kept sleeping beauty, give monsieur 5 Euros for it (but probably more like 5000 Euros, the way things are going) and then just transport the thing back to Blighty without so much as a scrap of registration paper?

this is what I'm wondering. It seems that vans 'sans carte gris' are a little cheaper.

I really don't think it matters (although I might be wrong) if you're planning to export it.