Thanks for your thoughts, very helpful. AFAIK my friend, who knows v little about cars, has little experience of the bureaucratic difficulties and is going off the idea of buying here.

"Secondly French bureaucracy is legendary. You have to jump through hoops to get anything done. Habitation tax, motor tax, parking permits etc etc. If you can avoid the French civil service (Functionaries) then do so. Also if you get an interfering local Mayor(Marie) then avoid them too"

Having lived in France for nine+ years I have to say that it's not quite as bad as you state.

We don't have problems with taxe d'habitation - you just pay it when it's due!

There isn't any motor tax unless that's what you call the one-off registration tax.

Parking permits - I've only ever paid to park once in France - that was at the D-Day museum at Arromanches ironically enough!

You don't usually come across fonctionnaires (foncs) except for the impots (income tax) bods who always get our tax wrong so we have to get them to sort it out.

Don't be rude or aggressive with foncs like a lot of brits do and then wonder why they have problems.

Rule one in France - don't upset the maire (mayor) by calling him the mairie.

The Mairie is where Monsieur le Maire has his office - sometimes called the Hotel de Ville, and no you can't book a room!

Very rarely if ever do we deal with the Maire in person, it's usually his assistants like his secretary who are usually very helpful when we want something like a UK form authorised or copied and certified.

Edited by focussed on 07/05/2019 at 22:17