If only formalities in the EU were that simple. To register my car bought in the UK, the car needed to be inspected to confirm the VIN, an original watermarked certification of conformity presented (you try getting one of those!) as well as the insurance cover note.

Surely as a French resident would you not tax the car in France. That would cover you to drive from the dealer to your home.

There is no road tax in France. There is a one-off registration tax depending on their theoretical "fiscal horsepower" and the CO2 output.

Only if you buy a seriously polluting vehicle like a Ferrari or a big yank there is a yearly pollution tax.

You can't register a UK car here without the original UK V5-no copies accepted.

You tax a vehicle when you register it with DVLA. Overseas car importation can seem daunting even to an experienced collector- what’s with the procedures, paperwork, and other hidden costs. However, as with almost everything else, a clear understanding of the process makes a huge difference. As a US expat in the UK, I wanted to import a new ford mustang for more than 12 months of use and thus I had to part with 10% import duty and 20% VAT. I also had to pay US taxes, FBAR, for my foreign account combined balance exceeded $30K by the FBAR deadline of April 15th. I spent $1000 to ship in a consolidated container from Port of Los Angeles to Felixstowe. After inspection, I registered with DVLA of which it took 7 weeks to receive the registration certificate.

Edited by SarahW on 09/05/2019 at 13:35