Is car terminal?

Malc · September 25, 2020

On 8/2/2020 at 6:48 PM, runsgrateasanut said:

spar (strut)

Stuart hi again

can you tell us the overall cost of the parts please

Thanks

Malc

Malc · November 15, 2020

Stuart hi, again !

How's this all going with repair and repatriation etc ?

I'm pleased my rear strut bars seemed all ok when my indy checked them for my new MOT this week

Malc

steve james owen · December 5, 2020

Hi,

New member here looking to buy an LS 400.

Firstly, I hope you get your car sorted Stuart, it seems really unlucky.

So, i have a question please, can you tell me which part to look at when i go to look at a probable purchase, the white, orange or blue part?

Thank you

steve2006 · December 5, 2020

My answer would be ALL of them, check for excessive rust/ corrosion and all the rubber components for deterioration.

Also check the rear wheel arches where crud collects especially where they meet the sill, if they aren’t kept clean the rot sets in and it’s a major welding job.

runsgrateasanut · December 5, 2020

Steve, Its the blue part which you can see has come adrift. This is a welded part but the "U" shape bracket to which it was welded had deteriorated and was not sufficiently strong enough to re-weld the bar too.

The White is a droplink and I've not had to replace the rear. Only the front .

The rusty main spar looks bad but we are talking about 5,mm of metal with mainly surface rust. The last MOT did not give me any advisory's so this issue was missed.

I have advertised a spare Bar on t'bay as I bought three expecting to use two. Delay in delivery from Japan (and transport /VAT costs is the annoyance if a car needs one replaced and its screwed the window to bring the Car home. Good to have spare just in case. Funnily the nearside seems perfectly OK but I will have it replaced - when it eventiually returns to blighty!!

Rather missing the Car. Boohoo!

Malc · February 27, 2021

Stuart hi ..... how's the French saga going on ?

Malc

runsgrateasanut · February 28, 2021

Nothing good to report Malc. Looks like it could be 2022 before anybody can visit France based on the noises coming out of the FO and Macron's Post Brexit peevishness.

m4rkw · February 28, 2021

4 hours ago, runsgrateasanut said:

Nothing good to report Malc. Looks like it could be 2022 before anybody can visit France based on the noises coming out of the FO and Macron's Post Brexit peevishness.

With the amount of time it's been you'll probably want to drain all the fluids before attempting to drive it back. Good luck anyway. We were hoping to go to france this year as my dad has a holiday cottage in brittany but I'm not very hopeful at this point.

runsgrateasanut · February 28, 2021

1 hour ago, m4rkw said:

With the amount of time it's been you'll probably want to drain all the fluids before attempting to drive it back. Good luck anyway. We were hoping to go to france this year as my dad has a holiday cottage in brittany but I'm not very hopeful at this point.

No, things look bleak. The Car will need be trailered back to the UK or sold in France. Often see Polish drivers with trailers on the Ferries and may be able to do a good deal but too many imponderables to even consider, right now.

Car is much further away in S.W France so five hundred miles to travel from Calais. Won't be cheap!

m4rkw · March 1, 2021

Is it not possible to fix it in france and drive it home then? Or just too expensive?

runsgrateasanut · March 2, 2021

11 hours ago, m4rkw said:

Is it not possible to fix it in france and drive it home then? Or just too expensive?

That would have been my intention Mark, but by the time I got the part from Japan, France had gone into lockdown and the extension of the MOT expired late January. No MOT means no tax, invalid insurance, means arrest and imprisonment if stopped by the Gendarmes. So, few alternatives. Couldn't have happened at a worse time afer six or so years of trips to the Charente without incident. The day it happened we had seen Estate Agents and were to put the property on the market owing to my health issues. Had to postpone and now- who knows.

m4rkw · March 2, 2021

You're allowed to drive to a pre-booked MOT appointment so I'd make an MOT appointment as closed to the tunnel port as possible (ideally one that doesn't do repairs so they have less incentive to fail it) and leave really early in the morning so as not to miss it. Maybe explain the situation to your insurer beforehand if you're particularly worried, hopefully they'll be ok with it or if not perhaps they can suggest something. Of course there's still the issue of getting there in the first place but hopefully that will be possible soon.

Do you not have RAC or AA cover? Depending on level of cover they will do repatriation for broken down cars.

m4rkw · March 2, 2021

Or another idea, you could register the car in france and get a french MOT, call your insurer to report the change (or clear it with them beforehand) so your insurance is valid, get the french equivalent of road tax and then you'd be legal to drive in France. And then just take it to a pre-booked MOT test immediately on arrival in the uk. Once done tax it and update your insurance again.

Thackeray · March 2, 2021

It used to be possible to have temporary licence plates so that you could drive a new car back to the UK from a dealer in Europe. I've done this a couple of times, once from Germany, once from Belgium, with temporary plates from each country. You could also get temporary insurance, for a few days or enough to get the car back. There may be pitfalls in this, though. If it's registered in France, are you considered to be importing it in to Britain? Perhaps not if it can be dual registered in Britain too.

m4rkw · March 2, 2021

8 minutes ago, Thackeray said:

It used to be possible to have temporary licence plates so that you could drive a new car back to the UK from a dealer in Europe. I've done this a couple of times, once from Germany, once from Belgium, with temporary plates from each country. You could also get temporary insurance, for a few days or enough to get the car back. There may be pitfalls in this, though. If it's registered in France, are you considered to be importing it in to Britain? Perhaps not if it can be dual registered in Britain too.

Since brexit I doubt they share much information, probably unlikely to even be noticed.

BigBoomer · March 2, 2021

If you get stopped in France driving a vehicle with no insurance and/or MOT,.. yer busted. 🚔👮‍♂️
Yes, you might get away with it, but if you don't it's gonna be expensive.
Having an already booked MOT is fine for driving to the test centre within the UK, but is not acceptable (and was not acceptable pre-Brexit either) from outside the UK. You could get temporary export plates (not sure about post-Brexit), but only for new vehicles and this is most definitely not a new vehicle.

Unfortunately as you said Stuart, your best bet is probably going to be to have a car transporter company or recovery company pickup the car in France and bring it home. That will probably cost you over £500 and someone will need to be there to hand over the keys.
If it starts and can be driven onto a car transporter that'd be the ideal.
If the car cannot be started (it's been standing for over a year) then that's a further complication.

m4rkw · March 2, 2021

I wonder whether it's possible to get a french MOT for it though. Might have to register it in france first but that's probably not too expensive.

Malc · March 2, 2021

ah, but we now have " country of origin " issues post Brexit and I really don't know if a born in/ created in Japan item can be legally imported to the Uk from residence in France ( a year you say ) without paying again full Customs Duty, VAT etc ............ I am jesting BUT after all our chats about your dreadful problems Stuart I hope you can see the sad but funny side of all this ridiculous mullarkey

you must be almost resigned to the impossible and economic challenges you face with this right now

Just a thought ...............

Do they have the equivalent of " webuyanycar " in France I wonder :unsure:

Best wishes whatever the outcome of it all

Malc

runsgrateasanut · March 2, 2021

Thanks for all your thoughts. I'd be happy with cost of £500 to bring it back but I fear it will be more than double or triple that, given it will need cross by Ferry and then another 160 miles to my home.

I wouldn't give a thought to registering it in France. Franch Bureaocracy is renowned to drive a person mad.

I could advertise if for sale on Lebencoin and have other things I'd like to get rid of. The Car was able to drive into the Garage so can turn a corner but I'd like to fix the problem before transportation. Its only been idle for seven mnoths and I disconnected the Battery negative (hope the Alarm hasn't gone off and infuriated the neighbourhood) I've replaced a lot on that Car to get it into a reliable(????) condition and would like it back. This GS300 I've yet to drive and the people going to take away the wheels for refurbing and replacing failed to appear today. Have since said will be tomorrow. Will it be a keeper? Well I've already bought Cam Belt, Cam parts, Serpentine Belt, new Water pump and new bottom Ball joints so will get it so far and then decide.

I may know someone who can and does collect Cars and take them to the south of France but it all depends on the French allowing us to visit etc, etc. The Breakdown Cover was with First 4 Recovery and runs until the 18th July 2021. If I knew I would be able to go over there I'd ask if they have any Transporter currently that can pick up the vehicle, perhaps paying an extra premium. They basically passed me to a French organisation who didn't even recognise that the Road I broke down on had not been a National Highway for ten years having been by-passed! This is what you have to deal with! My French is poor.

https://www.thegoodlifefrance.com/leboncoin-one-of-the-most-popular-websites-in-france/

m4rkw · March 2, 2021

https://www.french-property.com/guides/france/driving-in-france/mot-tests-control-technique

"If it was registered in another country and not yet registered in France, then the existing registration document will suffice, ideally with a certificate of conformity."

This seems to suggest you can get a french MOT without needing to register the car in france.

m4rkw · March 2, 2021

Ehh no. Car still has to be legal in the uk. Might be worth a call to your insurer and/or the DVLA just to see if there are any options you didn't consider but i think you're probably right that it needs to be transported back.

These guys look like they could do it: https://eamonmclaughlin.com