Help! Advice please

benjus

Hi all,

My estranged wife has just called from where she now lives in France. She's been having problems with the car (Xsara Picasso) and has taken it to a garage who have quoted €2300 to get it working properly (about €500 parts and the rest labour). She really needs a car as public transport is not very extensive and she is looking after our two children.

Now it's a fairly old car (2002) with around 75k miles on the clock (I think - maybe a bit higher). There's a lot of damage to the bodywork (she was hit from the side a few months ago and the insurance didn't cover it) and she only has one key, which is not the one with the remote control. So spending over €2k on it does not seem like a great investment. It's a UK car re-registered with French plates, so it's RHD which is not ideal.

Used cars are not cheap in France - to get a car with comparable age and mileage (but with good bodywork) would cost around €3500 or more.

In the UK, however, you can get something comparable for well under £2000 - but obviously there's a lot of hassle in transporting the car, and a LHD car would serve her better. I've heard that used cars are quite cheap in Germany, but I don't speak German or know anything about the paperwork.

Any ideas on the best course of action here?

andygb

If I were you, I would simply get another UK registered Picasso (less than £2K at auction for a 55 plate and low miles). An eight year old Picasso with 75K miles is not worth more than £1200, and this is not because I do not like them, just the reality. I saw a 57 plate Citroen C4 (standard shape), with 34K miles go through BCA Paddock Wood a couple of months ago for £2300 (plus a couple of hundred buyer's premium).

Wig

I would NOT be tempted to repair it. Get a second opinion perhaps?

Car auction? This one is in Rennes and tells you previous results



Judging by the results given for "citroen 2002 petrol" it seems you were right about the value of cars in France.

Dunno anything about Germany as an option, you'd have the hassle of not having a German address to register it with.

I'd be looking at an older cheaper car something like this for 200 + 10% - 12% + 100 euro TTC (VAT)
http://www.encheres-auto.com/fiche_vehicule.asp?ref_vehicule=993542

Can't believe the price this one sold for! it was 17 years old!
http://www.encheres-auto.com/fiche_vehicule.asp?ref_vehicule=1046212


I think realistically, buy one from UK and ship it out. Or buy a Left Hand Drive in UK and ship it out. I'll do a quick search on BCA for LHD vehicles........ update - sorry can't search for LHD vehicles on BCA, either that, or they don't have any LHD, I did a 'quick search' for LHD & Left nothing came up except two RHD cars with registration numbers ending in LHD

Try Autotrader keyword search "LHD" & "Left Hand Drive"

benjus

Thanks for the advice... I told her to get a 2nd opinion already - unless that is MUCH cheaper I think a UK used car is the way to go. There's a French registered LHD Astra estate on UK ebay - might be interesting if the price stays low. From what I can see LHD cars in the UK have very limited choice and prices aren't great. Otherwise a standard UK car - at least she's used to driving RHD in France now.

hartcjhart

google
lhd car centre

loads of results unless she wants a BMW;)

what is your budget?

rev_henry

I think you might do quite well buying a LHD car over here. They tend to be cheap unless they're something special because, after all, who would want one. That Astra sounds potentially good. I can't really imagine anyone who isn't in your exact position wanting it.

hartcjhart

rev_henry wrote: »

I think you might do quite well buying a LHD car over here. They tend to be cheap unless they're something special because, after all, who would want one. That Astra sounds potentially good. I can't really imagine anyone who isn't in your exact position wanting it.

LHD cars here are selling better than RHD,thats what I have found

Wig

hartcjhart wrote: »

LHD cars here are selling better than RHD,thats what I have found

The Pound is cheap against the Euro. I guess they buy here before going back home.

mrbadexample

Just spoken to a French friend of mine who lives near the German border. She says that cars are usually cheaper in Germany or Belgium, but that it can cost €1000+ to have it re-registered in France, so you need to weigh that up against any possible saving.

benjus

mrbadexample wrote: »

Just spoken to a French friend of mine who lives near the German border. She says that cars are usually cheaper in Germany or Belgium, but that it can cost €1000+ to have it re-registered in France, so you need to weigh that up against any possible saving.

Thanks for asking - of course, the re-registration cost would also apply to a car bought in the UK (unless I get something like that Astra, but there isn't exactly a vast selection of French registered cars on sale in the UK). From memory the cost of re-registering the Picasso was actually quite low - the most expensive thing was a document from Citroen confirming that it matched the standard French specification, which cost between €100 and €200 to obtain, IIRC.

benjus

Thanks to all the other replies... right now I'm hoping that the garage owner was either mistaken or a crook. She took it to a different garage yesterday afternoon; the garage was about to close but the mechanic took a very quick look and said it could just be a faulty sensor. She's going to go back for a proper look on Monday.

In case the worst happens, I'll keep looking for LHD cars. In terms of budget, there isn't any really... this came out of the blue and I had no plans to replace the car at the moment. I might have been willing to pay the €2300 to get the car back to a very good condition, but with all the other problems it has it's just not worth it.