Sorry it seems to be taking so long Mathew.

But you did ask, Why DRIRE, now you know

Still, a moot point if you are waiting for parts for the lights. Even if you had the document you couldn't do anything with it.

One small tip, if you think your lights are going to be at the limit of acceptance, head down to your local garage. Most of them will offer free checking and adjustment and your local mechanic is much more likely to spend time getting them within range.

Especially, if you are armed with his favourite tipple.

Done this a few times after changing the lights myself.

Your CT station only has limited time to complete the test once the computer clock has been started so whilst he might be armed with a spanner, he won't have 1/2 and hour to mess with your lights.

Best of luck,
Richard

 

I use the same guy, recommended to me by Belgian Jaguar specialists, Phoenix Cars. I pay more, having the XKR, about €680 per year, but they do seem helpful and certainly paid up very quickly on my recent €2500 new windscreen claim.

 

That's odd because mine's an XKR too, they've had a copy of the log book to confirm it. Good news that they actually pay up though. More than I can say for Groupama.
I'm limited to 8K km/year and put the value at €20K.
I know this is off-topic but how much was your carte grise?

 

Please continue with the expanded explanations for those of us following this thread from outside France.

Is 'carte grise' the equivalent of UK Vehicle Excise Duty or some kind of regional tax? If it's the French windscreen sticker that looks like a grubby parking machine ticket, it's well named.

Graham

 

The carte grise is the equivalent of the V5, except the cost depends on which département you live in and what the French call the 'fiscal horsepower' of your car. Small Renaults or Peugeots have 5 or 6 FHP, a Golf GTI is about 15, my XKR is rated at 31 and the Bugatti Veyron at... 100! This is why the Citroën 2CV (deux chevaux fiscaux) was so called - it's engine was so weedy, it only had a fiscal horsepower of 2

Each département then sets a tax per FHP, typically around €50, which you have to pay when you register the car in your name. My carte grise came in at over €1700, including additional 'gas guzzler/high pollutant' tax

The only good news over here is that there is no annual road tax, but I'm sure they'll find a way of introducing one so as to 'bring us in line with the rest of Europe'.

French cars have two 'grubby stickers' in their windscreens:

1. COMPULSORY DISPLAY, the green 'vignette d'assurance', or insurance sticker

2. OPTIONAL DISPLAY (though most French people think it is compulsory), on cars over four years old is the light blue contrôle technique, or bi-annual MOT, sticker. I don't put this on my screen as it's pretty ugly, but I do keep it in my wallet for when the gendarmes stop me.

 

That explains the difference, then. I started off on the 8000 km/year scheme, but ended up upgrading to the unlimited mileage. I do about 8000 a year and didn't want the stress of having to watch the odometer, so I coughed up the extra.

The recent windscreen replacement came to 3.5 years worth of payments, however, so I can't complain.

 

Bugatti Veyron at 100 -

I'm amazed you guys have any time left to earn a living after wading through the bureaucracy.

Thanks for the explanation. I can now decipher the 'grubby stickers' on my next visit.

Graham

 

I've lived here for 25 years, so it's very much part of my life. I think my favourite is their certificat de non décčs, or certificate of non death, which non-Europeans need to produce on their wedding day, for example, to prove they're still alive. Standing in front of the mayor at the town hall, isn't enough - you MUST have documentary proof that you're not dead.

You gotta laugh

 

I still am!

This must make re-registering your UK car and getting married on the same day without invalidating the certificat de non décčs in the process the ultimate challenge.

 

The UK's no better
My pittance of a UK State pension mysteriously dried up last year so I phoned the Pension People. After several attempts I got through to a human entity (the best way of getting past a computer voice recognition system seems to be to repeat ‘slartibartfast’ in a monotone) who asked me the usual security stuff ‘What was the year and date of your marriage?’ I haven’t the slightest idea. It was great fun and we had a lot to drink but that doesn’t tie it down very effectively. Anyway he eventually accepted some of my answers. ‘We stopped your pension because you’re dead’. ‘I didn’t know I was dead – how did you find out?’ ‘We sent you a letter asking if you were still alive and you didn’t reply’ ‘Where did you send it?’ ‘To Nicaragua’ ‘They don’t do letters in Nicaragua. They haven’t got a postal service. They haven’t even got roads for Christ’s sake’ ‘It had a stamp on it’...............After sending them a chitty signed by the Maire to the effect that, as far as he could tell, body and soul were still somewhat in contact I rang them back. ‘What’s your name?’ ‘Lazarus’ ‘What’s your National Insurance number Mr. Lazarus?’

 

Dear European leaders.

Please read the above posts.

THIS is why you are all BANKRUPT!!

 

I should have listened to you Steve. I am off to the Prefecture in Sarlat on Monday. On of the staff speaks very good English and has helped in the past with some tricky documents. having sent several emails to Jaguar Customer Relations with only limited response, I spoke with someone at Jaguar yesterday. I was advised that the CoC had been sent out on the 23rd Jan but the discussion yesterday revealed that the certificate had not been prepared let alone sent out, it appears that there are only two people doing this work and both are off ill. He siad he would try and get the certificate prepared and send me a pdf by email. I have spoken with the CT manager and he is happy to carry out the test on the basis of a pdf and the V5. I have fitted a new headlight lens and hopefully the comments earlier about the car being US spec should get me through.

What amazes me is that a company like Jaguar can be so badly set up to prepare a simple document and send it out, it's not rocket science, is it?

My first dealings with Jaguar and I am not impressed at all.

What documentation should I take to the DREAL or DRIRE?

The only problem is that I am heading back to London on the 15th Feb until mid April so if I have to wait so be it.

I got the Carte Gris for the Scimitar this week, after only four months of ping pong. Hopefully it will be simpler with the XK.

Regards

Matthew

 

Documents
I got away with a photocopy of the change of address page of the UK reg certificate which gives the VIN et al. I also took the bill of sale which they didn't need.
Might be worth taking a utility bill with your French address on it.
They'll ask about tyre size (I've no idea why) so write that down as well.
You know about the Quitas Fiscal from the Scimitar presumably.
If your DREAL is as helpful as mine they'll give you a
'Recipisse de Réception de Dossier' which is free and seems to be all that's needed.
My folk have the CoC on their computer for the XKR but didn't charge me for a printout, they said the Préfecture could access it directly if they needed to.
Couldn't have been more helpfuil.
I think it's a disgrace that Jaguar charge for a CoC on a 100K plus car.
I phoned them yesterday because there is some evidence of a 'magic lever' that does the headlamp dip changeover - a post on another site says it exists but isn't in the handbook. Got a very off hand response from customer care - 'read the handbook, if it isn't in that we can't help'. Nuts.

 

I have imported several UK-sourced cars to France and each manufacturer has asked between 100 and 200 euros for the CoC. It's not only Jaguar.

 

I fully accept that Jaguar 'isn't the only one' but wonder what the EU legislation on CoC's is. If I buy the most trivial household appliance it comes with a CoC so why doesn't the same requirement apply to a car?

 

Steve;

Please let me know if you track down the 'magic headlight lever' switch.

GGG has previously sent me the factory PDF for the headlight leveling adjustment but there was no indication of any switches magic or otherwise.

Just a hex shaped adjustment knurl that seems to be under a cover and behind a panel that needs to be removed first. Tedious to say the least.

On the other hand there is a hex shaped hole on the top of the headlight boxes on either side but they look like they adjust the high beams and not the HID/Xenon's of the low beams.

Anyone have any idea if that is correct?

I am looking to adjust the right side low beam of my UK car upwards because the cut off is so low as to be nearly useless.

cheers,

jj

 

jj,

I remember reading about one of the Jaguar saloons having this lever feature but not the detail of whether it was X, S or XJ.

There's nothing in the 4.2 Driver' handbook to suggest these have a similar adjustment.

GGG

 

Zoot! T'ant pis.

Back to the drawing board.

thanks G,

cheers,

jj

 

When the PermaFrost lets up a bit I'll have a creep round - but I've got me doubts.
The alternative, unfortunately, seems to be wheel arch protection off, headlamps out and HID lens rotated through 180°.
If I have to do that I'll take some pictures (Rev Sam has already covered removal of wheel arch trim).

 

Lol, I've been meaning to do this for the past 12 months, but it's such a boring, time-consuming mod, I always find better jobs to do on the car.