When Vince Santini tried to register his right-hand drive Mercedez-Benz smart car in France, the last thing he needed was having to deal with unexpected roadblocks. However, this was the situation he faced after contacting the regional authorities responsible for approving vehicles in Normandy – DREAL. So, Vince turned to Martin Swanson of MyFrenchVA after DREAL denied his application. Martin, bilingual in French and English, has lived in France for more than 20 years and is well accustomed to dealing with the complexities of French bureaucracy.
What was the problem Vince faced?
Several technical aspects needed addressing, including the right-hand drive vehicle’s headlights, measuring its weight, the speedometer, and odometer. While most of these issues were resolved successfully, the rear-view mirrors presented a particularly thorny issue, requiring a Certificate of Conformity for driving on the right-hand side of the road.
Further, significant delays were also due to Mercedes. Although Vince paid over 300€ for an inspection, they seemed to drag out providing the outstanding information. This made a stressful situation even worse.
The road to securing approval
To resolve the matter, Martin contacted the relevant DREAL official and quickly established a rapport to smooth the path to approval. Martin approached Mercedes Benz, the car’s manufacturer, who directed him to a technician at the dealer network in Brittany. This led to Vince making a journey to Rennes to meet with a company representative – which initially appeared to have done the job, as they issued a document confirming the car’s conformity to French driving regulations. However, a crucial detail was missing: the exact wording referencing Circulation à droite 2003/97/CE 10 novembre 2003. Consequently, DREAL rejected the document – and Vince still needed approval to drive his car in France.
Perseverance finally pays off….
Undeterred, Martin persevered, contacting the manufacturers once more.
Following a successful inspection of the vehicle for its Contrôle Technique (CT), a further meeting with DREAL proceeded smoothly – resulting in Vince receiving his much-awaited approval to legally drive his smart car in France.
A Happy Customer!
Vince said:
“Martin kept on top of the whole process throughout; he so was so nice, helpful and very understanding. Martin knows the systems here and speaks French fluently. I could contact him when I wanted and he was always responsive. Thank you!”
MyFrenchVA is a Virtual Administration Assistant for English-speakers living in France or coming to live in France. Owned by expat Martin Swanson, MyFrenchVA can assist you with registering your vehicle, applying for a visa, healthcare, working in France, driving licences and more.
Web: www.myFrenchVA.com
Email: martin@myfrenchva.com
Mob: +33 (0)6 71 93 38 77
