Lancia Beta Forum

Hello all,

I'm Graham and I live in Sheffield. I've owned my Lancia Beta Spyder (Series 2) since 1987, when I bought it secondhand. Prior to that I owned a Beta HPE (Series 1), which suffered from the dreaded tin-rot. A couple of years ago I drove my Spyder down to the South of France (I have a moneypit down there) and left it there for use when we go over. I'm currently in the process of re-registering it in France as a 'Vehicule de Collection', i.e. a Classic Car.

Prior to relocating to the S of F, it hadn't seen much use for the previous ten years so it still only has about 60k on the clock. As with any vehicle of that age, keeping it running is a labour of love, but I have to say it's ideally suited to its new location.

Welcome Mango, ;D

I'd be very interested in how you get on with registering you Spider "en France".

Am pretty much set on heading that way myself and want to take my car with me.  I know it can be done and I know the french love their red tape but would like to know what documentation you have to provide etc etc

Got any pics of the car?

Yes, the French do like their red tape...  What started me thinking about registering the car in France was a recent change to the law in France on that subject. Since late last year, vehicles over 30 years old are eligible for 'Vehicule de Collection' status. This has a number of advantages, not least of which is cheap insurance (comparatively) and the requirement for a 'Controle Technique' test (French MoT) every five years instead of the usual two years. There are also far less stringent checks on Type Approval - basically as long as the headlights dip the right way, I think you're in the clear.

You do have to be able to prove residence status in France; i.e. utility bill, Tax bill etc, but anyone with a property in France will be able to do that. I've just done the first step, which is to go to the local 'Hotel des Impots' (Tax Office) with the necessary documentation and get a form which states that there is no VAT payable on the vehicle. Once that is done you have to download another form, fill it in and send it off with photos and further documents to a different department. Once they issue you with a further certificate, you're able to apply for the 'Carte Grise de Collection'. So it's a bit of a faff, but nothing that can't be overcome with a bit of tenacity.

There's a very good write up on a French site run by ex-pat Bikers (my first love is two wheels, I have to confess) which can be found here:

http://bikeclubfrance.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2013 (http://bikeclubfrance.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2013)

It refers to bikes, but the process is exactly the same for cars, as far as I can see.

Oh, and I'll post up a photo or two when I'm at my home computer...

hi there , do you know of any beta coupes for sale in south yorkshire as i live in sheffield also