What do I do about old cars in the barn of my French property?

Reader Question: I recently purchased a property that came with an old barn. Inside, there were two old vehicles, neither having any paperwork such as a carte grise. What should I do? 

This scenario poses complications but does happen from time to time, and registering such vehicles, if they are roadworthy, may not be impossible.

Note that there are two possible ways they could be registered: either the standard route, or with a carte grise de collection (for classic cars) if the cars are more than 30 years old and models that are no longer produced.

It is generally not advisable, however, to buy a car without the carte grise as, apart from paperwork complications, it can give rise to questions about whether the cars were stolen.

If the purchase is still recent, we advise contacting the notaire or estate agent, who should be able to reach out to the former owner to inform them, as they may have the correct paperwork (or contact them directly if you are still in touch).

Reporting a lost carte grise

If this is not a viable option then you can request a carte grise on ants.gouv.fr, reporting it as ‘lost’, however, as your situation is unusual this is a case where we would highly recommend obtaining help with this from a professional accredited to make carte grise applications for others.

Documents required include a declaration of the loss (form Cerfa 13753) and a request for a carte grise (form Cerfa 13750). A form saying that you give a mandate to the professional to work for you is also needed if you opt for this.

Take note of the number plate numbers and look for the cars’ VIN identification numbers. The latter could be in one of several places, such as inside the driver’s door, on the floor of the driver’s side, on the driver’s side of the windscreen, on the motor under the bonnet, or above one of the back wheels. Take photos of the cars.

You also need to gather any relevant documents that can help to prove how the cars came to be in your possession.

A search in local departmental archives could turn up details of the previous owner.

Dreal contact

Your local Dreal body, in charge of ensuring that vehicles are properly roadworthy, may be able to assess the vehicles to judge if they conform to rules to be put on the road. You can find its details online. 

The vehicles’ manufacturer may also be able to help provide information about the cars. Notably, in the case of registering them as voitures de collection, they can provide an attestation that the cars correspond to a certain model they used to make (the FFVE can also provide such documentation, see below).

There will also be the question of obtaining a contrôle technique roadworthiness certificate. In some cases it is possible to do this without a carte grise, notably for a carte grise de collection. You can obtain more information about registration as a voiture de collection from ffve.org.

You will also have to insure the vehicles.

Scrapping a vehicle in France 

If the vehicles are very old and there is no chance of them becoming roadworthy – or you do not think it is not worth selling them – you can scrap them. 

This is only possible if the vehicle is in a wrecked state (épave) or otherwise cannot be driven, and is provided for in the French driving laws (Article R322-9 of the Code de la route). 

You will need assistance from an accredited épaviste (centre that accepts véhicules hors usage).

You can search for one near you.