Getting Wheels

Peugeot.mainspot.net (Go to this site to learn more about the World Rally)

We have wheels today. It’s been a long time since we’ve actually ‘owned’ a car and for all the years we’ve been coming to France - this is a first. The car is a Peugeot 206. You can actually purchase a car you’ve leased (which is nice in some respects because you know that the only owner of this ‘voiture d’occasion’ or used car, happens to be one person- you. Rather than have the TVA or VAT tax included in the price, you need to pay the VAT directly to the customs office. In this case Peugeot Sodexa was able to handle the actual TVA payment for us to move the process along. We don’t plan on being in any rallys - but here’s a little Peugeot 206 Rally history at Sportasylum.com

The Motor Vehicles Department (or the Carte Grise department) is part of the prefecture de Police - or the sous-prefecture depending on where you live. Your ‘carte grise’ is your proof of car ownership (this is paid on a sliding scale depending on your car’s horsepower). A Peugeot 206, for example will set you back about 230 Euros, just for your carte grise. Once you have your carte grise in hand, you proceed to just about any garage to have your licence plates made up. We went to a shop that makes the licence plates on location. We watched as the owner pressed the numbers into a metal plate. This was the first time i’ve ever seen a licence plate being made. Then he attached the plate to the car bumpers for us. The whole process took about fifteen minutes and cost 22Euros for the plate (you need two plates for the front and back bumpers).

Peugeot 206 also comes in an automatic convertible version - Maybe in a few years? Who knows? So far it’s been raining so much that there wouldn’t have been enough sunny days to make a convertible worth it, but sunny days are just around the corner (we hope!)

Even if you don’t decide that you need to go so far as buying a car (public transportation is great - if you stay in Paris, all you need is the bus or metro, leasing a car over the years with Peugeot Sodexa has been a very good experience - I would recommend them.

Soon there will be a service available to rent cars (within Paris) for very short stints - (Avis). The concept will be very similar to the idea of picking up bicycles and dropping them off at bicycle drop sites throughout Paris (except that the bicycles were be available for free use).