Was checking out Reliant stuff on ebay and...

Nah! They're fantastic! ;D
I want one. Well, not really, I actually want a Regal again - as long as it's not Trotterised! I don't know where the facination with them came from but I've loved 3-wheelers (not the trike ones) since like forever - and I have a few of them (3-wheelers) in my garage. The Reliants have a special place though... I'm even the official 'Regal Custodian' of the Reliant Fan Club!

Oi GPD, Whats the 'car law' like in Belgium? Could you get a reliant Regal registered on the road there if you had one? Here in France I think it would be impossible.

Wouldn't be much of a problem getting the car registered over here. As soon as I can produce the documents that state that the car has been registered somewhere in Europe there's no problem. It might take a month or two but it works fine. I've done it with my Hudson Kindred Spirit (which is registered on the road but actually still in bits in boxes!! ;D ), my BlackJack Avion, the GP Syder and the buggies I've built etc. Now I'm gonna do it with my new BlackJack Zero trike soon. I don't anticipate any problems.

Now to be honest, I've been into this stuff for ages and I find things have become easier over time.

For you the same rules should apply! I've sold kitcars to France years ago and there was always trouble with Le Service des Mines??? over there. But they are ALWAYS in the wrong when they won't accept a previously EU registered car in France.

So bottom line: if you we're to buy a Reliant Robin on ebay UK you should get it on the road in France based on the UK registration no probs. But those French are a stubborn breed...

The French system is to ask for a ‘certificate of conformity’ from the manufacturer, this certifies that the car in question is of a type that has been subject to French ‘Type Approval’, and gives the reference of this approval. If therefore you are talking about a car which has not been commercially available in France you cannot get this document, also if the manufacturer has gone bust or no longer has a French agency (MG Rover?) there’s no-one to give you this doc. SO its very hard, if not impossible, to import something obscure over here, I think for a Reliant RObin you could forget it.

You need this certificate even when importing from Luxembourg or Belgium. However I am sure it cannot be right to ban someone from using their car in France, if it is their own car and they were using it elsewhere in the EU previously. That’s got to go against some EU legislation somewhere. Unfortunately however you are right – its no good arguing that point to the civil servant who looks after car documentation at the local prefecture, its just ‘tough luck pal’.