Tuesday 24 March 2009

Grised Off!

Yes, I am, completely.

It's at times like these that I seriously consider packing it all in and returning to the UK.

Let me explain...

For a while my car has made an odd noise when I braked - sometimes - not all the time, but in the last few days it got much worse and I knew I had to take it to a garage. I thought it would be the brake pads, but maybe discs too and/or a wheel bearing. On Monday I got up early and went into Bellac to the garage I last had it serviced at, only to find they were closed. Not just closed because it was Monday, you understand, but closed permanently, definitively, absolutely, totally, FOR GOOD. Of course, no other garages were open on a Monday either.

I spoke to Ian, who recommended LEJM in Limoges, and, as he wanted me to go with him to Mr Bricolage to pick and pay for the flooring for the shop, we arranged that I would follow him and go to the garage place first.

Unfortunately, in France, you need a document called a Carte Grise whenever and wherever you take your car in (probably even before you can get the tyres pumped-up) and I didn't realise this, so it was at home, neatly filed under CAR.

The Carte Grise

The man at LEJM said I could not make an appointment then and there unless he had seen the Carte Grise, but I could ring him from home and make an appointment if I had the Carte Grise "sous les yeux". So we got the wood and off I went home. At 2pm I rang, found the first appointment would be late (and I mean late) on Friday (it was explained that they would have to order in the bits which would not arrive until Friday afternoon), but they could not even make it until I had been in personally with the Carte Grise!

So - what to do? I'm pretty grised browned off as this will mean a round trip of about 100K just so they can see the Carte Grise, and then another 100K when I take the car to be fixed. (Remember, I did 100K today too, on this abortive visit) It will take between 1 and 2 hours to do the job, and they are on an industrial estate, so not much shopping I can do to occupy the time.

I really feel like getting the job done more locally, even if it costs more, as there is a cost in fuel anyway, which would be saved.

What would you do?
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2 comments:

Stew said...

Your carte grise should stay in the car, along with the insurance docs all the time. Anytime you are stopped by the police they will get shirty if you cannot produce these 2 docs and your drivers license. They will make you appear at the cop shop to produce these papers the next day if you don't have them, and there is a strong chance the cops won't be local so you'll have a bit of a drive.

Yes, if the car is stolen the theif will have the documentation to go with it. And it's no good keeping copies in the car, I've tried that and the cops still made me produce the originals the next day.

It's France, they kept certain things they liked about the German occupation, and one of them is uniformed men stopping you and saying "Vos papiers s'il vous plait"

27 March 2009 at 23:42
Debra in France said...

I was also told yesterday by one of our French neighbours that if you don't have 'vos papiers' in the car with you, then you can also be fined.

28 March 2009 at 09:57

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