Visit to France

[Shepsy]

Thinking about taking the Vitesse to France - just below Nantes. 
I’m slightly worried about damage / theft. Can anyone share their experience of taking a classic car to France ?

[Darren Sharp]

Hello mate , lots of us take our Triumphs across the water to France regularly. Of course there are the big events like the 10CR which present a big target but have safety in numbers but there are also members who go solo . I’ve never had a particular issue in France and have driven thousands of miles there . Choose hotels with good car parks off the road and use common sense and an immobiliser like removing the rotor arm when the car is parked up and you are probably at less risk than in the UK as even fewer of the population know what your car is . 

[Pierre]

Covered several thousand miles there in the TR6 never had a problem.  Suggest you allow an extra 10 minutes for each fuel stop - people WILL be interested in your car and want to ask about it.

Suggest also the worthwhile use of the Liberte / SANEF ‘Bip & go’ tag to ease passage through the toll booths if you want to use the autoroutes.  You don’t have to worry about paying at the booths, being on the ‘wrong’ side of the car or dropping all of your coins (yes , been there, done that).  Very often in the T lanes you can go through without actually stopping.  Worth their weight in gold if you’re travelling on your own, ie without a passenger.  They can also be used in some municipal car parks.  In essence, you set up an account with them and they bill you at the end of each month in which you use it.  You do not get lower rates but the convenience is brilliant.

As above try to find off road parking and watch for  the 80 kph limit. (Used to be 90kph) on many rural roads - fines can be heavy

[Shepsy]

Darren and Pierre.

Thank you both for your help and good advice. It has put my mind at ease and we shall now plan our trip. 👍.

[Clive]

Never had an issue in france, or anywhere else in europe. And I have stayed in a few iffy hotels!

As to damage, same risk as the UK but a trustworthy co-driver is handy for overtaking. 

Just make sure you have the proper insurances, and check your breakdown cover. And useful to carry some spares that you have tested on the car. (ie don't carry a spare electronic ignition/distributor cap/rotor arm that you have never tried. In fact, pop the new one on teh car and carry the known good one as a spare)

 

Just don't be tempted by e85 fuel!

[Rosbif]

Dito all above comments. I live in France with a RHD 13/60 without any undue worries. People will give you a thumbs up, or flash headlights as they go past in the opposite direction.

The speed limit situation is now far more complex than it was. In brief, the national limit on open roads is 80kph unless marked otherwise, not as it used  to be 90. Certain departments have gone back to 90 on lots of roads, as here in the Orne, with ceertain sections as 80. Here in the Orne we, drivers that is, stuck to our usual habit of driving at 100 in the rural zones so never noticed the changes 😁

One point that is worth noting is that when you get a section at 70 it is mostly for a good reason, so keep your eyes open.

Driving a RHD car here isn't too much of a handicap, if on empty roads it isn't at all, just position yourself so you can see round the vehicle ahead down their left side or right side depending on the road. If you have a passenger they can give you the all clear to pull out.

Another tip, if you pull in for petrol try and turn into a station on the right. when you pull out again, if there isn't other traffic about, you are less likely to use the wrong side of the road.

Final point, the dreaded 'priorité à droite' (I hate it). In some towns you might be on the main road but a car coming out of a side street has right of way so will very likely not slow down. The French themselves aren't totally ok with it either. A town i go to regularly, was there yesterday in fact, when I leave the side road I'm on joins the main road so I have priority over the cars coming from my left, I never trust them so take care. Yesterday if I had just carried on my modern would now have a big dent in the drivers side, the car driver who in theory should have stopped never even looked at the side road, fortunately I did slow right down and stop. The opposite has happened where I stopped as did the car on the main road.

Out of town it does exist on mainly small rural cross roads, look out for a triangular sign with red border and an X in it. At these cross roads it is the car to the right who has priority, should there be another at the junction at the same time.

Sounds worse that it is really, just take care.

Driving in France is usually a real pleasure, think about it - country double the size of Britain with the same population. A LOT more room.

I'm  off to Brittany tomorrow for a holiday and we usually avoid motorways whenever possible and take the scenic route.

Bonne route!

[Rosbif]

8 minutes ago, Clive said:

Just don't be tempted by e85 fuel!

Much cheaper than the real stuff, 1/2 the price, but you are right the car won't thank you for it.

 

[JohnD]

I drove (The TRansit not the the Vitesse) nearly 2000 miles around France this summer after CLM.   Much of it I avoided Les Autoroutes, but when I did, they insisted on a credit card!   The pay stations were unmanned.   I didn't have a passenger to plug the card in, and anyway, the TRansit's height is just between the low slot for cars and high slot for lorries, so I had to get out and walk around!    Good for the legs!

Damage?  Theft?    If it is evidence of being free of low level criminality, France has almost no graffiti or litter.  I think that in La France Profonde, the rural France that you may want to visit, you will be quite safe.  In France overall, car theft rate is a third that of the UK.    But you do see a lot of cars being driven with bodywork damage, so as Rosbif says, Take Care!

John

[Shepsy]

Clive, Rosbif and JohnD.

Again, really good advice which I have taken on board.

Many thanks to all. 
Pete.

[Rosbif]

1 hour ago, JohnD said:

France has almost no graffiti or litter. 

The first time my parents came over to visit us after we moved they commented on how clean and tidy places were and that nobody had ripped the plants out of the various beds in villages. They even commented that the farms were tidy.

[JohnD]

Correction: "In France overall, car theft rate is a third less than that of the UK."   But that's significantly less!

John

[Shepsy]

Hello All. 
The trip has now been booked. Talk about spur of the moment . 
We are off to Noirmoutier-en-l’ille for a few days followed by a couple of days in Dinan? 
Really excited about driving through France in the Vitesse 🤞. 
Once again…….. Thank you for your help!

[Rosbif]

29 minutes ago, Shepsy said:

couple of days in Dinan?  🤞

We will be staying there tomorrow night, we've stopped there 3 or 4 times when passing to or from Brittany, always the same hotel. Mercure, Dinan Port Le Jezual.

[Shepsy]

Can anyone please advise on the fitment of headlamp deflectors as I’m confused.

My Vitesse is fitted with sealed beam units.

Do I need to fit deflectors to all 4 headlamps?

 If so, roughly what position on the lens should they be fitted?

The ones I have purchased are EUROLITES.

Many thanks.

Pete.

 

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[Shepsy]

Can anyone please advise on the fitment of headlamp deflectors as I’m confused.

My Vitesse is fitted with sealed beam units.

Do I need to fit deflectors to all 4 headlamps?

 If so, roughly what position on the lens should they be fitted?

The ones I have purchased are EUROLITES.

Many thanks.

Pete.

 

Quote

 

 

[Clive]

Only for dipped.

There should be a "traingle" on the lens on one side, that needs to be covered. (I use gaffer tape)

[Pierre]

If you’re still unsure, with headlights on drive up to a wall/garage door.  You should see each beam illuminates an area with a flat upper edge and a section that goes up on the left.  Obviously, this is the section to be ‘blanked off’ to prevent dazzling oncoming drivers The headlamp glass moulding should show a ‘trapezoidal’?  Shape that is to be blanked off. `It will be on the left of the glass as you look at it from the front of the car

I’ve used the Eurolites stuff in the past and found their guide pretty informative.

Once the tape is stuck on - check againstthe garage door again if you are unsure.  Checking is easier if you do one at a time with the others covered up with a piece of card.

As has been mentioned before gaffer / duct / duck tape is equally good. Removal is easier if the glass is warmed up a little (simply switch the headlights on and wait a bit - unless you have LED lamps, of course).

Edited September 26, 2023 by Pierre
Extra bit of info

[JohnD]

Save your money, use  insulation/gaffer tape, like this:

Spitfire Aces Tour, CLM, 2006

Edited September 26, 2023 by JohnD

[Shepsy]

Clive, Pierre, and JohnD.

Thank you all for your help, the description and the photos have made it so much easier to understand !

 

[Shepsy]

ALL. We have returned from our trip in France. What a fantastic experience in the Vitesse. We covered about 800 miles and are looking forward to going back.

Thank you all for your support and help 👍

[JohnD]

Well done, Shepsy!   Well done your Vitesse!

Now, you are both set for the 10CR next year!

[Rosbif]

And the weather should have been good into the bargain. Get next year booked then . . .

We got back from 8 days in sunny Bretagne ourselves this afternoon to sunny Normandie.

[Wendy Dawes]

Glad you enjoyed your trip, 😊

[Shepsy]

JohnD. I’ve just checked the 10CR out. That looks challenging. Probably better left to the “Big boys and girls”  but who knows?  
Definitely food for thought.

 

[Shepsy]

Rosbif. Glad we listened to you. The stop in Dinan was interesting. What a cracking area.👍 

Your trip was also quite a jolt - guess we were both lucky with the weather!