Buying a classic car: checks, provenance, inspection and import

Buying a classic car means buying a file as much as a machine. The value of a period or modern classic lies in what can be proven: its identity, its successive owners, its original condition. The checks always follow the same order, and that order is what protects you: the identity of the car, its provenance, the inspection, then transport and formalities, including tax when the car comes from another country.

Our classic car acquisitions work covers the search and the introduction: we look for the car that meets your request, present it to you with its records, then introduce you to its owner. Negotiation, inspection and the sale are then conducted between you and the seller, with your own advisers.

Checking the car’s identity: numbers and original specification

The first check concerns what the car is. The chassis number (or vehicle identification number) must match the registration document, and the engine number, the gearbox number and, on some models, the axle number must match what the manufacturer delivered. This is what the market calls a matching-numbers car.

The specification is checked in the same way: exterior colour, upholstery, options, market of first delivery. Where the manufacturer or its heritage department issues a production record or certificate of authenticity, that document is authoritative for the car as it left the factory. It says nothing about what has happened since.

Provenance: owners, invoices and history

Provenance is the sequence of owners and work carried out since delivery. It is reconstructed from earlier registration documents, maintenance and restoration invoices, photographs, auction catalogues and, for competition cars, their racing record.

Continuous provenance is reassuring; a period without any record is not necessarily a fault, but it is questioned before purchase. A restoration should be documented: by whom, when, with which parts. A car that has moved between countries carries several successive registrations, which need to be linked to one another.

The independent inspection before purchase

The inspection takes place before any commitment, by a specialist you appoint and pay, independent of the seller. It sets the car against its file: body and structure, paint and thickness readings, mechanicals, stamped numbers, whether parts are correct for the model and year. A road test completes the examination.

The report is used to decide, then to negotiate: a defect found becomes a price adjustment, work at the seller’s expense, or a decision to walk away. At auction, the examination takes place before the sale, during the viewing, since the car is sold as seen and the buyer’s premium is added to the hammer price.

Transport, insurance and registration

A classic car is usually moved in an enclosed transporter, insured for its value during the journey. For an international move, the transporter also prepares the customs documents. Once the sale is complete, our concierge service can arrange this transport to the address you give.

In France, a car more than thirty years old, whose model is no longer produced and whose original technical characteristics have not been altered, can carry the “collection vehicle” entry on its registration certificate, on a certificate from the manufacturer or from the French federation of historic vehicles (FFVE). The entry is neither automatic nor compulsory.

Importing a classic car: the tax position

A car bought in another European Union country moves without customs duty. For a used car, VAT is in principle not charged a second time in France, and French registration requires a tax clearance certificate issued by the authorities (the quitus fiscal).

A car bought outside the European Union, in the United Kingdom, Switzerland or the United States for example, is imported. Everything then depends on its customs classification. A car recognised as a collectors’ item under the European criteria (as a rule more than thirty years old, a model no longer in production, original condition without substantial alteration) falls under a different regime from an ordinary used car, with reduced import duty and VAT. Classification is decided on the file: your adviser or customs agent prepares it before the car arrives, and the purchase price is judged with taxes included.

Conclusion

A classic car is bought on its file, checked in order: identity, provenance, inspection, then formalities. None of it can be put right once the price has been paid. If you are looking for a particular car, describe it to us: we search for it, including cars not offered publicly, and present it to you with its records.