Exporting to Germany

Arkady001

Club Member
Apr 2, 2013
461
129
Iserlohn, Germany
In light of recent political events, instead of renewing all my Insurance, MoT and tax annually in the UK as previously, I've decided to simply register the car here in Germany.
Since the death of my Father in November 2018 there's no longer any particular reason to return to the UK on a regular basis, and the Insurance premiums are now more or less the same over here.

Exporting seems straightforward enough - fill and return the relevant V5 section along with a covering letter...
Obviously I expect to have to get a TüV certificate, German Insurance quote etc before registering...

However...I'm being asked by the Straßenverkehrsamt (Tcherman DVLA) for a COC - Cert of Conformity - I didn't think I needed one for a vehicle produced inside the EU - moreover weren't these things assembled in Köln...?

Also they're asking for proof of ownership as the V5 sopecifically states that it's NOT proof of ownership just that I'm the registered keeper.
I literally have no idea where the actual sales receipt for the car is as I bought it used over 4 years ago and those were at my parents house in the UK - which is no longer my parents house, obviously.
 
Rob, they where all assembled in Flat Rock, USA but Ford of Germany were the division within Ford of Europe 'responsible' for the EU/UK vehicles.

If you bought it from a dealer would they not have a record of the sale?
 
I can't even remember where I bought it - it was a dealer, but I'm hazy as to where - possibly Swindon... All I remember is giving him grief for asking too much and beating him down from 1200 to 700 after pointing out that the previous 2 MoTs were by him and that, combined with the V5 entries, perished tyres and mould around the rubbers indicated it had been parked under the trees in the corner of his lot for at least two years and I was offering cash.

This was 2013, so even longer ago than I thought...lol

It's all good though - after some to-and fro we have agreed that all I need is the V5C and a German TüV certificate and Insurance.
Once I get the alternator replaced (I'll get my friendly mechanic to give it a quick look-over at the same time to see if there's anything TüV might pick up that I've missed), I'll book it in for a formal inspection.
Apparently the registration process only takes about 15 minutes if everything's in order - and I can book an appointment to avoid waiting in line.
 
Condolences for your loss. I don't know if you mentioned it at the time, but if you did I'm afraid I missed it. I hope you're keeping well.

As Andy says, all Cougars were built in Flat Rock Michigan, though some fit-and-finish items (I'm not 100% which) were supposedly done in Germany for UK and European cars. And I assume something similar happened for the Australian-market ones.

As I understand it, the Certificate of Conformity is largely due to emissions and lighting. An example would be that in the UK you only need a rear foglight on the driver's side, whereas on the continent, most countries demand one on each side of the car.

I'm not sure how they stand on headlights for RHD cars; we have a switch on the back of our light clusters that's supposed to kick the beam over for temporary use but I guess if the beam matches what they're expecting to see, then...?

The CoC also apparently gives the type approval number, but since it was sold in Germany as well? Well, you've apparently already sorted that out!