Name on vehicle registration!
 

Hi, i'm about to buy a french-registered car and drive it along the Atlantic route, hoping to sell it at some point(...how many times did you hear this story?). Since i live in the UK and i don't have time to register the vehicle on my name, do you think it's possible to cross borders with a carte grise that doesn't show my name on it?

I can ask the guy from whom i'll buy the car to write down a contract to prove the car is mine?

cheers,
andrea

I can only speak for Burkina Faso and Mali where I was traveling with a friend who had a landcruiser registered in a company name - we had a letter attesting that we had permission to use the car but it wasn't even asked for. Didn't seem to be an issue, but like I say only BF and Mali.
Gil

It's not uncommon for tour companies to bring in other people's bikes into Morocco and beyond, so it might be simpler if you asked him to write a letter giving you permission to drive the car.

Diy
 

Last time I did this I made myself an official-looking document from the 'AC of GB' or smth with an all-important stamp attesting that I was the new owner of the vehicle (it worked in Tuni and Lib).
eg: 'This certifies that A has sold the car [VIN#] to B on date C, signed and witnessed by D"
Or get the letter from the seller 'stamped' by someone/thing important to make it look even better than it is. Stamps go a long way in Af.

Ch

Car documents
 

"... a letter attesting that we had permission to use the car"
I travelled with two friends who had a letter written on UK Police stationery and signed by the police chief of their local town, authorising them to use the car.
Their big error was failing to get an official stamp on it.
The Moroccans took one look and rejected it - and they were put on the next boat back home.
The next two friends, seasoned travellers both over 70 years old, were also thrown out at the dockside a year later. Their V5 (Carte Gris) didn't have the correct name on it.
Morocco is a busy smuggling route for stolen European cars, and the Moroccans are strict about car imports.
An official stamp, as CS says above, is required for everything.

A friend used a soft pencil rubber and a craft knife and made his own 'official' stamps to increase his IDP to all categories. This was years ago in the days when the AA had a far more complex logo. It looked pretty convincing to me.

Might be an essential bit of kit,with a small ink pad, for the serious traveller!

When you buy a vehicle in France, the seller will sign it as a 'cessation with date and time' to you the new owner. you then have 14 days or so to register the change at your local prefecture. if you do not do this, in france at least you will be illegal. They will know, because the seller will send in his bit to ensure he does not get any of your speeding tickets.