Tuesday, 20 February 2018 to Friday, 2 March 2017
As I concluded in a previous post titled Waking up in beautiful Brittany, in the amazing Côtes-d’Armor, the fact that Philippe was so immensely generous to lend us his car, was to be a fatal mistake… But not in a negative way though!

Having had the use of Philippe’s car during the past plenty weeks there was no way of going back. When we originally came to France last year in March we had grand illusions of buying a car but decided it was premature and settled on getting to know and using the public transport systems on offer. And boy, did we!

We also twice last year rented a car, visiting places and seeing sights that one could never accomplish with public transport alone… simply impossible. Being back in SA – between October and January this year – with the luxury of having my old car to take me to places known and unknown just strengthened my belief that a car was a necessity rather than a luxury. And Philippe’s generosity was the final nail in the coffin, we wanted… no, we needed a car!

Of course we went through the cost/benefit analysis stage, made lists of pros and cons, discussed and re-discussed everything but, no matter how we sliced that pie, it made perfect sense – at least to us – to buy a car here in France.

One of the deciding pros was the fact that it would immensely broaden our choice of accommodations that we rent, normally via Airbnb. Currently we have to make sure that we rent a place in town, close to grocery shops and close to public transport. Should we acquire a car we could rent a place out in the country, in the sticks or anywhere else for that matter… And also it would make our near monthly moves to new locales much easier… No more rushing to pack to be in time for the taxi, to be in time for the plane or train or bus, lugging heavy luggage behind us…

But of course, cost always does and always will play a role. We cut it this way and that but in the end we realized – with some clever and colourful accounting, which I will unashamedly admit to – that the cost of renting a car for a year would be similar (very roughly!) to the cost of the car that we would eventually purchase. And, after the year, one would still have the car that one could sell. But, either way, the travel freedom it would bring was priceless… end of argument.

So, which car to buy or not to buy, that was the question.

The choices were numerous but we decided to whittle it down to French. We were in France and thus decided to support our adopted country’s automobile prowess. So, the choice was between Renault, Citroen and Peugeot. Further requirements were that it had to be as small as possible (for parking purposes) but large enough to be comfortable, with a large boot to carry our extensive collection of luggage and related excesses. Rear parking sensors were a must and it had to have at least four doors. A built-in navigation system would be nice but not a necessity. Not a tall order we thought…

In search of such we travelled far and wide, Guingamp, Lannion, Morlaix, Saint Brieuck and beyond, looking at sleek sexy bodies, kicking tyres and mostly asking inquisitive questions to which we got honest answers. It was such a breath of fresh air to be dealing with honest second hand car salesmen, unheard of in most parts of the world.

We saw makes and models of all shapes and sizes, but over time, keeping our initial requirements in mind, we further whittled down our choices to the Renault Clio 4, whose boot was just a tad too small. We then discovered the Renault Clio 4 Estate, with a much larger boot. It looks much larger than the hatch model but in reality is only 20cm longer. The Citroen C4 was also in the running, a smaller car with a decent sized boot. The Citroen Scenic should have been in the running but maybe these upright models were not for us. The Peugeot 308 was also right up there but seemingly the boot also fell short of our requirements.

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Having looked at cars for a while now, this Tuesday morning we set off to Saint Brieuc to look at its offerings. It was a freezing cold day with the wind biting bits off any unprotected and exposed flesh. Our first frozen stop was the Jacques Bervas general dealership where Laurent ably assisted us. This dealership has everything and anything of all makes and models. I was suitably impressed with their offerings, a vast array of all-sorts, and all in good condition. I was heartened to hear that Bervas would buy and sell ones car, no matter from whence it was bought, as long as it was in a suitably good condition.

Our next stop was Bodemar, a Renault dealer, where Axil showed us around. It was close to lunch so we had to get out of there by noon, but we saw plenty to keep our minds occupied during lunch at our chosen restaurant, Quai Gourmand, down at the Saint Brieuc waterfront.

 

 

 

 

The afternoon we visited a Citroen as well as a Peugeot dealership and was rather impressed with the models that were available. I must admit to have “accidentally” walked into a Mercedes dealership; we just had to see what they had on offer. I saw a similar model to the one I had back in SA at a reasonable price. It was Adri’s sense of pragmatism that saved me from myself and with a “remember, a small as possible car but large enough to be comfortable, with a large boot” uttered from her lips, she dragged me out of there.

Having spent the last few weeks looking for a car when it was not too cold or raining, Wednesday came along and we drove the 60km to Morlaix to look at more cars… Renault, Peugeot, Citroen, but, by now we seem to keep favouring the Renaults.

After visiting four dealerships we took a drive through Morlaix town and what a lovely place this turned out to be. The main town is situated in a sort of a valley with a river that runs through it, with an abundance of yachts parked there for the winter. We drove up and down and then up again, we wanted to stop to walk around but alas, it was getting late and colder, we needed a hot chocolate.

Back at home, having settled down with a hot mug of chocolate at my side, I scrolled, or rather trolled, through my emails and noticed my latest Diners card statement. I never bother opening the pdf but something made me double-click on that file, and just as well I did. Staring back at me was a number I did not expect nor understood; I certainly did not intend for it to be there.

A quick phone call to Diners ensued and soon enough I had answers to my numerous questions. The charges were for the times we spent in the luxury of the airport lounges in Amsterdam and Istanbul late last year on our way back to SA. Between the two of us there were six visits at €30 a pop. I had never before paid for lounge access when using my Diners cards, why now? But with new rules and all I was informed that one had to spend an obscene amount of money on ones Diners card each month in order to get free airport lounge access nowadays. I will certainly reassess the need for a Diners card after this episode.

It took us the most part of a month to get to a decision, but the Renault Clio 4 Estate got the nod in the end. Once we had decided on the specific model it made life much easier. We were mostly interested in buying this specific model from any dealership of Jacques Bervas or Bodemar Renault. Bodemar – being an official Renault dealership – won out in the end, it just seemed the safer option… and they had more stock to choose from.

We returned to the Guingamp Bodemer Auto Renault dealer where we first saw this particular model, we needed to take it for a test drive. When Adelaide saw us she got a pained expression on her face, she had just sold that car this Monday. Oh well, some you win…

Not too much harm done though, our second choice, a little more expensive but a year younger, also white, was still available at Bodemar in Saint-Brieuck. Because this one was initially registered in December 2015, and was thus less than three years old, it came with a full 12 month guarantee from Renault, which was a reassuring bonus. Axil was great and offered us a discount and threw in an emergency/first aid kit, which we would have had to acquire in any case as different components in the kit are mandatory for different parts of Europe.

We went for a 20 minute test drive and I was really impressed with the road holding and comfort of the car on both the highway and off it. This is a car I could easily get used to. After saying we needed to think about the purchase one final time Axil agreed to take the car off the floor until the weekend while we made up our minds.

Back in Guingamp we stopped off at a greengrocer which Adri had been eyeing for some time. Man, was this the find of the day! Not the greengrocer though. As Adri headed toward the grocer she pointed to a little shop that I had not taken notice of before called Cave et Bar (Cellar and Bar). As I walked in I was dazed, I was amazed, there were crates upon crates of beers from around Europe, there were fine wines and fine champagnes and whiskies and rums, but mostly there were beers.

 

 

 

I even found Kwak there, but more importantly, they even sold those iconic Kwak beer glasses. And just when I thought it could not get any better, it did. Located at the back of the shop is a pub where I suspect you can taste their wares on offer. Just as I entered the pub area there was a voice in my head that said, “No, next time”. It was Adri’s.

 

 

 

As we entered our home I received a text message from Lucie with news that a Maladie document had appeared in her post-box, so we decided to meet up for drinks to do the exchange, drinks for the document. This letter though could be good or bad news, it simply could not be no news and, either way, I would need a drink.

Once we settled down at the pub, me with a blonde beer, we carefully opened and tried to interpret that letter, it was addressed to Adri, I felt left out. Fortunately we had our French translators with us so the contents were quickly ratified… Maladie needed a letter from Adri to confirm that she and I were indeed a couple, also to be noted was for how long this had been the case. I deduced that this probably made sense, so another trip to the Maladie was scheduled for the following day. For now, I was happy with my blonde.

The documents we had prepared we had printed out at the print shop and soon enough we were at Maladie where we handed in Adri’s additional Maladie documents. The lady hummed and hawed, asked for a certificate, we assumed she referred to a marriage certificate to which we replied “non”. She did not seem to be comfortable with our answer but accepted the documents nevertheless, even with a slight smile, it might have been a grimace.

Saturday we took a trip with Lucie, Xavier and Marie to Pointe du Dourven. It was cold but the sun was shining brightly upon us as we made our way along the beautiful coastline of Domaine du Dourvan.

After we completed our exercise for the day we stopped off at a little coastal town to marvel at all the goods for sale in the little antique shop there. It was quite amazing to see so much stuff stuffed into a smallish shop like that. One had to be careful to squeeze past other shoppers as the wares were precariously positioned atop anything that looked like it may be able to accommodate it. Your choice was to either bump into the other shoppers or bump some antique from its porch, so the former was the chosen option. It was a truly unique and thoroughly enjoyable experience.

By now there was a tiny turn it my tummy, I needed some sustenance. Just down from the antique shop there is a crêperie – there is always a crêperie within sight in Brittany – where we settled in out of the cold and wind for a wonderful crêpe and beer.

By Sunday we had made up our minds, we would buy the white Renault Clio 4 Estate from Bodemer Auto in Saint-Brieuck, which I suspected would make Axil as happy as us. But, now we needed to start searching for insurance, so today we started our search online.

In France insurance companies work on a no claim bonus system – called bonus malus – with which your premium automatically decreases by +-5% every year, if you did not meet with an accident, to a maximum discount of around 45%. This is a rather cool system but would not be of any benefit to me as a first time insurer in France. I would have to pay full price, and insurance does not come cheap.

Sunday evening I searched the web for insurance companies and requested quotes from four. Some gave me an immediate online quote, others will get back to me, but at least the wheels were set in motion, so to speak.

After having received most of the online quotes by Monday morning I decided to take a chance. If I could get my current insurer in SA to supply me with a no claim letter for n number of years, maybe, just maybe some French insurance company will accept this. I did not have much hope but it was worth a try. I contacted my current insurer – which I have been insured with since 2013 – and shortly thereafter I received my letter. Pretty cool, we’ll try and use that tomorrow when obtaining some physical quotes.

It was mid Monday morning when we made our way once again back to Saint-Brieuck to do the deed. Of course Axil was happy to see us, we were happy to see him. All in all I believe we got a good deal, not a great deal though. Truth be told, you will never find a great deal on second hand cars in France. Most of the prices of the same model, of the same age, and similar mileage are priced within a price range of €250 or so. If you do get a great deal you should be worried.

Anyway, papers and more papers were signed and finally the deal was done. Now money needed to change hands, the car needed to be registered and serviced and when all was said and done, and all works our according to plan, we should take possession of our new second-hand baby on Thursday at 16:00.

We left Axil and Saint-Brieuck on a high; we needed to give free reigns to our excitement so we stopped off at the Cave et Bar for a celebration. The barman, or rather the beer-man, was like a beer sommelier, his knowledge of his vast range of beers was impressive. After asking specific questions as to our beer likes and dislikes he selected the Grosse Bertha for me and the Blanche De Bruxelles or Manneken Pis Belgian White for Adri. His selections for us both were spot-on.

Having done the deed we set off on Tuesday morning to visit some insurance companies to get physical quotes, as opposed to the online ones that may or may not be correct. First up we visited AXA, then MACIF followed by MAAF and Allianz, we also got a quote from MAIF in Saint-Brieuck. We got great service from all the companies although the prices varied rather widely.

I was exceptionally happy to find that most of the companies would accept the no-claim letter from my SA insurance company, giving me a four year bonus discount. But, I could get an even better deal if a letter from my previous insurance company was forthcoming. And can you believe it, I could not even remember who my previous insurer was… but I had to try as the financial benefit is rather substantial.

It was just after 14:00 that we picked Xavier up and drove to the Cité des telecoms which is Europe’s largest telecommunications park. As per a previous post, we did visit this site before but it was closed then, and we just had to check out that huge white balloon structure… called Le Radôme.

At Cité des telecoms there are temporary exhibitions (such as Watt’s Up, renewable energies, or Optical Illusions), there are permanent exhibitions on the evolution of telecoms, and then there is Le Radôme. This giant dome is 50 meters high, 64 meters in diameter and 200 meters in circumference. It houses a telecommunication antenna which allowed the first live video transmission between the United States and Europe back in 1962.

This was a most enjoyable and enlightening telecoms experience, I wished we could have spent more time there… We left as the doors closed behind us.

Wednesday morning we woke up to the coldest day yet. It was 10:00 and the weather site said it was “-5°C but feeling like -11°C”, so in my book it was -11°C, and in my book that was damn cold. They call this cold spell the Beast from the East, a weather window that has its origin in Siberia… Oh, and that reminds me, Steve often jokes that he’s sending Marina to Siberia… only he’s not joking, he actually does send her there. Not to a Gulag though but to visit her family.

While I pored over the collection of quotes we received, I poured myself a beer, and then another. It did not take me too long to make my decision, MACIF it would probably be, not just because they were the cheapest by a fair margin to most, but they were also very helpful. Mind you, all of them were very helpful, so it was probably the price that swayed me. Allianz came in a very close second, and they were also the company that pressed me hardest to try and get my second no-claim bonus letter, they wanted to give me an even better deal!

It was just after 08:00 on Thursday morning, with my first cup of coffee delivered safely into my hands, that Adri opened up the curtains, and all I saw were wonderfully white fluffy stuff falling from the sky… It was snowing butterflies and feathers. It was bitterly cold.

 

 

 

 

We had scheduled to pick up our car this afternoon at 16:00 but with the snow and all we re-arranged our rendezvous to tomorrow. This would of course also afford us the opportunity to finalize our insurance cover without any pressure.

After some soul searching, and then some searching through very old emails, I finally found my old insurance details. I contacted the company and they could not have been more professional, an hour later I received a letter from them stating the eight years of no-claims with them.

Armed with my two no claim letters we had the best of intentions to sign our insurance policy this Thursday morning with MACIF but lo and behold, that snow had no end to it. By 11:00 the ground was fully covered and by 12:00 there were a few centimetres of snow visible on the cars and ground… we were not going to go out in this. Anyway, Adri was not going out in this, so I had to brave the cold and the snow and the sleet all on my own.

I stopped at MACIF eager to get the insurance sorted out as soon as possible. The guy of the other day was replaced by a lady who kept adding and changing figures on the quote which I did not understand and soon enough that quote grew to a less favourable one. She also did not seem to give me full credit on my second no-claim letter, which I also did not understand. I must admit to having been a bit peeved with MACIF. And thus I decided there and then that our second choice, Allianz, had now moved up the popularity ladder. Be as it may, this turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

I made my cold and dreary way to the Allianz office. Our original quote giver was also off today but she had alerted her replacement quote giver that we may be coming in. I handed her my second no claims document which was accepted in its totality, giving me maximum and almost 50% off my premiums. Wow!

After giving her the go-ahead and my banking details, mere minutes later I walked out of there with my insurance carte verte (green card). The insurance details are printed on a green A4 sheet with a 5cm square in the one corner that you have to cut out and insert into a little sachet that is stuck to the inside of your windscreen. This displays your insurance details to all and sundry, but mostly for the benefit of the law enforcers, of course.

And the blessing in disguise that I referred to earlier? MACIF covers you strictly in European Union countries but Allianz does much better. Over and above all EU countries, it also covers you in all the Balkan countries that are not yet part of the EU, also Turkey, Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia and more… and even Russia!

It was 10:00 on the dot Friday when we nosed our way into a parking space at Bodemer Renault in Saint-Brieuck to pick up our new acquisition. Plenty of papers were signed and then some, and when all was said and signed we were finally allowed to see our baby. We were shown all the workings and the trappings of our Renault by the service manager who had her serviced and gotten her ready for us. The lesson was mostly in French but between hand signals, smiles and Google Translate we got the gist of it all. A most friendly chap he was.

 

 

 

As I peeked into the car, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed something on the front passenger seat. “How come they left some junk lying about in the car after the service?” I thought. But on closer inspection it turned out to be a bottle of champagne… not bubbly or sparkling wine, but real champagne. All was forgiven…

 

 

 

 

Adri drove our brand new second-hand Renault back to Guingamp, following me in Philippe’s car. She even once overtook me just to show she was not nervous… that made me nervous.

We fetched Philippe, who was coming home for the weekend, from the train station in our brand new jammie (car) and handed him back his. He will probably never know how much it meant to us to have the use of his car during the past month. Without it we would have been lost. And by the way, we decided to name our car Flippie which was how Philippe was known when he lived in South Africa, no other name would do it justice.

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