Le Twingo Anglais

Monday was a day of mixed fortunes. HMRC informed me that they were satisfied by the payment of VAT on the Twingo released the NOVA document on the car, a major step closer to being able to apply for a UK registration. However; all was not so well during the evening, I had arranged with the assistance of a mechanic friend to set about preparing the Twingo for MOT. The first step was to fit the rear fog light, and this was a reasonably straightforward process. Mounting the fog light was the tricky bit, I didn’t want drill into the bumper to fit the light but whilst the car was in the air, it was decided to mount the bracket using one of the existing torx bolt slots used to secure the bumper to the bottom of the car. The bracket needed drilling slightly to accept the bolt, but the position meets the requirement for the light to be between the middle and offside of the vehicle. The existing wiring loom to the nearside cluster was cut and jointed so that a separate feed to the auxiliar...

 The last blog finished on the question, how did it go? Well, considering I’d never met the car, the car dealer or the exporter it went much smoother than I expected. The CMR note issued by Transporting Wheels satisfied the relevant customs checks; and the car arrived in Essex on the Saturday morning. Unfortunately the CRO Port operation closes at 6pm on a Saturday and the delayed UK transporter missed the collection window resulting in a wasted trip. A 2 nd attempt on Monday was success and the car arrived with me in Bristol at 1pm. Collecting the car was very simple; each car has a unique reference and PIN like shipping containers do and this number was supplied by Gerdo well in advance of the car arriving. I’m very lucky that my work has a large private site; and so the car is stored off the public highway. It left Holland without export plates and its original number plates had to be removed. So, do I regret it?    Not so far, the Twingo looks very much lik...

 I’ve always lived off the wise advice, never buy a car unseen and it’s something I’ve largely stuck by. I’ve bought three Fords unseen; but they were all cars that cost under £400 and I always viewed them as being worth more in parts if beyond salvation. I actually made a fair bit of cash from an Escort I bought off eBay for £72.50 and an XR3i convertible that I gave £300 for.  However; with the travel ban in place going to Holland to view a Twingo was certainly not going to be an option I could realistically do. Travel heavily restricted and quarantine for those entering the UK would cost me dearly. On balance I had to way that up against buying a car unseen from a garage I’d never seen. On paper it seems mad but when I weighed up the price I thought I could probably break the car if it turned up and was a total heap, and at worst I might be a few quid down once I’d sold the parts or the car as a complete vehicle.  I did a Google search of the dealer, they had generally...

Finding a Twingo should have been an easy process; the internet and a variety of car sales websites from auction sites to free-ads means that adverts can be found quite easily. I’ve watched a few cars come along on eBay, Car & Classic and even on forums; but it never seemed to be the right time; or in some cases the right specification of car. The joy of the Twingo is the vivid selection of colours, interiors and even options such as the fold back roof. I also prefer the phase one cars with rubber bumpers and the original flat disc wheel trims and that was the specification I wanted; as close to original as possible. I found a website called “ The Parking ” which searches out classified car adverts from a huge number of European selling sites. It has a very specific search function which allowed me to hone in on the 1993-1998 era Renault Twingo and also to search by Nation so I could fine tune. There was no point looking at cars in Scandinavia or Eastern Europe where a journey ...

Well that’s a very good question. I’ve been a car fanatic since a very young age; an early childhood fixation with VW Beetles gave way to a following of various Ford cars and in particular the Mk1 and Mk2 Fiestas. My first car was a Fiesta and I’ve owned several Fords over the years. I wouldn’t class myself as a Renault enthusiast; or indeed of French cars per say but certain cars have interested me over the years. The Twingo is a great example. When they launched publically in 1993; I was coming up to my 12 th birthday. I took part in a school trip to Normandy and billboards seemed to feature the Twingo throughout the holiday. It’s friendly face and design touches stood out and I recall hoping they would be on their way to the UK soon after. I even remember TopGear featuring a car for test before Michelle Newman announced that Renault had no intention of bringing the Twingo to the UK officially. Some were imported by a dealer but sightings of Twingos would be something I only ...