I'm considering a holiday in the south of France, and by calculations it's cheaper to drive than fly (my environmental concerns, y'see). Any thoughts about spare parts to take / preventative maintenance beforehand etc? I've just done all the oils, the timing belt isn't two years old.

Wheel bearings check/grease before you go? I would. Would also change fuel filter before you go.

Obviously a grease up of props and stuff, and I'd take:

a spare UJ
a spare viscous coupling for the fan
spare fan belt (never known a 300 one break but you never know - I carry an old one under the seat as a spare)
some spare wheelnuts

just for a few things you'd curse if you needed and didn't have. How common are LR dealers in the saaf of France?

RAC card with european cover.
check/change air filter/brake pads

RAC and leave the tools at home, plus make sure your insurance company gives you a hire car if you ahve an accident etc.

LR Assist have a phone no you can call... tell them where you are.. and they will tell you nearest stealer.
be warned though... a UJ costs 60 euro!!!!!!!
if you are interested i can post a list of the spares we carry on our trips?

take a phrase book - the french will give you much more help if you at least have a go at speaking the language

"Bonjour. My ***&*(&^*& Land Rover has broken down can you help?"

You won't need it - its cold and raining here at the mo, even daaarn Saaarf.

Al.

P.S. - (obviously) check brake fluid / clutch fluid / steering fluid / oil levels.

when ever me and the mrs do a trip, we always have the following as a minimum:
4 wheel bearings ( plus lock tabs, gaskets and oil seals)
Recently added a stub axle to the list after the usual happened on way to Malvern last year.
2 prop UJ's
spare belts
Old set of brake pads... emergency get ya out of a hole type thing.
Oils and greases
2 inner tubes
spare oil and fuel filter
bulbs and fuses (legal requirement in many EU countries now)
odd bits of wire
Warning triangle and hi-viz vest I think are a legal requirement in France aswell, but I could be wrong.

I have seen spares lists that include things like clutch kits, altenators and starter motors, but this seems a bit excessive unless you are going out the back of beyond.

However, sods law says that the only bits to break will be the bits you don't have the spares/tools to fix!

Remember to take ALL of your driving paperwork with you. You'll see lots about warning triangles, first aid kits etc. but apparently you can do porridge for forgetting your MOT certificate.

Chris

I went in my car about a month ago to the Alps, we found the cheapest ferries were Norfolkline going Dover-Dunkirk. Petrol is about the same price as here now, diesel a bit cheaper - probably about 80p/litre.

We had breakdown cover with Directline and when we lost half the gears on a fiesta they came out quickly on a sunday afternoon, but having had a fiddle underneath the guy just spent the next 5 minutes trying to translate "adventure" in French and told us to go on our way. To be fair we made it back home but it was a bit worrying when they lost all the gears to the back of the gearstick and then lost power so couldn't go over 70mph.

You're probably not worried about speeding in a Land Rover but I think if you're caught doing over 50kph over the limit they take your licence away on the spot now. I think my car got flashed by two cameras on the autoroutes this year doing 90-100mph (not whilst I was driving though!) but I haven't heard anything about those. Set 3 off last year and never heard anything of those either.

Actually on reading that, none of it's what you asked but it might be useful anyway.

Richard

Have you taken into account cost of tolls too. This adds quite a bit to cost of driving down there, unless you want to relax and do it all by A road

Steve

will cost you about 50e in tolls to get to the south of France.

Calais to Nice tolls are 86 euros each way ………….. speeding is an on the spot fine unless you have no means to pay ………. then you can (read ‘will’) be arrested ( they take your passport) and taken before a magistrate ……….

A good place to check Tolls and do your mapping is http://www.mappy.com/

Be aware of driving with front fogs on at night in the rain……….. that will cost 90 euro’s on the spot ……………. Getting stopped for a dirty number plate and referring to the gendarme as a ar$shole is worth 60 euro’s (negotiated down from a 100)…………… doing 203.4 kph down the outside lane of the A7 autoroute was worth 160 euro’s ……

Spares……….. I take a few, but not a lot ……… usually stuff that I can affect a temporary repair with to get me to a garage. I have generally found that most French grease monkeys are sh1t hot with both diagnosis and repair. ………. However, I always service and go over everything before we go …… prevention is better than cure.


Ian

We've just come bach from the Dordogne in Jan's MX-5 and a a fabulous time - France is a really great country the only thing that spoils it is the Fren.....lets not go there.

Any way aswell as spares don't forget all your documenation - I managed to leave everything at home v5, MOT the lot even our e111's (the new credit card ones). Was a tad nervous on the journey home when I realised what I'd done (didn't tell Jan!!)

Bar one item we remebered all the other compulosory bits, bulbs, extinguisher, red trianangle 1st aid kit and the like. Also France have made ' hi viz' jackets a compulsory carry now I belive (we didn't know this so I didn't take one of these either) All of this is because it is compulsory to stop and assist at the scene of an accident, so you can't just drive past rubber necking like a lot of us lot do....

Lastly don't forget your 'beam benders' - I'd bought them but hadn't fitted them on the strength of not being out after dark....derrr

First time we used our lights we were flashed by several (understandably annoyed) dazzled French drivers.

I have to say I didn't notice one LR delership the whole time we were in France (Nor Mazda's which we also looked out for) - so I am guessing sourcing a part you haven't taken might be a bit of a chew. Nither did we notice a lot of Landies either - the french seem very patriotic about their car buying and the place is filled with Pugs, Citreons and Renaults - good on em I do say - perhaps there not all that bad really....

Some really good stuff here, thanks. I'd got most of the mechanical stuff in my mind already, but thoughts on paperwork and hi-vis are new ideas. I'd forgotten beam benders entirely - anyone got a set of LHD halogens they'd lend me for beer?

Re tolls, we'd planned to avoid them and see the countryside more, spend a few days just travelling there. Mappy.com (great site!) reckons we'd go an extra 40 miles avoiding tolls (860miles total, to Monte Carlo), but an extra six hours driving.

Diesel's 80p/litre? I'd been told around a euro a litre (68p).

Recovery - RAC looked attractive until:


... and then suddenly they didn't. DirectLine want my car to be 16 years or younger so looks like £80 will be going to the AA.

get from the PO and fill out an e111 form.

Turbocharger I've just checked my facts on my last post and seemingly I have misled you. High Viz jackets are not yet compulsory in France (but apparently likley to become so in the near future.

Alcholics Annonymous (sorry wrong AA) have the definiative list of what is compulsory and what is recomended to take here:-

http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/overs..._equipment.html

Hope this helps

Went down to Cognac in June - diesel prices vary, but the cheapest (usually the big supermarkets) was around the 1 to 1.10 Euro level. Better than here, but the days of going from Caen to the Dordogne on £10 worth of diesel are now long gone.

We were in the Disco this year, but it was like being invisible. Last year we did the Auvergne in the 90. Got flashed, waved and tooted by every Land Rover we saw.

Take your time and don't use the autoroutes - a much more pleasant drive

STEVE

I'll be taking a hi-vis anyway - I don't like being out of the car on the roadside without one (and of course, once inside it is like a shield of steel and I am impervious to harm...)

Even when you are dogging???

Don’t bother about your lights …………………. not many folk do these days ………. and I haven’t for probably the last ten or more visits………........ provincial police and the gendarmes seem unconcerned about it

I strongly recommend you take the autoroute wherever possible………. The N roads are pretty slow in places and you will really struggle to overtake trucks etc ……. as you are sitting on the wrong (blind) side.

Example ……… Calais to Bordeaux ……….. 16 hours down on the ‘N’ roads ………… 8.5 hours back on the autoroute ……………. and I’m not renowned for hanging about either.



Ian

Can't agree with any of this....(apart from your suggested journey times on Autoroute V N roads)

But of course this is down to personal pref.

it all depends what you want to do.....

Spend a tenner on 'beam benders' and not wind the French up - probably IMHO money well spent to preserve the 'entente cordial' ???SP The Police may not be bothered, but from the number of French drivers who repeatedly flashed me before I fitted them.......it clearly annoyed them.......why not bother...... FGS fit them and get on with the locals.......

Autoroutes are superb, fast and easily the quickest way to get to where you want to go in France. The N roads are slower, free and generally do allow you to quickly dip off in to the local village for Breakfast/Lunch/Evening meal - - delete whichever option applies to the time of day you are travelling.

With a bit of judicous planning the Autoroutes do this too.....but generally N roads are better for this...... however the Autoroute option will cost you more.....

Useful contact:

French LR fan, speaks excellent English. Bernard used to buy a lot from Matt Savage, but I'm told, by Matt Savage, that he now buys from the bigger wholesalers. Sold me, and delivered to the hotel, a Britpart water pump, cost about £63.

Best of Land,
58 Boulavarde Marius Thomas
13007 Marseille
Tel (33) 04 91 31 56 02
Mob (33) 06 20 66 09 57

Proprietor: Bernard Poggiale

I hope you don't need to use it.
Kevin

Anyone ever seen a foreign car in the UK with beam benders on?

John, if you were to need bits you should be able to get them shipped from the UK in about 48hrs anyway. Try www.autopost.co.uk. They are south London based, happy to export and sell OE as well as crapparts.

Chris

I take it that the price reduction was before the conversation deteriorated?

Negotiated down when I told him I didn’t need a receipt ………… and yes, it was a very interesting conversation ………… there are certain bits of anglo saxon that don’t quite ring the same bell when said in French……..


Ian

Yep, never leave home on a decent trip without a set of belts, rad hoses, 2xUJs and wheel bearings.

Most other things like bulbs etc you can get there.

What are beam benders ? Is it something that only high vehicles require ?
Bill.

E111 forms weren't valid from the end of last year. We only realised this a few weeks before going on holiday. You could get the new European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) forms from the PO and send off/wait/hope but much quicker to apply online. I filled in the online details on a Tuesday luchtime and the cards were on the doormat on the Thursday morning. If you can remember you name, address, dob etc. the only other thing you need is your NI/NHS number . Details via this link

https://www.ehic.org.uk/InternetPROD/home.do

Colin
www.REEDX.net

Driving on the left as we do in Great Britain and her empire, our headlamps, on dipped beam, point down and a little to the left (Confusingly marked as LHD) so as to avoid dazzling other drivers. Beam benders block or divert that portion of the light going to the left so as not to dazzle drivers on the continent.

Chris

Funny ....

when i was posting this I was wondering how long it would take before somebody (was going to say something else) jumped in with....

(engage best tight @rse accent....)
"don't bother mate you never see foreign cars driving in this country with beam benders on" or the like....

Chris......you need to check out the newer type.... they are not yellow or black and therefore not easily spottable .... they are a grey/silver finish and when affixed to the lights very hard to see. On Jan's MX-5 they were exceptionally hard to spot from beyond 10ft unless you looked very very closely.... you certainly couldn't see them if the vehcile was moving so how would you know if a foreign vehicle driving in this country had them fitted or not.......

You'd be very hard pressed to see them on a moving vehicle even if you were looking very very closely.

As I said to the guy who posted a similar retard in the MX-5 forum "i'm amazed at the lengths people will go to to save a fiver......"

FGS why risk causing an accident.......

I never suggested it was a bad idea or that people should not fit them. I stand by my suggestion that visitors to the UK do not use them - or that the modern type do not work.

Chris

Thanks Chris. Probably not something many of us in the Antipodes would have to worry about then. And being a tight arse I would probably rather spend five minutes adjusting the lights with a screwdriver and spend the hard earned fiver on fuel.
Bill.

Can't be adjusted Bill, it is about the way the light units are made.

Chris

Beam benders are a bit of a misnomer ……….. they tend to blank off the light that will dazzle and then not throw much light in the wanted direction. The end result is that you may as well use candles instead of headlights.

I have found that on vehicle with adjustable headlight height, if it is kept on the lowest setting, then I never got flashed by other drivers. Some of the beamers and mercs have switchable left/right headlights

Yes Chris, you are absolutely right ………. note how many mainland visitors to the UK have ‘beam benders’ ……… very, very few……………. You will of course be fitting them for your trip to Belgium


Ian

I always use Gaffer tape cut to shape. ...and never remember to take it off until I get off the motorway in the dark coming home.

Chris

Just back from a 2 week trip to the Le Pas Opton campsite in the Vendee region. Very nice. Roads were excellent there & back. Diesel at a fraction over 1Euro per litre (including a filling station just outside Caen ferry port) made it even more enjoyable. Lack of traffic lights & a road system that seems to just work was good as well. I cancelled my RAC cover & took out the Brittania Deluxe package as that covered Europe & I was not being asked a ridiculous premium for the Discovery that RAC wanted. Took a few spares & tools but thankfully did not need them.

Neil

At the risk of this developing into a game of forum ping pong ( or even worse handbags at thirty paces ) - I just want to ask my question again

- if, as I said the new type are so hard too see (which the ones we used this year were) - how on earth do you know this to be the case?????

You would never spot them on a moving vehicle and I can't imagine you sat checking the cars of foreign visitors as they come of the ferries and Eurotunnel in some sort of in depth research project (that is unless you are really really sad....... )

You are correct there is something just ruddy good about the French road system we encounter very little in the way of traffic (unless of course you hit the big cities/towns).

One thing I have noticed - they do seem to take a very cautious approach to road works - by that I mean long sections of half the carraige way seem to get closed off at a time meaning long distances between temporary traffic lights and longer waits. However the traffic vbolume generally meant long queues did not build up.

Alright - enough with the beam bender debate. Whether or not individuals travelling elsewhere have the habit, I'll be using gaffer tape. Black tape, for those who are interested.

Anything else I might forget or should consider before heading for the ferry?

I bought a pack of beam benders a few trips ago to France, blooming expensive at Newhaven. However, I didn't fit them, keep them in the door storage bin of the NAS and use them to cut gaffa tape to correct shape / position.
When I bought the NAS from Harwoods it still had LHD lights fitted so I asked them to be changed and they had thrown perfectly good lamps away when I went to collect the vehicle. B**tards! Could have been so easy going on overseas trips.....................

http://peter.kutschera.at/LR/LandRoverDict.pl take a look at this site for some useful translations, hope you don't need it, I've been up and down France for the last 20 years and I still love it. All the obvious things are still relevant but I've found you can't beat the Michelin maps, the yellow series, they have good detail and are not expensive in the supermarkets. Have a good trip, i'm sure you will. Best regards Bill Westley

Oops. Have just got back from a driving trip to the South of France (can't help but think that it's what gave Turbocharger the idea) and I just took my driving license. Oh well, I didn't get stopped.

Another idea - take minimal stuff, and if something breaks, get yourself into a hotel/campsite for a couple of days. I will go to see Pete at Christian Autos (shameless plug for an incredible LR supplier) and post whatever you need down to you.

It cost us 28 euros to get to the spanish border. We went down the west side of the country - bordeaux - biarritz

That would be my favoured option. Take a bare minimum of spares, plenty of tools and worry about the big stuff as and when.

Chris

I can just see it now. John has sold his girlfriend on the idea of a nice trip to the south of France. She is thinking about plentiful wine, sunshine, French food and frolicking on a golden beach without a care in the world. He is thinking about drive down French back roads on Grizzly claws, with some planned maintenance at the other end (perhaps a UJ, a wheel bearing or two and an oil change) with the possibility of some 'unplanned' maintenance at some point in the holiday. You're going to have a wonderful time - enjoy.

Perhaps I should go too...

Chris

evening,

having traveled from cumbria to southern spain, last year,covering nearly 4500 miles in my 110 defender, the following points maybe of use.

i serviced the landy fully from top to bottom before departing.

made 3 photo copies of all my documents ( leaving one set in the safe at work )

bought 2 new updated maps of spain and france ( ring binder versions are better )

carried 2 x jerry cans full of fuel ( although filling them once in france is a good idea, as alot of ferry companys dont like you carring extra fuel )

took 40 litres of water

the toll roads are not as expensive as alot of people will tell you ( for mileage covered )

the speed limits are lower than in the uk, on normal roads, which can, in places take ages to get anywhere

most shops shut around 1pm ( french time ) and reopen later in the day

fitted a fire extinguiser, never used, but everything gets that little bit hotter, especially on the plains of spain, where it hit nearly 100 degress !

i had to be real careful as i have a 110 hardtop, when joining motorways etc, but i adjusted my nearside mirror to help with the blind spot

rechargeable batteries and 12volt charger, (for torches, cameras etc )

spare wire and connectors

a short wave radio is a nice option, in case you get homesick !

some things have been mentioned on previous posts, so in all, i would say most things have been covered,spare parts are a personal thing,some people would have you taking everthing, others nothing, common sense should prevail.

i camped on various sites, but avoided the bigger municipal sites, as i wanted a quiet holiday. I have just come back from touring scotland,to the tune of 2000 miles and took the same things as i went abroad with.

the rest is your adventure !

cheers...

I drive in France on a daily basis and have covered over 18,000kms here in the past 8 months in my CSW. Roads are absolutley fab and if I ever have to drive in the UK again I will probably get a push bike - quicker on cr*p and congested UK roads in the long run. N (routes Nationale) roads are generally good but can get congested in towns during peak times. Toll roads are always clear (barring accidents) and IMO good value for money.

Most independent french garages can obtain parts or will repair Land Rovers easliy. Check out the the LandMania site for French enthusiasts. They're all quite barmey but they love their vehicles and are really into their off-roading which is fortunate in a country with so much green space to enjoy.

Right, the car is cocooned in blind-spot mirrors and we've got more guide books than you can shake a stick at. All the bearings are greased or oiled and I've got to figure out how I get the little 12v compressor to blow air through a 2" filler plug. All good.

Major problem now though - the 600W inverter won't run my girlfriend's 75W straightening tongs. It runs a laptop charger and 100W household bulb quite well, but when the straighteners are plugged in, nothing. Not even the LED. Is my holiday to fall at the last hurdle, preparation complete but for a square/sine wave oversight? She won't go if each day brings wavy wavy big hair. Help me o forumeers.

(Seriously, all's well and we're set for a fantastic time. 240V would be handy though)