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buying a car in europe

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth . . .
Robert Frost, "The Road Not Taken"

It is no longer legal for a person who does not own a residence in or otherwise legally reside in a country belonging to the European Union to register and in turn insure an automobile in such country. Typically a few utility bills and perhaps a property-rental lease in one's name suffice as evidence of such residency.

However, there are four ways around this prohibition: (1) you can short-term lease a brand new car; (2) you can purchase a brand new BMW, Mercedes, or Volvo for eventual export via the manufacturer's tourist delivery program; (3) you can buy a used campervan from an IdeaMerge business partner in the Netherlands, which company will "carry" the registration and supply the insurance for you (and they will also sell your vehicle for you, on consignment, if you like); or (4) you can have a close personal friend or relative who resides in an EU country carry these necessities for you (other persons being extremely likely to balk at bearing such responsibility).

This said, let's take a further look at the topic of buying a vehicle in Europe.

Insurance

We should begin by discussing basic liability insurance, what Europeans call "third-party" insurance. Drivers in Europe must at least insure themselves with third-party insurance; you cannot register a vehicle in Europe without first presenting proof of such insurance. Note that this insurance alone does not cover damage to your car, nor does it cover injury to the occupants of your car (including you). Rather it covers damage or injury that the operation of your vehicle may cause to other vehicles, properties and persons. In considering any third-party insurance, determine if it covers at-fault drivers and additional drivers. Of course you should also check the monetary limits of the coverage. Moreover, note if you can settle a claim from your home country: some insurance companies may require that you stay in Europe to settle a claim.

If you want to cross borders, your insurance should be International Motor Insurance—what's commonly called "Green Card" insurance. Green Card insurance covers your minimum legal liability in a certain array of countries. The Green Card is actually a folder filled with green documents, one of which is small enough to be displayed in a clear plastic pocket adhered to a vehicle's windshield. This small card signifies (to Customs personnel, especially) that the vehicle is covered by some sort of liability insurance. Listed at the foot of the papers in a Green Card folder are the countries in which the insurance is valid. Be sure to check this list before buying such insurance. If you plan to travel in Turkey, make sure your Green Card is valid for both the European and Asian sectors. And if you're headed to Scandinavia, be warned that reciprocal insurance agreements between Finland, Norway and Sweden require your insurance to cover all or none of these countries: a policy that on paper excludes one is a policy that effectively excludes all three. Another document—the European Accident Statement form—can simplify things in case of an accident; get this from your European insurer.

In considering insurance that's more comprehensive, note if it covers collision damage, fire damage, damage from natural disasters (such as hail), damage from vandalism or attempted theft, theft of personal items stored in the vehicle, theft of the vehicle itself, and personal injury. Of course you should also note the deductibles and limits associated with these protections. Don't be offended if you, as a foreigner, are asked to pay a slightly higher rate than the locals. Regardless a statement of accident-free driving from your home insurance company or a copy of your driving record may qualify you for lower rates. Preferably these documents should account for at least a three- to five-year period terminating within the last three years. In fact you can get up to 65 percent off the gross premium if you can prove you haven't filed an accident claim in the past five years.

Independent European insurance companies—in contrast to companies based outside Europe—offer the most inexpensive European auto insurance, and most have English-speaking staff. Although some companies may be reluctant or will flat out refuse to deal with foreign tourists, you should, in the end, have little trouble finding a European insurer who will sell to you insurance that is good value. Be sure to try the national automobile club, for many such clubs offer good inexpensive insurance. Green Card insurance purchased on the open market in Europe is sold in one-month increments minimum.

If you can't be bothered to deal with a foreign insurance company, you can arrange European auto insurance from a domestic provider before you leave. Although it's quite unlikely that your current auto insurer offers such insurance, at least one North American insurance company does: American International Underwriters, 600 King Street, 2nd Floor, Wilmington, DE 19086, tel. 800 343 5761 or 302 594 2175, e-mail ExpatCoverage@aig.com.

Most tourist-delivery programs of manufacturers and brokers offer auto insurance as an option or part of a package. Unless as incentive this insurance is given free of charge, it will probably be much more expensive than the insurance available through the other sources discussed. If you must buy insurance through a motor-vehicle manufacturer or broker, consider opting for the shortest coverage-period possible and securing insurance from another source to cover the remainder of your trip.

Certain non Green Card auto-insurance policies—designed specifically for foreign motorists, sponsored by one European country or another, and effective in that country only—allow you to augment Green Card insurance so that you can drive in more countries and/or be insured over periods that are not multiples of one month. Most countries make such insurance available through their embassies or consulates or through offices located at their border entry points. Italy, for example, sells auto insurance—good in Italy only—that covers fifteen, thirty or forty-five day periods; but if you want to buy this insurance, you must do so before you arrive in Italy.

Many people have trouble finding auto insurance to cover them in the Baltic States or the Russian Federation. Auto insurance covering only the Russian Federation is available through the agency Ingosstrakh (offices in several European countries) or at the border posts at Brest (on the Polish border) and Uzhgorod (on the Czech border). Contact embassies, consulates or tourist information offices for more information.

What about breakdown coverage? As discussed in the Why Drive? chapter, you may be adequately covered if you're a member of your national automobile club. If not, you can buy European-wide breakdown coverage from either of Britain's automobile clubs—the Automobile Association (AA), tel. 01256 21023, or the Royal Automobile Club (RAC), tel. 0800 678000—but you must first buy a membership, which is an expensive proposition. A cheaper and adequate alternative is the coverage offered by the London-based outfit National Breakdown, tel. 0171 499 0039.

Registration

Registering a vehicle is of course another common point of concern. Foreign tourists qualify for "tourist plates." You may have to pay a nominal registration fee or "road tax" if you buy such plates, but you should eventually be able to get part of this fee refunded, a part proportional to the amount of time you spent outside the country during the registration period. So get your passport stamped at the border when you exit from and return to the country. You can also get a small refund for returning the plates themselves.

If you plan to export a vehicle from Europe, you must register it for export. Vehicles—new or used—are subject to non-refundable value-added tax (VAT) and Customs duty unless you register them for export. (Though diplomats and military personnel enjoy tax-free status regardless.) But beware: a vehicle you register for export but keep in one country for more than six months may become subject to heavy taxation and be dutied unless you take certain steps. In Britain, for example, you must extend the tax-free status of your registration by the end of six months or else pay a special tax and VAT that sums to 40 percent of the vehicle's value. Germany charges a tax of several hundred dollars if the duration of your German export registration exceeds three months; but this tax is refundable if you prove that you drove across the German border within six months after registering the vehicle. In most cases the terms of export registration will require you to export the vehicle from Europe within one year. If you buy a factory-fresh vehicle through one of the sales programs that I discuss later, you must export the vehicle from Europe within one year or else pay extremely high taxes and possibly surrender the vehicle to European authorities. If you do qualify for a tax-free purchase, most likely you'll have to pay the tax up front and await upon export a refund from the Customs office of the country where you registered the vehicle.

One particular should be made clear at this point. You may have noticed the above discussion implies you can buy a vehicle, avoid the VAT tax by registering it for export, and all the while plan to sell it before leaving Europe. It's not that simple. Such a vehicle cannot be re-registered under non-export registration unless the new owner pays the back VAT tax. If it were possible for Europeans to register such vehicles without paying tax, they could pay foreigners to buy vehicles for them and thus avoid their country's VAT. Technically the buyer will be responsible for paying the tax, but in effect you'll absorb the cost of the tax because you'll have to lower the asking price to appeal to the tax-paying European public. Still there is one way to avoid this tax altogether if you must sell an export-registered vehicle before you leave Europe. Any non-European citizen traveling in Europe can, with written permission of the owner, drive a properly insured vehicle. Therefore if you sell the vehicle to another non-European traveler who intends to export it under its current registration, you can avoid the tax. (If you sell such a vehicle to a traveler who doesn't plan to export it, he or she won't be able to register it as a vehicle not for export without first paying the back VAT tax; essentially, then, you'll pass the buck—not cool.) If you find such a buyer (and that's a tall order), you can figure the remaining insurance cost into the price of the vehicle, give the buyer the registration and Green Card plus a signed note stating that the person can use the car as they wish and a signed note stating that you sold it to this person. Leave the date on the bill of sale open; the buyer can eventually complete the bill when he or she gets back home.

Conforming Vehicles

Most vehicles manufactured abroad that conform to your country's emissions, safety and bumper standards spend no time on the European market; instead their manufacturers immediately export them to your country. One exception is the case of dealers who service US and Canadian military bases; they may stock US-version vehicles. Of course you'll find such dealers in the immediate vicinity of a military base. Be skeptical of claims made by any other European dealer or private individual that a vehicle either complies with or needs only minor adjustments to comply with these standards. A vehicle that does comply should bear a label that clearly states this fact. Manufacturers affix such labels in readily visible positions in the engine compartment and/or on the vehicle body inside the driver's door. If such a label is not present but the vehicle is nonetheless in compliance with your country's standards, you should obtain a letter of conformity from the manufacturer's representative in your country—not from a dealership—before buying the vehicle with the intent to export it.

You can order factory-fresh, conforming vehicles through domestic- or European-based brokers, through your local dealer, through a manufacturer's office in your country or abroad, or through a dealer in Europe. Although in several instances you'll need to place such an order some ten months in advance of delivery, usually three or four months suffice, and some orders can be filled in just four weeks or less—with brokers being able to fill certain orders in as few as three days. Indeed in many cases lead-time time will be shorter than the duration your domestic dealers are able to quote. Note, though, you may be required to place the order in an individual's name rather than a company's. What's more, for one year or so after you buy a European vehicle factory-direct the manufacturer may prohibit you from selling it outside Europe. Such a policy deters profiteering.

The manufacturer can handle all the insurance, registration, shipping and importation paperwork for you. And not only do some manufacturers pay for your European motoring insurance but some may sweeten the deal with free or cut-rate airfare and hotel accommodation. Ask about rebates (discounts) and warranties. Customers importing to the US will likely qualify for factory rebates, but European warranties are usually void in the US. Customers importing to the UK often get no discount and a shorter warranty period than offered through UK dealers. If you're told you'll receive a valid warranty, inquire as to its validity and duration in your country and ask if an extended warranty can be purchased. If the warranty is void in your country, ask if you're still entitled to certain free parts and service. There should be few hidden costs: one price will likely include the sticker price, auto insurance, tourist registration fee, dealer preparation fee (which covers the cost of the factory's final inspection), catalytic converter, marine insurance, and ocean freight. This total will probably be about 10 percent less than the price you'd pay otherwise—although brokers may offer deals that are better. Of course this percentage is strongly dependent on the exchange rate. I've already discussed how you can further increase your savings by securing insurance separately. And I've outlined—and will later detail for three specific locales—the registration process. If you register a car in Germany yourself, for example, you can save EUR100 to EUR155. It'll take an hour and give you a memorable insight into German bureaucracy. Delivery charges always apply to sites other than the factory. The charges and site selection for non-factory pickup vary from company to company—and change frequently; be sure you're working with up-to-date information concerning these. Some brokers, it's worth pointing out, customarily deliver vehicles at or very near Amsterdam's international airport. If you are buying a German vehicle, you will save you as much as EUR525 (depending on the vehicle type) if you pick it up at the factory. Furthermore vehicles designated for factory delivery require less leadtime. And most manufacturers offer tours of the factory.

An aside. If outside Germany you take delivery from a German manufacturer, you still have to fill out paper work that registers the vehicle in Germany. No big deal. But here comes the tricky part. German law requires a vehicle's registration and insurance to cover the same duration. Therefore on the day you take delivery you cannot register your vehicle for the duration of your trip, buy expensive factory-offered insurance to cover a period shorter than the registration period, and drive off. Rather, you must either (1) buy the expensive insurance for the duration of your trip, (2) leave the vehicle at the site while you spend a day or two shopping for insurance, or (3) insure and register the vehicle for the same short period with the intention of driving to Germany during that period, buying more insurance and extending the registration. If you hadn't planned on traveling to Germany during the initial stages of your trip, each option entails an expense in terms of money or inconvenience—or both.

You must arrange the financing. Be sure to arrange this financing before you place your order: banks may hesitate to extend a loan for a vehicle delivered abroad. Usually customers buying a vehicle for export to the US must place a, say, 5 percent deposit with the order, with full payment due some forty-five days later. Customers exporting a right-hand-drive vehicle to the UK or Ireland may be asked to pay a series of deposits, something like 25 percent with the order, 65 percent once the vehicle has been built, and 10 percent upon delivery. If you can, use a credit card to pay the deposit(s).

A caveat, now, for ye from Britain or Ireland wanting to buy from a European dealer a right-hand-drive vehicle for export to your country. European car manufacturers realize their greatest profit margins in the UK, and thus they very much prefer that you buy on your own soil. In turn their dealers will use various tactics to direct your focus homewards, such as quoting very long delivery times and requiring onerous deposits. The European Commission in Brussels points out it is illegal for a producer to prevent its dealers from selling to people from other member states, and manufacturers have stated they give their dealers the power to sell to whomever they want. And that's the pivotal point. Apart from considering the manufacturer, dealers prefer to sell to local customers because they're likely to bring the vehicle back to the dealer for maintenance—and maintenance is where dealers make most of their profit. By quoting ridiculous delivery times and such, dealers pay lip service to the above-mentioned law while they exercise what they see as their bottom-line right to choose whom they sell to. End result: UK buyers won't have much luck shopping on the continent. You might have better luck outside Belgium and Holland and Germany, whose low prices and proximity to the Britain have attracted the bulk of British buyers and whose dealers have thus prepared to fend you off. But of course travel costs mount as you look elsewhere, red-tape tends to be worse, and language difficulties may be more likely. Best for now to go through a broker. Surely as the European market unifies further, individual UK residents will find more success buying on the continent, but likely in turn the price disparities and thus the savings will decrease. If you do succeed by one means or another in buying a car on the continent and you register it for export, you will qualify for tax exemption in the country of purchase simply by using the car before you export it; a drive from delivery point to port suffices. You'll also need an insurance cover note for the journey; typically a £40 premium. Your Customs will want to see proof that the vehicle is yours, that it is insured, and that you have used it abroad. You'll be given a month to pay the VAT. Of course you'll have to register the car at home and apply for a tax disc. For more info there are at least two useful booklets out there. How to Permanently Import Your Vehicle into Great Britain is available from your local registration office or by ringing 0171 202 4087. Value Added Tax Motor Vehicles—Intra-EC Movements By Private Persons is available from HM Customs and Excise, Central Processing Unit, Parcel Post Depot, Charlton Green, Dover, Kent CT 16 1EH.

Lead-free fuel is now almost universally available in Europe. Therefore you should experience no problems driving a vehicle with a catalytic converter. Still, if your itinerary is unusual, ask if you should wait until you return home to have the catalytic converter fitted; the manufacturer will pay for such delayed installations. Waive the installation of expensive and removable options like CD players: theft of such accessories is common across Europe and notorious at sea ports. Although most marine insurance covers the theft of these items, settling claims can be a pain. Otherwise choose every useful option that doesn't boost the price out of your budget. When you try to sell the vehicle a few years later you'll get a better price. Just three years ago ABS, airbags, central door locking and power steering were quite rare. Now they are standard. Shy away from special-edition models, however. These are differentiated by extras that add little utility, such as spoilers, light alloy wheels and sporty pin striping. When you try to sell such a vehicle people will compare the price with tables listing the prices of standard vehicles.

Before you close the deal get the price and delivery date in writing, insisting that the price be fixed on the date of the order. Ask that the seller's responsibility in the event delivery is delayed be clearly expressed and put in writing. At the very least you should ask the manufactuer pay for your lodging if a delay requires you to wait. Finally, confirm the date with the factory.

You need to address several more points before you hit the road with your brand-new vehicle. Upon taking delivery insist on receiving a detailed invoice (and registration, if you aren't registering the vehicle yourself). Tell the clerk that you have a first-aid kit and warning triangle: these are expensive to buy at the factory or dealership. Next be sure everything on and in the vehicle (including the jack ) works and that you know how to work them. Check the lug wrench. Check the spare tire. Check the fluids. Fuel at the factory or dealership is expensive; get the minimum amount necessary.

After you finish driving the vehicle in Europe, you'll just drop it off at the designated site. (Before doing this, however, you need to educate yourself about shipping issues; I discuss these in the next chapter.) You probably won't see your vehicle again until you pick it up later at a local port or dealership in your home country.

Brokers tend to offer cheaper deals than the manufacturer's representatives—dealers or otherwise—in your country. As for your local dealer, he'll initially discourage you from taking delivery abroad, but once he realizes that you're serious, he should happily assist: the dealership probably won't make money on an overseas delivery, but, inevitably, they'll profit by performing the maintenance on the vehicle and by gaining a customer who is more likely to buy from them in the future.

Below is a list of brokers. It's worth checking out what each has to offer.

Here's a list of the US offices of European manufacturers.

Non-Conforming Vehicles

If you bring home a vehicle that doesn't satisfy your country's emissions, safety and bumper standards, you'll fight a maze of paperwork and pay for expensive shipping, Customs and conversion fees. Despite all these costs, you can still realize bargain savings. Bargains endure because European-version models run the gamut from plain and moderately powerful to luxurious and faster than hell; while the models marketed outside Europe tend to be on the luxurious and racy end of the spectrum. Of course with lower-end models come lower sticker prices. And most new European-version models come with a kill switch installed, making the vehicle very difficult to steal. But be careful not to buy a vehicle whose body style is not safety-approved by your country. BMW's Z-1 roadster, for example, is illegal in the US no matter what emissions and bumper modifications are done to it. Lower sticker prices are not the only savings you can realize: over time, lower-end models tend to require smaller and less frequent expenditures on maintenance and fuel.

Still, shipping and importing a vehicle is very tricky business. As such, I devote the next chapter to the subject.

Big Savings at Import Time

Whether the vehicle you import does or does not satisfy your country's emissions, safety and bumper standards, you may be able to realize further savings.

To illustrate one component of these potential savings let's take the example of a hypothetical US citizen takes delivery of a Volvo C70 Light Turbo Auto Coupe Turbo in Europe and thus pays US$33,970 instead of the US$37,570 he would've paid to his hometown dealer. In addition, citizens of the US must pay a 6 percent luxury tax on the amount of a vehicle's cost that's over US$36,000. Therefore, our US citizen saves US$3600 on the purchase price and another US$94 in of luxury tax—$3694 in all. As with customs duty and sales tax, the US government calculates luxury tax based on the price paid for the vehicle minus the depreciation it incurs abroad. Therefore, even if your vehicle is slightly above the US$32,000 mark, you can bring it under the threshold by driving it a sufficient distance in Europe.

As for depreciation, it's your responsibility to claim a certain amount and to back up your claim with a reasonable argument: the government won't volunteer to downgrade the value of your vehicle. You can calculate the depreciation of your vehicle using whichever generally accepted accounting method suits you. However, the best method for a car that's less than a year old is the 200 percent declining balance (or double declining balance) method, which lets you depreciate a car's value by a full 20 percent regardless of whether it's been driven for only a day or for up to 355. To prove the value of your vehicle you need to provide documentation of the price you paid for it, the date of the purchase, and the corresponding odometer reading. Although the methods for calculating depreciation are defined in terms of time only (based on the assumption that the average vehicle is driven 14,000 miles per year), Customs officials will take distance and damage into consideration.

The mention of damage brings up a noteworthy point. If during your trip the vehicle you buy and plan to import becomes damaged but remains drivable, wait to have the repairs done until after you return home (assuming you don't have to stay in Europe to settle the claim). The damage will make the vehicle's dutiable and taxable value just that much less. In such a case, of course, you'll need to provide a police report to prove that the damage occurred after you purchased the vehicle.

In addition to the subtraction for depreciation, US Customs allows citizens to subtract their and their accompanying family members' standard US$400 Customs exemptions from the dutiable value of the vehicle. With the value of the vehicle finally determined, US Customs applies a flat duty rate of 10 percent toward the first US$1000 before applying one of the following rates to the remaining amount: 2.5 percent for autos, 3.7 percent for motorcycles up to 700 cc, and 25 percent for trucks valued at US$1000 or more.

US citizens employed abroad or government employees returning on TDY or voluntary leave may import a foreign-made vehicle free of duty provided they enter the US for a short visit, claim non-resident status, and export the vehicle when they leave. Military and civilian employees of the US government returning at the end of an assignment to extended duty outside the Customs territory of the US may include a conforming vehicle among their duty-free personal and household effects. The vehicle must have been purchased abroad and been in its owner's possession prior to departure. Generally, extended duty is considered to be duty lasting 140 days or more.

Some states and territories may consider vehicles to be used if they were kept abroad for a certain amount of time before importation (the usual threshold is ninety days). Because some of these states and territories don't place a sales tax on used vehicles, you may be able to avoid such a tax by keeping your vehicle in Europe for a few extra days. Contact your local department of motor vehicles to determine the exact taxing policies concerning used vehicles.

Apart from the luxury tax, the US government imposes no federal tax on post-1985 automobiles that have a combined fuel-economy rating of at least 22.5 miles per gallon; other vehicles, however, may be subject to a federal gas-guzzler tax.

Private Party or Dealer?

Unless you buy a vehicle direct from a manufacturer or broker, you'll have to decide whether to buy from a private individual or from a dealer. As I mentioned earlier, the vehicle you buy in Europe will be subject to VAT unless you register it for export. Technically, this means that used vehicles bought from individuals are also subject to VAT. In other words, the seller should calculate the VAT, include it in the selling price, and eventually pay the tax portion of the selling price to the government. As you might expect, however, in many cases private sellers neither include the VAT in the selling price nor report the sale to the government. Thus one advantage of buying from a private seller is that you may be able to avoid much if not all of the VAT. Moreover, vehicles available from individuals are usually cheaper than those available from dealers, regardless of tax considerations.

You can find such vehicles for sale on the streets (especially around universities), through ads in the classifieds, through bulletins posted on community or university boards, at auto flea markets, at police and post office sales, and at US military bases.

Although private parties may offer lower prices on vehicles, dealers may offer warranties and services which more than compensate for their higher prices. Some dealers, for example, can authorize repairs at facilities throughout Europe; and they may even offer to reimburse you for such repairs. Furthermore, some dealers offer to buy-back—under certain terms—the vehicles they sell; these dealers are most likely to offer a warranty and good service. Finally, most dealers will also help you insure and register any vehicle you buy from them.

You're likely to be asked to pay in cash if you buy from a private individual. But if you don't want to walk around with tons of cash on you, there are other options. You may be able to make a wire transfer of funds from your account back home into the account of the seller; before you go abroad, ask your bank what's involved. Many sellers will accept traveler's checks since these give you the same credibility as a certified check. And some dealerships may even let you use a charge card such as the American Express card

See Appendix B of this chapter for a discussion about how to evaluate a vehicle. And see the Preventive Maintenance chapter to learn how to perform proper preventive maintenance on your vehicle.

But which is the best European country or city in which to buy and/or sell a vehicle? The answer, of course, largely depends on you and your itinerary. Still, the grand-scale state of Europe's automotive market is worth analyzing here.

Despite the ongoing homogenization of the general European market, striking disparities persist within Europe's automotive market. European Community law stipulates that EC citizens are free to buy and sell vehicles in any EC country and at the local prices. But by making it difficult to permanently import a foreign vehicle and by keeping the public in the dark about the price disparities, cabals consisting of national governments and their pet domestic manufacturers have successfully discouraged cross-border shopping. What's more, European automotive manufacturers wield maximum leverage in the market because auto dealers in Europe tend to sell the products of just one or another manufacturer. As such the dealers don't play the mediating role that they otherwise would. The widely varying taxes imposed by the various countries add another twist to the price disparities. In high-tax countries such as Denmark and Holland, manufacturers typically reduce the wholesale price to dealers so the overall retail cost will remain affordable. Thus you can take advantage of not only the after-tax price disparities but also the before-tax disparities.

However, in some countires—Austria, Denmark, and the Netherlands, for example—non residents cannot buy auto insurance. This makes it impossible for a you to register a vehicle in these countries unless you first secure insurance from a company at home or in, say, Germany. But you don't necessarily have to register the vehicle right away: you can ask the owner to give you written permission to drive the vehicle for a specific time under his or her insurance and registration, giving you the leeway you need to insure and register the vehicle in another country. Italy is another special case: it's illegal for non residents to buy a vehicle in Italy unless it's registered for export.

Naturally businesses have cropped which exploit the above disparities. So-called re-importers buy vehicles in European Union countries where prices are relatively low and sell them in the European countries where prices are high. Many re-importers sell in Germany. Auto Bild, which is published there every Friday, routinely lists names and addresses of re-importers as well as agents in other countries who will ship vehicles to order. Often you can save as much as 35 percent on the price of a German new car re-imported from Portugal, Spain or Denmark. Automakers don't like this business, of course, but in Germany, for instance, dealers are required by law to honor the one-year factory warranty on BMWs, Audis and VWs that have been re-imported from Italy, France or Spain. In the last three years, re-imports have become so popular that German automakers raised the prices of their cars abroad—especially in Italy where most of the re-imports originate.

Perhaps unique to Germany is the institution of the Jahreswagen. These are vehicles which have been sold at a discount to automaker employees and their dealers and which in turn are sold a year or so later at further discount. These tend to be in excellent condition. Both dealers and automakers provide lists of available Jahreswagen. (Ask for Jahreswagen-Vermittlung.) The German BMW website in our links offers an interactive page dedicated to the listing and sale of Jahreswagen. Also, actual Jahreswagen markets are held.

Along with sales price, factors such as geographic location, the English skills of the population, the quality of the vehicle population, the ease of insuring and registering a vehicle, the cost of airfare, and the typical traveler's itinerary have conspired to make Britain and Germany by far the most popular places for non Europeans to conduct the business of buying and selling a vehicle in Europe. Therefore I'll culminate this chapter by describing in detail how to buy a vehicle in London and in Germany.

Selling

But before I focus on these three specific places, I'll discuss the topic of selling a vehicle in Europe. Since the selling process virtually mirrors the buying process, I need to make only a few specific points about selling.

For one thing, the spring season amounts to a seller's market; while the fall season amounts to a buyer's market. For another, it is legal to sell a vehicle outside the country you bought it in; though because the buyer in another country—if a citizen of that countrymay have to deal with substantial hassles and expenses associated with importing a vehicle, it may be easier and more lucrative to sell the vehicle in the country where it's registered. Of course, if you plan to sell your vehicle to a traveler who'll register it like you did—as a tourist's vehicle—importation won't be an issue.

The case of Germany, however, demands special attention. The German government will force a citizen who buys a German-registered, tourist's vehicle to pay the registration fees that the government originally waived for the tourist. And regardless of where the vehicle is registered the German citizen must immediately submit a tourist-registered vehicle to a meticulous inspection of its mechanical and structural integrity (a "TÜV" inspection). The citizen must pay to fix any significant flaws discovered by this inspection—including rusty body parts. On the other hand, the German government waives the registration fees and TÜV inspection for non Germans who buy a vehicle from a tourist. Thus, Germans will tend to offer much less for your vehicle than will non Germans. It's also worth noting that German-made vehicles are in high demand outside Germany.

Turning to London, consider running a free add in the Loot, London's most popular classified ad paper (tel. 01891 888888; deadline at 2:00 p.m. each day); or in Exchange and Mart (tel. 01202 671 171, FAX 202 678 156) or Auto Trader (tel. 0181 543 8000), two other weeklies. Three other effective mediums may be Southern Cross magazine (tel. 0171 376 0211, FAX 0171 938 4943; deadline for Wednesday publication is noon on Monday), TNT Magazine (tel. 0171 937 3985; deadline for Monday publication is noon on Thursday), and New Zealand News UK (tel. 0171 930 6451, FAX 0171 930 8780; deadline for Wednesday publication is noon on Monday); all three are weeklies that cater specifically to Aussie and Kiwi travelers. (Don't dial the leading 0 if calling from outside Britain.)

If you place such an ad, do so several weeks in advance, explaining when you'll be in town and asking interested parties to mail their name, address and phone number to you at the American Express office (if you have an American Express Card or traveler's checks) or some other address where you can receive mail.

Of course you can always sell your vehicle to a dealer, but you probably won't get a good price.

London

If you want to buy a vehicle in Europe and drive it around the continent and/or Britain before selling it, several factors combine to make London an excellent starting and/or ending point for your trip: (1) English is the native language, so all transactions will be that much easier for you; (2) the "tube" (or subway) renders London's motor-vehicle market easily accessible; (3) London is home to a truly phenomenonal, concentrated and thriving market where campervans (or "combis") and motorhomes change hands between spirited travelers, mostly Aussies and Kiwis (or "combi trippers"), who are beginning or finishing their grand tours; (4) several automotive repair and insurance services in London cater specifically to combi trippers; and (5) as I detail near the end of the Itinerary Planning chapter, London is the best place to start and end a grand tour regardless of your mode of transportation.

On the downside, right-hand-drive vehicles (steering wheel on the right, gear shift on your left) make up the bulk of London's vehicle population. Driving a right-hand-drive vehicle on the continent makes it extremely difficult to pass other vehicles unless you have a passenger in the left front seat who is acting as your eyes or unless you're driving a vehicle that has a seat high enough to let you see over the majority of vehicles. Furthermore, you must adjust the headlights of a right-hand-drive vehicle before taking it to the continent. Although a headlight conversion kit, containing specially shaped adhesive black plastic that sticks to the glass and alters the direction of the beam, will make this procedure easy; such kits are widely available in Europe. It may be legal to drive your right-hand-drive vehicle on the continent, but transporting it over or under the English Channel will cost you more than simple passenger fare. Finally, note that the vehicle population in England is of poorer quality than the vehicle populations of the Netherlands and Germany.

If you want to know how to get from here to there in London, get a Mini London AZ Street Atlas and Index; it's used religiously—even by the residents. The Atlas illustrates and indexes every street, alleyway, tube line and tube stop in London. You can pick up an Atlas in one of the countless shops and bookstores in London or from a bookstore in your country.

Before you search London for the perfect vehicle, you need to understand what an MOT certificate is. To keep dangerous vehicles off the road the British Ministry of Transport (MOT) subjects every vehicle to an annual inspection. If a vehicle passes inspection, the MOT issues a certificate to the owner. Make sure the vehicle you're considering has such certification. If you plan to either keep the vehicle in Britain or return to Britain to sell it, it's important that the MOT certificate will be valid for the duration of your trip. If the certification runs out, you'll have to pay for a new inspection and any required repairs. Moreover, the longer the certification is valid the easier it will be for you to sell the vehicle in Britain.

If it's a used van or caravan you're after, one London spot demands your attention: a stretch of Market Road two blocks west of where it intersects Caledonia Road just south of the Caledonia Road tube stop. As you stroll up the slight grade of Market Road and the tops of the vans and caravans that line it begin to appear—mirage-like at first and then snapping, like a 60s flashback, into salient super reality you'll feel the buzz of being in a truly holy place. The place is called The Van Market—the capital letters reflecting, apart from the aforementioned sacredness, a certain state of organization, but an organization which arises soley from the individuals who go there to buy and sell. Although London's city officials have forced the Market to move from place to place over the years, countless groups of intrepid travelers continue to sniff it out, making it, ephemeral as it is, an apotheosis of the European budget travel scene. Most of the vans are VWs in the US$1500 to US$3800 (£1000 to £2500) range. Such vans—if they're in excellent condition—get about 24 mpg (10 kpl). The sellers sleep right there in their vans and caravans, showering at the adjacent tennis club for £1.5. Of course this concentration assumes a social dimension; indeed, it's not a bad place in which to wile away a few days before you sell your vehicle.

Many of the buyers begin their tour in late June, crossing to Calais and heading down the coast to Pamplona and the famous San Fermin Festival (a.k.a., The Running of the Bulls), where they intend to meet some of their new Market Road buddies. Well, those buddies bring some buddies who meet up with their buddies who . . . And out of the seven-day frenzy of drunken bovine virility that is San Fermin come sundry convoys of van trippers, their ultimate goal to converge on and help fertilize Munich and the Oktoberfest two-and-a-half months down the road. A recent summer saw one such convoy grow to twenty-three vans.

The Market crowd does tend to be young, but when I happened to check it out one October day I met a friendly—and very normal—middled-aged Australian couple who were selling their van after a tour of Europe.

Of course there are also dealers in and around London. Here's a partial list.

The following company rents Honda motorcycles and sells them with a buy-back option that promises repurchase of the vehicle at 80 percent of the selling price.

If you're looking for a car, Market Road may be worth checking out, but you'll probably have better luck shopping elsewhere. Try stopping in the New Zealand News UK office, address 25 in the alley of shops just west of and running parallel to Haymarket, off Piccadilly Square. On the board just inside the front door, travelers and others post messages concerning, among other things, the following: vehicles for sale, vehicle insurance and repair, travel partners, tour packages, and jobs. It's a good place to check out regardless of your transportation plans. While in the office, you might as well pick up free copies of New Zealand News UK and Overseas magazine. Travel articles aimed at the Kiwi expatriate crowd fill both and make interesting reading for any traveler. Another free weekly publication you should grab in London is TNT Magazine, which caters to Australian expatriates and contains travel articles as well as classified ads listing vehicles for sale. Southern Cross is a similar magazine; it seems to contain more classified ads listing vans for sale than do the others. You can also check the various papers. The best for classified ads is the Loot, updated and available every day from newsstands. Also try Exchange and Mart and the Auto Trader, both published weekly. (Note that British classified ads give odometer readings in terms of miles.) London's tube is so comprehensive that you should have little trouble getting to private residences to check out cars.

The following establishments will perform a thorough inspection and testing of a vehicle before you buy it. These guys are good; unless you're a mechanical whiz, you'd be wise to enlist their services.

As I mentioned already, you cannot register a vehicle anywhere in Europe until you present proof of its insurance. I recommend the following insurance agency; they act as a broker to arrange insurance from any one of a multitude of British companies.

Also try contacting the British Automobile Association Insurance Services, Ltd., Fanum House, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 2EA, England, tel. 01256 20123; or the RAC Insurance Services, Spectrum House, P.O. Box 700, Bond St., Bristol BS99 1RB, England, tel. 01800 678000.

Apart from proof of insurance, you need to secure two other documents before you can register a vehicle in Britain. The first document is the bill of sale. Usually the bill is simply a hand-written note from the seller. The note should describe the vehicle, the vehicle identification and license numbers, and the price you paid; both parties should sign and date it. Second, you need the Vehicle Registration Document; also get this from the seller. If the registration document is in the process of being replaced at the time of sale, you can apply for a free Certificate of Registration (form V379) at the local Vehicle Registration Office. European governments recognize this certificate in place of the registration document; you should keep it in the vehicle always. Unless your insurer tells you otherwise, take the bill of sale and the Vehicle Registration Document to the Department of Transport, Vehicle Registration Office, 1 Zoar Street, London SE1 OSY, near the London Bridge tube station. This office will present you with a Certificate of Registration—proof that you own your vehicle. You'll have to register the vehicle for a minimum of six months and pay a minimum registration fee (or "road tax" as the Brits call it) of £72.50 (US$US110). This fee is refundable in proportion to the amount of time you spend outside Britain during the registration period.

Germany

For the following reasons, Germany is an attractive country in which to buy a vehicle: (1) most people in Germany speak fluent English; (2) Germans tend to take excellent care of their vehicles; (3) each vehicle is subject to an extremely thorough inspection every two years; (4) the many US military installations in Germany amount to good places in or around which to buy and sell vehicles; (5) virtually all vehicles in Germany are designed for driving on the right side of the road; and (6) Germany is centrally located on the continent.

Like the governments of Britain and the Netherlands, the German government requires vehicle owners to regularly submit their vehicles for inspection. New vehicles are checked after three years, and after that every two. However, unlike the analogous inspections conducted by Britain and the Netherlands, Germany's inspection evaluates a vehicle not only on the basis of the threat it poses to public safety but also on the threat it poses to the reputation of German engineering and manufacturing and to the German sensibility. In fact, a vehicle showing rust will fail. The Germans call their inspection a "Technischer Überwachungsverein" or "TÜV". The basic TÜV, fee is about EUR30. The government stamps the due date of the next inspection on the rear license plate of each vehicle. In classified ads, "TÜV 5/04" means that the buyer must submit the vehicle for inspection in May 2004. In Germany—again, unlike in Britain and the Netherlands—a vehicle registered to a tourist will not become subject to government inspection unless someone buys it and registers it as a permanent German vehicle instead of a tourist's vehicle. This policy is so because Germany assumes that any tourist registering a vehicle will export the vehicle from Germany. Thus you have one reason to buy a vehicle whose TÜV inspection is imminent: the German citizen selling the vehicle will be trying to avoid the cost of a new inspection and therefore will tend to offer a good selling price. Of course, buying such a vehicle can also work against you. Such a vehicle represents a greater risk because almost two years will have gone by since it last passed a TÜV. And unless you plan to ship the vehicle home or sell it to another traveler—or to someone else who won't register it in Germany—the same phenomenon that you originally took advantage of will erase any savings you realized in the purchase price; in other words, you'll have to lower the price commensurate with the impending inspection. Because, as I explained earlier, you should avoid selling the vehicle to someone who must re-register it in Germany, this second point doesn't carry as much weight as you might think it would. Apart from the TÜV document, there's another document that can clue you in on the mechanical integrity of a vehicle. That document is the ownership book, or Kraftfahrzeugbrief, that the manufacturer issues with each new vehicle. The ownership book lists all the past owners and any major repairs done to the vehicle.

But where to find the vehicles? Frankfurt, being a hub for Lufthansa, is a popular point of entry into Germany. There are many showrooms on Hanauer Landstraße and Minzer Landstraße.

For no hassles comparison shopping, stop by a few big dealerships on Sundays: they'll let you look at the vehicles but aren't allowed to try selling them to you. Shopping around may pay off, as prices within Germany vary by as much as 15 percent. Most dealers' profit margins come in at 15 percent as well. As another option remember the re-importers I discussed earlier, and the Auto Bild publication which comes out every Friday and lists them. And don't forget the Jahreswagen phenomenon I described early on.

University towns amount to good places in which to buy a cheap vehicle. All students know English; and if you throw in a promise to mail them a Green Bay Packers or Toronto Blue Jays or Wallabies or All Blacks T-shirt, they're likely to help you get the vehicle insured and registered. Note that the university school year in Germany runs from mid October to mid July. Go to the student union, the Mensa, and look for a bulletin board with vehicle ads posted on it. Also check the streets around the university. The German equivalent of "For Sale" is "Zu Verkaufen". You'll find a flock of VW cars for sale in front of the Art Institute on the Hardenbergstraße in Berlin. Because of its historic interest, large university, and nearby US military bases, Heidelberg is a good place in which to base your search. Note, however, military bases amount to better places for selling a vehicle than for buying one; the soldiers tend to ask more and pay more for vehicles than do the German citizens. Munich is another university town replete with historic and cultural attractions. Vehicles up for sale line Munich's Leopoldstraße just past the Siegestor Arch in the Schwabing section of town. And used vans and caravans are usually up for sale at Munich's wonderful Thalkirchen campground. Moreover, Munich's Bodensee Straße (street) harbors one of the largest concentrations of camper dealers in Europe. The following towns and cities are home to large universities as well: Bonn, Bremen, Cologne, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Freiburg, Goettingen, Hamburg, Hannover, Karlsruhe, Mannheim, Marburg, Meersburg, Nurenburg, Stuttgart, Tuebingen, Ujm, and Wurzburg.

Auto flea markets take place each weekend in many cities. Because the transactions that occur at these markets do, in fact, occur between individuals, you may be able to avoid the VAT by buying at such a market. Usually these markets take place on the grounds of outdoor movie theaters near the edges of cities or towns. If this is the case the market is an Autokino Markt, kino being the German word for a movie theater. Otherwise, the market is a Private Automarkte or AUTOPRIVAT. You'll be charged a small fee to enter these markets. Ask at local tourist offices or service stations about the times and locations of upcoming markets. German police and postal services hold auctions several times a year. Vehicles sold at these auctions can go at unbelievably low prices. Call or stop by the local German police or post office and ask about such auctions. There are also the Jahreswagen markets.

To read the classifieds, you must know some German. Table Buying.1 is an alphabetically ordered list of terms that are typical in car ads. (Of course, German classified ads present odometer readings in terms of kilometers. Remember that 1.67 kilometers equal one mile.) If you see the letters "gew" in an ad, it means a dealer placed the ad; the word "privat" means an individual placed it. In VW ads the word "export" does not mean the vehicle is up to export standards; rather, it designates a luxury model. By the way, it may help you to know that ß in the German alphabet is pronounced "ss", not "b".

Watch out for catalytic converters. Since July 1, 1997, automobile taxes have tripled for vehicles that don't have a G-Kat (geregelter Katalysator), and penalty taxes are expected to rise in line with new environmental legislation making its way through Brussels.

Regardless of how you go about buying your vehicle, note the phone number used to place classified ads. If you decide to sell your vehicle in Germany, you can place an ad in the paper before you return.

Of course you'll need to insure a vehicle before you can register it. The word that designates insurance in German is Versicherungs. Of the myriad insurance companies in Germany, most can deal in English. Some insurance companies, in fact, cater largely to US military personnel. German auto-insurance providers, however, do not base premiums on vehicle or driver age but, rather, on vehicle horsepower and the length of time a driver has held his or her license. What's more, some companies charge higher premiums for tourists.

If you buy a vehicle from a German dealer, the dealer will have the proper vehicle-registration forms and can fill them out for you. You'll need to show him your passport (stamped with your residence permit, Aufenthaltserlaubnis), if you officially reside in Germany); proof of the vehicle's insurance; and, again if you officially reside in Germany, your residence registration (Anmeldebestauml;tigung) stamped by the appropriate residence-registration office (Einwohnermeldeamt). Otherwise, apply for the vehicle-registration forms at the local Kraftfahrzeug-Zulassungsstelle (or Kfz-Zulassungsstelle, Motor Vehicles Department) In Frankfurt this office is at Am Römerhof 19, near the Rebstock Bad and the Rödelheim intersection, tel. 069 212 42 750. Probably somebody at the Department will be able to speak English. (Note if you live in Germany: German license plate numbers always begin with a letter or letters designating the community where the vehicle is registered, so you must register it where you live.) With the registration forms in hand and filled in, it's time to go get your license plates at the Motor Vehicles Department mentioned above. Bring along the vehicle and all those documents I just described, plus your driving license(s) and three more documents: the Kaufvertag, the Kraftfahrzeugbrief, and the Kraftfahrzeugschein. Buyer and seller must sign the Kaufvertagthe contract of sale. Stationary shops sell this simple form, but usually the seller supplies it. Each party should keep a copy. The Kraftfahrzeugbrief proves ownership of the vehicle and lists each owner, but the seller doesn't sign it. The Kraftfahrzeugschein is another ownership document and is meant to be kept it in the vehicle. If you are a tourist, you should request Zollnummer or tourist plates: registering a vehicle under such plates allows you to avoid German registration fees. The clerk will ask you to fill out a few forms; the department officials will conduct a cursory inspection of your vehicle (not a full TÜV inspection); you'll pay a nominal fee; and you'll receive the proper papers—including your vehicle's tourist-specific registration, the Internationaler Zulassungsschein, if you've registered as such. If you have obtained tourist-registration, the clerk will have cut off the lower right corner of the Kraftfahrzeugbrief, invalidating it based on the assumption that you will export the vehicle. Keep this document if you plan to sell the vehicle in Germany. Finally, go to the local Customs office (the clerk will tell you where it is) and pick up your tourist plates. German Customs will charge a nominal fee for the plates, but the fee is refundable if you return the plates in good condition.

Germany does of course impose a tax on motor vehicles. When you register your vehicle, "application" for this tax will automatically be made. This is a road tax and is levied once a year on all vehicles. You pay the tax to your local Finanzamt if you reside in Germany. Vehicles registered for export do not suffer this tax. The tax amount depends on the vehicle's size and environmental impact.

Conclusion

Although I present in this chapter a substantial if not sufficient amount of information about how to buy, insure, register and sell a vehicle in Europe, you may be wise to search out more information from more sources before you embark on such an enterprise. Certainly before you leave for Europe you should confirm with the appropriate government department, embassy or consulate all crucial points that are uniquely subject to change at the hands of government—importing/exporting policies being a primary example. To hunt down contacts not listed herein, try calling your local libraries and asking if they stock a phone book and/or newspaper from the city or country you plan to buy a vehicle in. Because university libraries cater to foreign students, they're likely to have such resources. Using the relevant yellow pages, you can look up the addresses and phone numbers of auto-insurance companies and auto dealers; using the relevant newspaper or newspapers, you can study the classified ads to determine the deals being offered by dealers and individuals. To find a particular phone number, it'll be easier if you call the relevant tourist office, embassy, or national chamber of commerce: they usually stock directories. The US Armed Force's newspaper Stars and Stripes (tel. 703 697 6695 in the US; tel. 06155 601 349/447 civilian, tel. 348 8349/8447 military, FAX 0429 29332 in Germany) is an excellent source for classified ads in English. Unfortunately, the paper is not distributed in the US. But if you call the US number listed above, the staff may send you some recent classified-ads sections free of charge. You can also check the classifieds in the Army Times, tel. 800 424 9335 or 703 750 8900. You might want to compare the prices charged for vehicles in Europe to the prices charged for the same vehicles near your home. In the US the N.A.D.A. Official Used Car Guide and the "Blue Book"both available at libraries and banks—will help in this comparison. Note, however, that European models may differ in composition if not in name from the models marketed in North America; if you have questions concerning such a discrepancy, call the manufacturer.

Appendix A ­ Evaluating a Motor Vehicle

When a vehicle catches your eye, evaluate it as I describe below. If the owner can easily help you complete this evaluation, he or she is probably a responsible owner with a good mechanical understanding of the vehicle; in other words, he or she probably took good care of it.

When the engine is cold, open the radiator cap and inspect the coolant; it shouldn't be rusty colored. Also, greenish-white stains on the radiator cap suggest pinholes and the prospect of growing leakage.

Look for dark stains or puddles underneath the vehicle: they indicate leaks from the cooling system, transmission, or engine. Other bad signs include excessive residue of lubricants on the engine, transmission, hoses or other under-the-hood components.

Rust, if it eats through the vehicle, can let deadly exhaust fumes inside. And if left unchecked, rust can compromise the structural integrity of the body and suspension. Lift one of the front floor carpets to check the condition of the sheet metal underneath. Inspect other vulnerable areas such as wheel wells and rocker panels, the door edges, and the trunk floor. If you place a small magnet against these areas, you can tell if plastic putty patches cover rust or accident damage.

Fresh welds in the underbody, ripply body work, a part whose color or fit doesn't seem quite right, new paint on a late-model vehicle, or fresh undercoating on an old vehicle testify that it's has been in an accident.

A vehicle with 31,000 kilometers or less should have its original tires; new tires may indicate an odometer that's been tampered with. Uneven tread wear indicates an accident or poor wheel alignment. Uneven tread on the front tires may signal serious suspension damage.

Grab the top of each tire and shake it; if you feel play or hear a clunking sound, suspect loose or worn wheel bearings or suspension joints. Look behind the front wheels of front-wheel-drive vehicles to check the covers on the universal joints: torn or missing covers are expensive to replace.

Check the shock absorbers by pushing down hard at each corner of the vehicle and then letting go. If the vehicle needs more than one rebound to level off, the shock absorbers may be worn.

Step back about ten feet (three meters) and check if one side is lower than the other. Do the same looking perpendicular to the long axis of the vehicle, noting if the front or rear sags. A lopsided vehicle may need new springs.

A saggy driver's seat suggests heavy use. On a low-kilometer vehicle the pedals shouldn't be brand new or worn flat. Musty odors in the vehicle suggest a water leak that may be hard to find and costly to fix.

When you drive the vehicle, roll the windows down and turn the radio/stereo off so you can better hear any odd noises. You shouldn't have to push the brake pedal any further than three inches above the floor to stop the vehicle. Speed up to 60 kph on a flat stretch of road; apply the brakes firmly, without locking the wheels; repeat: the vehicle should stop quickly and in a straight line. With the engine idling, press firmly on the brake pedal for thirty seconds. The pedal should feel firm and steady; if it sinks to the floor or feels spongy, the hydraulic brake system may be leaking.

A clutch that doesn't engage smoothly could signal trouble. The pedal shouldn't have more than two inches (four and a half centimeters) of play. You can test the clutch by turning on the vehicle, setting the parking brake, and slowly letting out the clutch as if to drive away; if the vehicle stalls without the clutch slipping, it's a good sign.

Test the transmission by going through all the gears. At the point that you would shift up to the next gear, don't shift up. Instead, take your foot off the accelerator; if the transmission pops out of any gear upon deceleration, it's faulty. Do this in reverse gear too. If the clutch doesn't engage until the pedal is all the way up or if the pedal doesn't have an inch or so of free play at the top, you could face an expensive clutch job.

An automatic transmission shouldn't slam into gear or slip as you drive. With the engine warmed up, let it idle in Park. Inspect the dipstick for the transmission fluid; the fluid should be reddish, with a faint odor of chestnuts. A dark brown color, a rancid smell, or metal particles on the dipstick signal trouble.

With the engine warm, accelerate to about 60 kph, take your foot off the accelerator for a few seconds, and then accelerate fast. A friend should be with you, watching out the rear window. Black exhaust may mean only that the fuel system needs adjusting, but blue exhaust means that the vehicle is an oil-burner—the engine will probably have to be rebuilt or replaced. Persistent billowy white exhaust means coolant is getting into the engine's combustion chambers, probably through a blown gasket or a crack in the cylinder head or engine block. (But white vapory exhaust upon start-up on a damp, frosty morning is nothing to worry about.)

The vehicle should hold the road nicely. Steering should be smooth and precise, without much free play or vibration. Have your friend stand behind you in the road, watching as you drive straight ahead (if possible through a puddle so you can just look at the wet tire tracks to see if the front and rear wheels travel precisely in line); if the vehicle sidles along like a crab, an accident has probably bent the body or frame; give up on such a vehicle. If the vehicle's steering just pulls to one side, however, a wheel alignment may be all that's needed.

Here are some other important things to determine when you test a vehicle.

With campers, check if there's a built-in, two-burner stove with a detachable propane tank. Besides being convenient and odorless, propane refills are obtainable all over Europe at stores, service stations and campgrounds. An electric refrigerator would be another plus in a camper.

shipping to/from europe

For purposes of economy, much of the discussion in this chapter assumes that you're a US citizen. Still, the majority of the principles and a substantial amount of the details here presented in terms of the US apply to citizens of other countries as well. I begin the chapter by discussing the pros and cons of shipping a vehicle to Europe. Then, I describe how a US citizen can import a vehicle that does not meet US standards. In the last section of the chapter, I explain how to arrange shipping. Any person planning to ship a vehicle should read that last section.

Shipping Your Vehicle to Europe

Shipping your own car, van or motorhome to Europe and then bringing it back by freighter will cost at least US$3000 return.

One interesting alternative to freighters is Cunard Line's Queen Elizabeth 2. This grand passenger ship accepts vehicles as accompanied baggage. The cheapest way to get your vehicle over on the QE2 is to opt for the so-called Relocation Package. That is, one-way passage on the QE2 in at least a C5 cabin, with one-way vehicle passage and passage for up to two pets included in the fare. (Nothing can be stored in the vehicle.) For a double occupancy C5 cabin this would cost US$3823, US$4173 or US$4603 per person, during the low (April and early May sailings), shoulder (late May, early June and November sailings) and high (late June through October sailings) seasons, respectively. No cabin mates are assigned, so double occupancy means your party must pay for the whole cabin. For a single occupancy C5 cabin the cost would be US$5763, US$6293 or US$6963.

This offer of included vehicle passage substitutes for the one-way airline ticket that otherwise accompanies a one-way ticket on the QE2. The airline ticket covers travel between London and New York, with connections to 117 cities in North America for an additional US$275, US$375 or US$475, depending on whether it's an eastern, central or western city; there's a further option to fly the supersonic Concorde one way between London or Paris and New York as part of the package or at a reduced fare. Air Package fares are available for all cabin classes, not just the C5 and above, and so can be considerably less than Relocation Package fares. Apart from the Relocation Package, there is no option to travel one way on the QE2 without in effect paying for the airline ticket; you either use the air ticket or lose it.

If you opt for a one-way Air Package but still bring your vehicle, Cunard will charge about US$2550 for the vehicle if it's no more than 5500 pounds, US$1195 if it's a motorcycle. During low season the minimum cost of doing this will be $4840, which means the flight to New York in effect costs you about US$1000—an expensive flight. If you travel return, the cheapest cabin fares are US$2963, US$3203 and $3513 per person for double occupancy (again, depending on the season); US$4713, $5133 or US$5653 for single occupancy. You pay the fare for the higher season of the two crossings. Cunard will tack on US$4120 for a vehicle not over 5500 pounds to travel return, and double the one-way rate for motorcycles. The cheapest cost for traveling return and shipping a car both ways is US$8063 double occupancy, US$9813 single occupancy.

Rates vary for vehicles that weigh between 5501 and 8000 pounds. Cunard accepts no vehicle weighing over 8000 pounds or exceeding any of the following dimensions: 6 feet high, 20 feet long, or 6 feet wide. All vehicles must be thoroughly steam cleaned just prior to being placed on the ship. And a vehicle cannot have more than just enough fuel in its tank than safely will get it to a fuel station after disembarking; this translates to, say, no more than one-quarter tank. Marine insurance is available for US$1.53 per US$100 value of the vehicle. Bicycles cost US$45 each way; dogs, US$500; cats, US$300; birds, US$200.

All QE2 fares include your onboard meals and entertainment. The QE2 makes the five-day crossing from New York to Southampton, England, twice a month from April to October and much less frequently during the remainder of the year. Space on the QE2 is limited however, so make reservations well before your sailing date. You can contact Cunard Line at 555 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10017-2453, tel. 800 7-CUNARD or 212 880 7545 or 212 880 7500, FAX 212 949 0915.

Taking a vehicle to Europe and selling it there is an option you may want to consider. Europeans are nuts about anything that smacks of Americana. Many Europeans would consider a Harley or a big 'ol model from Detroit the find of a lifetime; in other words, you may get a very good price for it. However, don't casually approach such an endeavor; you must thoroughly investigate your responsibilities, as well as the costs Europeans would face in buying and importing your vehicle. Contact the Customs officer at the nearest embassy or consulate of the countries you want to ship and import to.

Shipping a motorcycle over or back, or both, is more practical than shipping other motor vehicles. Shipping a motorcycle to Europe costs as low as US$350 one way and is generally less than half as expensive as shipping a car. And since a motorcycle relates more intimately to both the road and your body than does a car, your comfort and safety depend more on the particular bike you ride than the particular car, van or motorhome you drive: you may not get a good "fit" buying or renting a motorcycle. In addition, motorcycle rentals in Europe are more expensive than car rentals, averaging about US$100 per day plus mileage; and they're not easily available in every country.

Similarly, motorhomers who've converted their vehicle into their castle may not want to pay US$170 a day to visit real castles in a modest European surrogate. Remember, however, that a larger North American model will be significantly more expensive to fuel and difficult to maneuver than a typical European model. And though American manufacturers such as Airstream, Holiday Rambler, and Winnebago maintain representatives in Europe, their networks are not impressive, and spare parts are difficult to come by. What's more, your vehicle's electrical system won't jive with European standards. As such, you'll need to install a transformer before you go. If you forget to do this, a soldier at an American military base in Europe might be nice enough to procure one for you. One of very few European companies that sell them is Trueblood RV, Justinianstraße 22, 60322 Frankfurt, Germany, tel. 69 34 53 54. In addition, since most European motorhomes sport chemical toilets feeding into small removable holding tanks, few European campgrounds offer facilities for emptying the large built-in tanks gracing most North American models. Instead of removing the tank and gayly skipping to the campground's receptacle, you—assuming you're conscientious—will find yourself in frequent intimate relations with something less than an attraction, a modern-day wonder nonetheless, the municipal sewage treatment plant; but, hey, you will be off the beaten path! See the "Camping" section of the Accommodations chapter for more on the availability of dumping stations.

Before you make a decision, read the beginning of the Buying chapter to come up to speed on insurance issues. Compare the insurance offerings I relate in that chapter to the insurance sold by International Insurance Underwriters, tel. 800 248 4998, a GEICO affiliate.

If you do decide to ship your own vehicle, you need to gather the necessary paperwork to satisfy US and foreign Customs. US Customs needs to determine that a vehicle shipped abroad is not a stolen vehicle. As such, you need to present Customs with two copies of a notarized title. You'll also need a Shipper Export Declaration form and a Declaration of Dangerous Goods form. Stationary stores sell these forms, but only in US$15 pads of one hundred. You'll have to deliver your vehicle and the proper documents at least three days before the vehicle's scheduled departure. For details, citizens of the US should contact the US Customs Service Trade Operations, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20229, tel. 202 927 0300. While inquiring about such issues, ask how you can get an oval nationality sticker for your vehicle: "AUS" signifies it's registered in Australia; "CDN", Canada; "NZ", New Zealand; and, you guessed it, "USA", the United States.

But what about foreign Customs? Customs documents, issued in accordance with the terms of the UN Customs Conventions, are still required by a number of non-European countries in order to avoid the payment of the often substantial deposits demanded for the temporary importation of a vehicle (whether via a land-locked point of entry or a sea port). If you're a member of your national motoring club, the international organization it belongs to—either the AIT or the FIAwill extend to you such a document, the "Carnet de Passages en Douane", that, in lieu of deposits, guarantees foreign governments that the organization will pay any Customs duties and taxes required if you don't re-export your vehicle. But before providing this document, your club will require you to place a deposit with them; the idea being that it's better to leave your deposit with someone you trust rather than in the hands of some capricious if not corrupt foreign government. But to repeat, European countries do not require such deposits or guarantees. Nevertheless, contact the nearest embassy or consulate of the country you're shipping to and ask for copies of any mandatory forms and instructions for getting cargo through their Customs. While you're at it, ask how long it takes to clear their Customs and what steps you must take to export from their country.

One option that's much easier and less expensive than shipping your vehicle to Europe—and more popular and practical each year—is a home and vehicle exchange. From 1988 to 1992 the number of Europeans visiting America grew steadily from about 5.5 million to nearly 8 million; while the number of Americans traveling to Europe wavered between a high of 8 million (in 1990) to a low of 6.35 million (in 1991). I'm sure many of these Europeans would've loved to swap homes and vehicles with you. The biggest hurdle for such an arrangement is trust: the easier it is for both parties to establish the more practical this option becomes. Several organizations arrange such swaps and provide the kind of professional third-party assistance that is the catalyst of this trust. I list these organizations in the Alternative Accommodations chapter. If you have a motorhome, a couple of services can help you arrange to swap it with motorhome owners in Europe: Vacation Home Exchange Club, P.O. Box 650, Key West, FL 33041 USA, tel. 800 638 3841; and Camper Exchange, Inc., P.O. Box 947, North Bend, WA 98045 USA, which for a fee of US$60 will send you a list of potential caravan swappers in Europe.

With a little work, however, you may be able to make all arrangements for a home and/or vehicle swap. If you're an academic, work for an international company or firm, or belong to some other reputable international organization (such as a church or a medical society), contact some of your European colleagues. If you can tap into the so-called electronic superhighway, send out messages asking for information about potential international swaps; and keep an ear or an eye tuned for individuals or new services that offer European homes and vehicles for temporary swapping.

If you succeed in securing someone else's vehicle in Europe, you should obtain written permission from that someone and carry it in the vehicle always, along, of course, with proof that the owner has properly insured and registered the vehicle. You need to carry a special form of authority, an Autorizacao certificate, if you plan to drive someone else's vehicle in Portugal; get the form at a registration office in Europe, or contact your local motoring club or a Portuguese tourist office or embassy. If you lose any of the registration or permissive documents, contact the police.

Importing a Non-Conforming Vehicle

If you plan to import a European vehicle that does not conform to your country's vehicle standards, you need to do some substantial homework. If you know exactly what vehicle you'll be buying abroad, you should be able to determine all the costs associated with importing it. On the other hand, the slightest misunderstanding by any party involved in such an enterprise can result in unexpected and overwhelming costs to you and you alone.

US citizens must deal either directly or indirectly with three separate government agencies, each with its own agenda: Customs, which I addressed largely in the previous chapter, will concern itself with establishing the value of your vehicle and placing a proper duty and federal tax on it; the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will concern itself with establishing that your vehicle does not pose an unacceptable threat to the environment; and the Department of Transportation (DOT) will concern itself with establishing that your vehicle does not pose an unacceptable threat to the immediate safety of the population. In the end, a US citizen importing a vehicle must be able to prove to Customs that he or she has satisfied the requirements of the other two entities; otherwise the citizen will face long delays and high port-storage fees while he or she arranges the necessary paperwork and modifications to the vehicle.

The US EPA does not restrict the importation of vehicles manufactured before EPA requirements took effect. Such vehicles include gasoline-powered passenger vehicles manufactured before 1968 and motorcycles manufactured before 1978. Any person may import such vehicles without bond, under the applicable declaration category on EPA Form 3520-1.

The US government does not permit individual US citizens to import non-US version vehicles other than those described in the previous paragraph. Instead, an individual must enlist an Independent Commercial Importer (ICI) to handle the importing. The ICI must possess a currently valid qualifying certificate of conformity for the particular vehicle the individual wants the ICI to import. The ICI will be responsible for performing all necessary modifications, testing, and labeling, as well as providing an emissions warranty. In Table Shipping.1, I list the seven ICIs authorized by the US EPA.

Table Shipping.1 US EPA-authorized Independent Commercial Importers.

Any US citizen planning to import a non-US version vehicle should use these ICIs as a primary source of information. Never buy a non-US version vehicle without first speaking with an ICI who assures you they can bring the vehicle into compliance for a certain price. The ICIs are remarkably helpful; after all, they stand to make lots of money if you contract their services. An ICI will even suggest certain vehicles that are good deals and tell you how to locate such a vehicle in Europe.

One ICI contracted by the US military is Import Trade Services, Inc. As such, ITS maintains an office with seventy employees near the Frankfurt airport (Kelsterbach) in Germany. Contact Kay Lester at Langer Kornweg 16, 65451 Kelsterbach, Germany, tel. 06107 8051, if you determine which vehicle model you want only after you arrive overseas—a likely scenario.

It's worth noting that Ken Shaffer, owner of ITS, tells me his company must either flatly turn down or at least discourage roughly nine out of ten people who solicit its services. The rejection rate is so high because, as with all ICIs, ITS lacks a license to modify certain models and because the cost of modifying some models is so high that ITS would not be serving its customers' best interests if it agreed to modify such vehicles. Not all ICIs may exercise the same integrity concerning the second point, however.

US citizens can call the EPA Imports Hotline at 202 233 9660 for information regarding ICIs that may have obtained approval since the issuance of the list that I reproduced as Table Shipping.2. For further information US citizens should contact the US EPA Manufacturers Operations Division (EN-340F), Investigation/Imports Section, Washington, DC 20460, tel. 202 260 2504, FAX 202 260 6089; or the EPA Investigation/Imports Section (6405-J), Washington, DC 20460, tel. 202 233 9660, FAX 202 233 9596. Canadians should contact the Road Safety and Motor Vehicle Regulation Directorate, Transport Canada, Ottawa, ON K1A 0N5, tel. 613 998 2174, FAX 613 998 4831, and ask for the brochure Private Importation of a Motor Vehicle into Canada. Also, Canadians should contact Revenue Canada, Customs & Excise Travelers Division, Connaught Building, 5th Floor, Ottawa, ON K1A 0L5, tel. 613 954 6370, FAX 613 954 1765, and ask for the brochure Importing a Motor Vehicle into Canada.

Regardless of your citizenship, the emission requirements of your state or province or territory may be more strict than those of your national government. So before importing a vehicle, you should confirm with the appropriate state or province or territory authorities that the vehicle and your plans to modify it are satisfactory.

Now it's the US DOT's turn to enter the picture. In planning to import a vehicle, you must determine that your government considers the vehicle model and model year eligible for importation. An owner attempting to import a vehicle ineligible for importation must pay to return the vehicle to its point of origin or surrender the vehicle to Customs for immanent destruction. US Federal regulations 49 CFR, parts 593 and 594, specify the petitioning process and fees required for a US citizen to obtain such a determination of eligibility. For additional information or details on these requirements, contact the US Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Compliance (NEF-32), 400 Seventh Street SW, Washington, DC 20590, tel. 202 366 5313, FAX 202 366 1024; or contact some of the RIs I list in Table Shipping.2. (All the previously listed ICIs are authorized RIs also.)

Table Shipping.2 US DOT-authorized Registered Importers.

Eastern United States

Western United States

*affiliated with Import Trade Services USA, Inc., one of the ICIs.

In the US the importer (you if the vehicle being imported is a US version, an ICI otherwise) must file form DOT HS-7 at the time of entry, indicating whether the vehicle conforms with applicable safety and bumper standards. You can obtain this form from Customs brokers (see the last section of this chapter) or at ports of entry. The importer must enter non-US version vehicles under a DOT bond equal to 150 percent of the vehicle's dutiable value. The government requires this bond in order to ensure that the vehicle is brought into conformance within 120 days after importation. The bond is in addition to the regular Customs entry bond. Bonds may be difficult to obtain and can be expensive; the issuer may require security deposits equaling 50 percent or more of the bond's value.

Unless specifically excepted, the importer must sign a contract with a DOT-Registered Importer (RI) who will modify the vehicle so it conforms with all applicable safety and bumper standards and who can certify the modifications, just as an ICI can do for the EPA-required modifications. The importer must attach a copy of the RI's contract to the DOT HS-7 form and furnish these documents—along with the DOT bond—to the Customs Service at the port of entry.

Other documents that you need to present upon importation include the shipper's or carrier's original bill of lading, the bill of sale, foreign registration, and any other documents concerning the vehicle. Note the following words of caution from the US Customs Office.

Arranging Shipping

Of course there are two ways to send freight: by air and by sea. Shipping by air, with the exception of a few carriers such as Lufthansa, is expensive. Furthermore, shipping a car, van or motorhome by air is impractical. Shipping by sea is less expensive, but it takes much longer. Shipping to or from the East Coast of North America takes about two weeks by sea; while shipping to or from the West Coast takes about three to four weeks. Shipping to or from Australia or New Zealand takes about eight to twelve weeks by sea. Always allow for delay: your items could be delayed clearing customs; a dock workers strike could be on; and an item like a vehicle may be seriously damaged or else stolen in transit.

Before I further discuss the mundane subject of shipping, I must reiterate one delightful option: Cunard Line's Queen Elizabeth 2, which accepts vehicles as accompanied baggage. See the first paragraph of the first section of this chapter for a detailed description of the QE2's service.

At the end of this chapter I list several shipping companies. If you make your own arrangements to ship your vehicle, contact some of these companies. Begin the correspondence by asking whether the company is a broker (or freight forwarding company) and not just a carrier. Brokers maintain rate contracts with airlines and cargo ships, contracts that make their prices less than those of carriers. Besides, shipping lines often refuse to carry cargo that's not booked through a broker. What's more, brokers know the ins and outs of Customs issues. As such, brokers have rapport and leverage with Customs officials at home and abroad; if your shipment has trouble clearing Customs, a broker can usually clear up the problem over the phone. If you're unfamiliar with Customs rules and shipping, I highly recommend using a broker. Lufthansa Airlines, however, is one carrier that offers competitive rates and service.

Regardless, the carrier that either you or a broker eventually enlist should offer a payment protection scheme against their going out of business. If a carrier tells you that they do offer such a scheme, get a copy of the protection policy in writing, and read it thoroughly before you make any arrangements. The best schemes are the Customer Payment Guarantee or CPG (operated by the Association of International Removers) and the IMMI (operated by the overseas division of the British Association of Removers). Any member of these associations has a proven track record in the industry. US citizens can call the Interstate Commerce Commission to help determine the integrity of a broker or a carrier.

When investigating the cost of shipping a particular vehicle, you'll need to tell the shipping company the exact weight and dimensions of the vehicle, where you're departing from, where you want to go, and what your schedule is. Ask about the costs of air freight (for motorcycles) and/or sea freight (for motorcycles and other vehicles), shipping insurance, preparation for shipment (fuel drainage, oil and transmission fluid drainage, battery disconnection, crating, steam cleaning and waxing), other port and handling fees, special delivery and return, documents, and the time it will take to ship the vehicle. Also ask about reduced rates from certain ports (Amsterdam, Antwerp, Rotterdam and Hamburg are among the cheapest). Finally, ask if the freighter takes passengers; many do. I'm told that the companionship, food and lodging on a freighter are wonderful. With the crew and, usually, about twelve other intrepid travelers, you dine on delicious food; and you stay in your own spacious and well appointed outside cabin with a huge window (instead of a tiny porthole).

Be sure you understand the terms and conditions of the marine insurance available. Watch out for the following in a marine insurance policy: exclusions for bruising, scratching and denting; exclusion of accessories such as stereos; high deductibles; and anything less than complete coverage from the moment you hand over the vehicle until you touch it again back home. Always ensure that a company with offices or settling agents in your home country underwrites your marine insurance: it's essential that the policy allows you to settle claims in your home country. The best way to confirm this allowance is to get the name and address of the settling agent in your home country before you book your shipping. Remember to ensure your vehicle and any accompanying items for their full replacement value in your home country.

You may have to put your vehicle in a crate and arrange to get it to a terminal. You can crate the vehicle yourself or have a dealer, packaging company or freight company crate it for you. One good solution is to have a trucking company package and send it, but ask to watch the packing. Brokers will arrange to get the crated vehicle to the terminal; this will cost extra, but it's the simplest way.

If you have a motorcycle that you want to crate, you can get a crate from a dealer for about US$50. Make sure there's no mud or grass on the machine. Customs officials worry about contaminates that may come in on dirty items. The June 1986 issue of BMW Owner's News contains instructions for building a reusable crate. You do this by bolting the top, sides and bottom of the crate together instead of nailing them together. Here's a real killer: every motorcycle has identification numbers—one on the engine and the other on the frame—which Customs officers must be able to see to match them with your title. If they can't see these numbers, you'll have to uncrate the bike. To avoid this inconvenience, cut a hole in the crate so the serial number can be seen.

When shipping from Europe, consider surrendering the vehicle at the dock or shipping agent's warehouse. If instead you have the vehicle picked up, you may open yourself to trouble. Marine insurance doesn't take effect until the vehicle has arrived at the warehouse, and the insurance covering the vehicle in the meantime may require you to stay in Europe to settle a claim if an accident occurs during that short transport.

Before surrendering a vehicle, there are several things you should do. For one, try to gage the vehicle's fueling so that you leave little fuel in the tank: the shipping company will drain the fuel before loading the vehicle. To safeguard against the importation of dangerous pests, the US Department of Agriculture requires that the undercarriage of imported vehicles be free from foreign soil. As such, your vehicle must be steam sprayed or otherwise cleaned thoroughly before shipment. And have your shipper or carrier notify you of the freighter's arrival date, and be sure to inform Customs of this date: this info will allow Customs to quickly clear your vehicle.

Note that if you leave the vehicle in port storage for more than three days you'll pay a steep daily storage charge. Customs clears shipments at the first port of entry unless you arrange for a freight forwarder in your country to have the vehicle sent in bond to a Customs port more convenient for you. Customs ports exist in virtually every US state.

Theft is a major problem at ports and during transit. As such, remove loose or detachable parts of your shipment; and do not use your vehicle as a container for personal belongings. Indeed, many shippers and carriers will not accept your vehicle if it contains personal belongings. Regardless, you must declare the entire contents of your vehicle to Customs upon importation. Failure to make such a declaration can result in you being fined and your vehicle and its contents seized. And you may incur a personal penalty and your vehicle may be seized if anyone conveys illegal narcotics in your vehicle.

If you do go ahead and put possessions in your vehicle or in the crate that the vehicle is in, make sure you have proper insurance. Marine insurance falls into three main categories: if you insure your entire consignment against loss and theft, you can only make a claim if everything disappears; coverage against loss and theft of the entire consignment or any one package allows you to make an acceptable claim if all or any complete package (suitcase, etc.) doesn't arrive; coverage against loss or theft of either of the above plus any individual item or piece of goods out of a package allows you to make a claim for anything missing. You can also elect to have your loss and theft policy cover breakage of professionally packed items and/or owner packed items.

Besides arranging the proper insurance to cover your possessions, you must take care in packing these items. Note that suitcases and trunks often get marked or scratched on the outside. It's acceptable to lock such luggage and keep the keys, but the keys must be available at the destination when the luggage arrives. Weight does not affect the shipping cost, but movers are more likely to drop heavy containers. If you have many books or heavy items, split the load so each container (or "tea chest") is half full of heavy items and half full of light items. Most important, always pack boxes tight and to the top, filling in gaps and holes so that nothing can move. Ultimately, freighters carry all cargo in sealed steel containers, some of which travel above deck. The temperature changes during a voyage can be extreme, causing condensation. Clothing, books, etc., wrapped in plastic can arrive covered in mildew. Wrap items in paper or clothes instead. Marine insurance policies exclude damage caused by atmospheric temperature extremes.

itinerary planning

Traveling by motor vehicle offers unparalleled access to the land and to the people and creatures that inhabit it. If you take adavantage of this power and weave your itinerary with a spirit of adventure, with a desire to learn about places and people and about yourself, with a willingness to shed the familiar, a willingness to change, you'll find it quickened by the unexpected; you'll feel it assuming wonderful dimensions; you'll put it on and go go go, and it'll fit like a glove.

Traveling by motor vehicle offers unparalleled access to the land and to the people and creatures that inhabit it. If you take advantage of this power and weave your itinerary with a spirit of adventure, with a desire to learn about places and people and about yourself, with a willingness to shed the familiar, a willingness to change, you'll find it quickened by the unexpected; you'll feel it assuming wonderful dimensions; you'll put it on and go go go, and it'll fit like a glove.

Of course you can vitalize your itinerary simply by the tried and true method of leaving the beaten path—and I do heartily recommend this tactic. Yet humanity has run rough-shod over the expanse of Europe for untold thousands of years. As a result, there are lots of beaten paths. Many of these paths are hard to avoid; many are glorious and should be sought.

What's most remarkable, then, about the state of the continent is its ubiquitous and seemingly irrepressible natural beauty. From the verdant Pyrénées to the savannah-like wilds of Hoge Veluwe National Park in the Netherlands, from the dusty plains of Southern Spain to the misty and precipitous fjords of Norway, from the stretching lochs of Scotland to the angel-hair falls on the sculpted cheeks of Swiss valleys, wonderful nature waits both on and off the beaten path.

As for Europe's civilization, it hasn't yielded fully to the virus of pyramid-bedecked strip malls, coast-to-coast culture-clones, and all the homogenizing effects of 20th-century machinery. In the villages of France, people yet ride rickety black bicycles with a baguette strapped across the rear rack; and groups of old men sit-out