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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
Insurancewhat'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 documentthe European Accident Statement formcan 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 companiesin contrast to companies based outside Europeoffer 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 policiesdesigned specifically
for foreign motorists, sponsored by one European country or another, and effective
in that country onlyallow 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 insurancegood in Italy onlythat 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 clubsthe Automobile
Association (AA), tel. 01256 21023, or the Royal Automobile Club (RAC), tel.
0800 678000but 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. Vehiclesnew or usedare 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 bucknot 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
countrynot from a dealershipbefore 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 lesswith 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 otherwisealthough 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 outlinedand will later detail for three specific localesthe 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 companyand 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 inconvenienceor 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 maintenanceand 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 VehiclesIntra-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
representativesdealers or otherwisein 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-backunder certain termsthe 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 countiresAustria, Denmark, and the Netherlands, for examplenon
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 abroadespecially 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 countryif 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 didas a tourist's
vehicleimportation 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
inspectionincluding 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
religiouslyeven 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 appearmirage-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 Marketthe
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 vansif they're in excellent conditionget 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 friendlyand very normalmiddled-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 Registrationproof 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 Germanyagain, unlike in Britain and
the Netherlandsa 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 traveleror to
someone else who won't register it in Germanythe 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".
Table Buying.1 Typical Words Used in German Car Ads.
| |
|---|
| 1 Hd. | one owner |
| 3 Leigen | camper has 3 beds |
| 50 PS | 50 horsepower |
| 68tkm | 68,000 kilometers |
| ATM | new motor |
| Bestzustand | very good condition |
| Bj. 84 | Built in 1984 |
| Cabrio | convertible |
| Dachst. | pop-up roof |
| einwandfreier Zust. | mint condition |
| Gasheizg. | gas heater |
| guter techn. und opt. Zust. | excellent condition |
| Hubdach | pop-up roof |
| in gut. Zust | in good shapeV
|
| mit zusatzlicher Campingeinrichtung | additional camping equipment included |
| Neu bereift | new tires |
| Neu bremse | new brakes |
| Neu kuppelung | new clutch |
| TÜV 95 | Next inspection due in 1995 |
| TÜV neu | just inspected |
| TÜV uberpruft | TUV inspected |
| VB | asking price |
| VB 20% unter neupreiss | asking 20 percent under the new price |
| VW Automat | VW Automatic |
| VW Kafer | VW bug |
| viele extr. | many extras |
| wie neu | as new |
| Wohnbus | camper |
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
papersincluding 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 governmentimporting/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
bankswill 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-burnerthe
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$1000an
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, youassuming you're conscientiouswill 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 toeither 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 Europeand more popular and practical each yearis 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 overseasa 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 documentsalong with the DOT bondto 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 numbersone on the engine and the other
on the framewhich 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 pathand 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