steve@merlin.BERKELEY.EDU (Steven Sekiguchi) (10/30/85)
I am looking to purchase a VW (sirocco, jetta or cabriolet) for european delivery in May of 1986. Since I have neither taken eurpoean delivery or purchased a VW before, I am looking for any info I can get. If you have any info about any of the cars above, european driving conditions (Germany, Switzerland, Italy, France), or VW's european delivery program please email to me. Thanks in advnace, Steven Sekiguchi U.C. Berkeley ...!ucbvax!medea!steve steve@medea.berkeley.edu
goldman@ittvax.ATC.ITT.UUCP (Ken Goldman) (11/01/85)
> I am looking to purchase a VW (sirocco, jetta or cabriolet) for european > delivery in May of 1986. Since I have neither taken eurpoean delivery > or purchased a VW before, I am looking for any info I can get. I bought a bus about 10 years ago, so here's some obsolete info: Got delivery in Amsterdam. Found in general cheaper for VW to deliver to the city you land in rather than you taking a train (with all your baggage) to the factory. Opposite on the way back. VW wanted a fortune to bring the car from my departure city to the port (Emden) so I brought it to the port. Delivery was one day late. I think the fault of the dealer in Amsterdam, not the factory. Shipping it back was very efficient. The paperwork took about two hours total. Paid for the car in the US. They arranged everything. The US warrenty was better than the European one, so I had to pay for a few things which I didn't expect. Not too bad though. VW will arrange tourist plates. They are good for one year. After that, they are 'good' forever outside the country they are issued in. That is, all anyone cares about is the insurance green card. In that country, you will have problems after one year. My solution - got Virginia plates. The sales tax is low, did the whole thing by mail. No you do not need a VA address. They get the sales tax, what do they care where you live! The insurance through VW is very expensive. There was a cheaper company at the Amsterdam post office. Also a Danish company called American International.Caution - not all green cards (the insurance) are alike. They all cover W. Europe but many boycott Israel, and some do not cover some of the eastern bloc countries, e.g. Bulgaria. Insurance horror story. Someone I met paid for the insurance with travellers checks and didn't fill in the payee, just signed his name. Like you do when you change money in a bank. Right, someone pocketed the money, and when he got into an accident and put in a claim, he found out that he had no coverage. I got an international drivers license from AAA but never needed it. Expect at least one ticket if you drive in East Berlin. Don't bother arguing. Some countries (Yugoslavia, maybe Italy) have coupons for gas. Sometimes mandatory, sometimes good for a discount. Contact the tourist offices in NY City for current details. Gas prices vary greatly from one country to another. Ask other travellers. Sometimes you want to hit a border empty, sometimes full. Western Europe border crossings by car are trivial. Parking in big cities is a disaster. I usually parked outside and bicycled in or took a tram or bus. Hope these random comments helped a bit. I did this bit for 2.5 years so if you have some specific questions, post away.