That's like the NAM website of Scotland! Great website - and I'm glad to see we're not the only crazy Mini ones of the world. Are you guys celebrating the annual Mini Celebration Day also? (I think some other thread said it was celebrated the 2nd Sunday of June every year in England.)

Thanks for the input (even if I'm [snif snif] not going to Europe anytime soon.)

 

X uh oh x,

Great write up I was stationed in Europe for about fourteen years, and I couldn't have said it better. I love being over there, I loved driving over there, I was also in Korea, Not as much love. I have been retired 14 years now, and I miss it so much.
My last tour was in Hoek Van Holland in the Netherlands, on a Beach on the North Sea, Eleven Americans in a nice little town. No uniforms, Great people,Oh how I would love to go back.
When stationed in Hieldberg back in the early eightys, I had a wonderful red 911. Those days are gone, but memories of time on the autobahn will never fade, Driving thru the Alps, down thru Italy, and into Spain.
Enjoy your self, for the guys going over its great, but be careful.

Good Luck to you all,

Larry

 

Isnt the Military nice....in that respect. Heidelberg is a very nice town, However My Autobahn cruiser in the MINI S , where were you at in Heidelberg? MTV-PHV? Did those housings exist in the 80s?

 

I was on my way to joining the military when I was in college (Army ROTC), but they had issues with my medical past (diagnosed childhood asthma by a military doctor, only to have a civilian doctor figure out that it was allergies). Because I had a military medical record, they really care about what my records said on the side of things.

So now I'm hoping to work as a civilian for the military...just waiting to get my foot in the door with the Feds! I want to work in Europe! Life's too short to work in one place...

 

OH, I would LOVE to go back! I think we spent too much time travelling other countries - I want to go back and do more travelling in Germany! I still have a list of places I haven't seen and want more of!!

 

My friend just came back from England and said that MINIs are extremely common over there! I haven't been back since I moved from England unfortunately...

 

I have my american one in England, you will just need a rear fog light fitted and the dealer will put some stickers on the headlights....nothing else!

 

Depening on the light that you have, normal ones noting needs to be done at all, and the side marker lights, they take the bulbs out, you do NOT need a special windshield or euro tires at all either..dont know where that came from???

MOT are very easy, if the car is under 3 years old it doesnt even need one

 

hi,you currently dont legally need warning triangle or first aid kit for UK driving,however it is advised,i have just travelled thru france and italy and they are legally required there,along with head light dippers,hi-VIS jackets are legally now required in all cars in france and italy.

The larger cities over here are a bit of a nightmare,especially London,not to mention the congestion charges.
Generally a lot of people are carefull but in any country there is always people who drive mad with no patience.
Speed camara's are all over the place,so watch your speed.
A lot of people would say that a round-about in the UK is a problem,but its normally ok,just be aware of traffic coming from your right.

 

Man, I just bought this sweet 82 Mini. And so far I loves it! Will post pictures soon.

 

When entering a roundabout in the UK, do you go in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction? My parents lived in Switzerland and I remember using roundabouts there. I believe the Swiss drive in a counterclockwise direction. I find roundabouts very useful. The US should use them more often but they're very rare. I think you usually find them in the New England section of the US.

 

In the UK, you enter the roundabout on the left - so the roundabout traffic moves in a clockwise fashion.

The Swiss drive on the right hand side of the road, so they enter roundabouts on the right. Roundabout traffic moves in a counter clockwise direction.

We've got a few roundabouts here in Alaska, but unfortunately (in my opinion) they didn't engineer them properly. People still can't figure out how to use them!

 

English,Irish, and Scottish roundabouts are clockwise. I've noticed more and more traffic circles in the U.S. in the newer high end areas. But you're right! We should have more of them! I just don't think Americans would handle entry and exits very well.

 

this thread (and yr. comment) are very interesting because Im considering moving up in the fed gov with a USAF civilian position at Mildenhall. I may just ship my car. (It has rear fogs btw)

and yes life is too short to work in one place. it's a big world, and we own MINIs! Still, lhd in a rhd country will take some gettin used to, if this job happens.

 

Mildenhall rocks my socks! Would luv to stay there longer but the AF said "heck no!". So now I must leave.

 

I'm not sure if this thread is dead or what, but I am looking into either taking a long trip over in the UK, or living there. What I'm wondering are the shipping rates. What kind of a ballpark are we looking at for a '10 R55?

 

If you want to do it right, you might want to talk to the local MINI/BMW dealership to find out their current rates. I know the last time I asked (coming FROM Europe to the US a few years ago) it was around $1,200 for a one-way trip. The nice thing about going through a dealer: they know how to load/unload your car, they can take care of any damages or incidents before returning it to you, and you can usually dropoff/pickup at a dealer local to you. Otherwise, you likely have to coordinate getting yourself to/from a shipping port which may be a lot further distance.

If the dealer can't or won't ship it, or it's just too expensive, you might want to check with big name shipping companies like International Car Shipping.

Good luck! Europe is awesome!

 

Do you mean talk to a delaer in the UK for shipping or one here? I work at MINI of Des Moines, but from what I can tell, we don't do that sort of a thing.

P.S. Something I just thought about. When I bought my Clubman S, the title got put in my dad's name because of some issues at the dealer and for insurance purposes. Will that pose some issues if he's not the one driving over there or is even with me? I know I am clear to drive over there, but will my car and I be ok to drive?

 

I lived in England for two years, and drove a '62 Cooper while there. RHD is almost a necessity. It helps you remember to keep left. Also, you must learn to look to the left side of the road for warning signs. Either sell or store your mini, and buy something when you get there. Enthusiastic motoring is not what it used to be, due to traffic.

Cooper62

 

I think it is very unsafe if you are going to live in UK and not have a right-hand drive.

LHD in a RHD country is ok for holidays, but it is just adding risk of collissions as you don't have enough overview on the road
The reason that the steering wheel is on the left of the car in Europe/US is so that the driver sits near the middle of the road, and have "maximum" overview..
Furthermore, on the highway people will overtake you coming from your biggest "blind spot" which is quite tricky.

I visit the UK quite often on holidays, but if i'd move there, i'd certainly get a RHD car.

 

Lived in the UK from 2007-10 and loved driving my US SPEC LHD GP Mini there everyday!! Parking was so much easier... The car was easy to get road legal and it blended quite well....

 

Most people want to move out of here! Not move in lol, terrible weather all year round :(