Hi all,

I just wanted to give a little heads-up about a trip we're currently taking in our '04 MCS. We shipped my car over for MINI United and and are currently making the drive from the Netherlands to Paris and then on to points further afield. I'm going to try to update my blog regularly on our European roadtrip and will try to get pictures (nothing guaranteed!) of the car in some famous locales.

Feel free to follow along at http://robert-apon.blogspot.com

 

Robert,

Thanks for sharing your adventure and the ongoing via your blog.

What was the transit time and cost to ship your MINI, something to think about for the future?

Best,

 

+1

Nice story as well i'm in the Los Angeles area as well, and great story , hope one day I'd get to do something like this with my MINI too!

 

Also it's ok to drive around with California plates?

 

I'd say you could get your car to Europe with enough planning for about for about 1500 to 2000 USD each way by sending via ship. My adventure wound up being subtstantially more expensive due to time constraints. There are tons of options and price variances so shop around. Also, be aware that you need to insure the shipment and receive lien holder permission and present proper export documentation (if appropriate and you're still paying for your car) and will need to have driving insurance for Europe. Your standard US insurance won't cover you overseas. The one other significant expense will be the port duties and fees. Figure about 800-1000 USD. If this is getting a bit too much try and work with your shipper to see if you can share a container and expenses with another customer looking to ship to the same location at about the same time. This can make for a significant savings and is, in fact, what I am trying to do to get my car home for a lot less than it took to get over to Europe.

 

Yes, you can drive around for short-term/temporary status on US plates in the EU by entering on a tourist status at Customs entry.

 

That is such a cool idea, would be amazig to drive the MINI around Europe, especially with California plates, I just watched the video you had on your blog where the motorcycle guy says 'Welcome', you'd probably turned a bunch of heads over there in Europe with California plates!

 

Yes, the California plates have brought about some curious reactions from other drivers and sometimes I can sense other cars cruising alongside just a tad bit longer than normal. The MINI is already such an individually personal vehicle, but having California plates makes the car really stick out. I guess the plate evokes all those romantic images and notions about the Golden State. The French motorcycle rider initially looked over, noticed the plate and exclaimed "Californie!" to his passenger. I then waved to him and he shouted "Welcome!". You can hear him say both if you listen carefully to the video.

 

Would it not be cheaper and easier to fly there and rent a Mini Cooper?

 

I heard about you on White Roof Radio!!

 

Yep,

The White Roof Guys did give us a little bit of press...

 

Thankfully, we shipped our mini from Germany to the US. We lived in Germany for four years, and the military paid for our car to be shipped. We weren't allowed to use our individual state license plates, but I do have the long cool european union license plate with the USA sticker on it. We ordered the car and had it delivered to us in Germany, had it for not even a month before we put it on a ship for its trip. All totalled it took about 30 days from drop off in Wiesbaden, DE to pick up in Charleston SC, USA...

 

Just the other day near Munich we noticed a Saturn on the road. We knew it had to be an American since Saturns aren't sold outside the US market. The plate on the back was US spec but had European style markings. When I got closer behind I noticed the NATO symbol in the upper left corner of the plate...

 

yeah our license plate has the nato marking.. but they are trying to do away with it, so its not so conspicuous.. god did i spell that right?
we have the nato marking, and the usa sticker.. and the state sticker of where we live

 

Spelling looks good to me... The NATO symbol may be a bit conspicuous but even if there was an alternative the bad guys probably would be aware of that and know what to look for. Plus, the approximate U.S. size of the number plate already stands out and is initially what got my attention.

 

Ah.. well i have the german sized plate.. the only difference is the nato and the usa stamp...
I miss it there.. are there any ANY? road signs that say... littleruff cat kommen sie hier?
cuz if so.. that might help the army decide we can go back.. meine hertz ist in deutschland :(

 

Robert, thank you and your sister for a wonderful holiday in Europe. I enjoyed all of you blog entires, photos and the vids.

What video camera were you using for the clips and what software were you using for the edits of the vid. Nice job, entertaining with the nav. system voice for overlays when you were in the MINI.

Thanks again for sharing an enjoyable trip with us stay at home this summer types.

Don

 

I'm glad you enjoyed the blog... I had a lot of fun working on it! Actually the vid camera was Jennifer's Canon Powershot 450SD digital camera. I was quite impressed with its video capability. I didn't intend on making videos for the trip so I used Windows Vista Movie Maker that was already pre-installed on my laptop. Very easy to use and the only major drawback is that all files are only saved in wmv format. Not as powerful as a lot of programs out there but it got the job done. Needless to say the Canon and Movie Maker did a great job on short notice!

I noticed that you just took delivery of a new MINI... is it your first? Somehow I probably think it isn't...

Have a great summer,

Robert