Moving to Austria - taking the car with me - need advice

[Yves]

Big changes again in my life.
I'm about to accept a job offer for which I will need to move to beautiful Vienna. This assignment will last in between 2 and 3 years.
Obviously I want to take the snake and cruise it in the Alps, maybe even become a VCA Switzerland member

From my limited research I see some issues on the import side though : a quick check with Chrysler Vienna already told me that there are no side pipes allowed. The car would need to be converted. Also all the lights would need to be changed. I'm not in the mood for that. Would only use the car for limited weekend cruising anyway.

My only option seems to be to keep it on my US plates.

Some questions :
- has anybody done something like this for longer periods ? (2 - 3 years)
- where to get insurance ? In the US or Austria ? I've heard of US insurance companies which offer foreign insurance for 200$ per month. Does anybody have a name/phone number ?
- is the police OK when they pull you over and you can present a US drivers license together with the US resistration ?
- what about interaction with local DMV ? Change my adress to the parent's place in the US ? Or establish a small company in the US and make the Viper a company car ?
- what about the bi annual DEQ test ?

Thanks in advnace for all your input !

 

[Vreracing]

You might get more of a response on the BMW site.

A number of the guys with M5's talk about moving cars from europe and then back to europe.

Most don't recommend it.

I'm sort of a believer of when in Rome (or in your case) Vienna.

 

[99 R/T 10]

Wait for the German/swiss members wake up and see this thread. You'll get what your looking for. I may be in the same boat as I may get shipped via the Army to Europe and I am taking my car! Maybe in a year or so.

has anybody done something like this for longer periods ? (2 - 3 years)
- where to get insurance ? In the US or Austria ? I've heard of US insurance companies which offer foreign insurance for 200$ per month. Does anybody have a name/phone number ?

I would think $200 a month would be steep, but they do insure based on cars HP, try to shop around and get some numbers for the german companies. Don't know about the rest, good luck Yves!

Mike

 

[flying dutchman]

i own a garage in The Netherlands and import cars from Germany and the US so have some experience in importing cars, y probably dont want to pay the high import taxes,they allow y to keep yr car for 6 months only on a foreign licence, after that y have to import, a better idea would be to buy a fast german or italian car and take it with y back to the US,might get that one in duty-free(if y have been away long enough),as for Austria as we are all in the EC now, laws are supposed to be the same in each country,but they still might be a bit different, here they will allow y to have sidepipes again, they have been banned for a long time, so we are happy with that.insurance here is not that expensive.its possible to get insurance on a foreign car.
good luck
frank

 

[ElDiablo Viper]

In Austria (last time I lived there) the insurance charges per liter. So in your case this would be big $$$ Also all the lights have to be changed. My advice is take that Viper with US plates and get the insurance from here. This way you don't have to worry about mods. When your inspection expires just take it off and nobody there will know. Just keep your reg and insurance current.

 

[Yves]

In Austria (last time I lived there) the insurance charges per liter. So in your case this would be big $$$ Also all the lights have to be changed. My advice is take that Viper with US plates and get the insurance from here.

Thanks for all the input so far! Ook de Vliegende Hollander!

El Diablo's strategy is along the lines I was originally thinking.
I was in Vienna last week and people are driving really small cars, 70% of which are diesel engines. Anything above 2,000cc is quite exotic, haha. My strategy would be to keep the Viper on US plates, US registration and US insurance, so when the cops pull me over I am just 'visiting'.
Anybody knows of US insurance companies that insure cars that are used abroad ?

All other advice welcome. Got a couple of weeks to make a decision on this one, so really want to do my homework.

 

[GCHDEALER]

$hit man stay still! What happened to coming to Flordia? Thought we were going to hang out go Vipering together. The wives can go shopping spend money you know all that stuff they like to do.
C~

 

[ViperGTS]

I forwarded your questions to a friend from the US who has a Viper in Germany. The second one is (unfortunately) in Iraq now...
They have both "special" German license plates, registered under US army numbers and they do NOT have to care about technical examinations.

 

[Peter-RedGTS'98]

Take a part-time job with the US Embassy/Army and you will get CD plates or a permit. I would work for free to ride my Viper in Austria. Call US representative in Vienna and they will tell you all about insurance etc.

Remember, no matter what, you can negotiate with the cops in Austria. I did it and reduced my ticket by 70%. They are nice and very welcomed to foreigners . In Germany, the story is opposite , pay and smoke them. I am serious.

In Austria, in Summer, take your Viper to the area between Salzburg and Innsbruck. Some hotels have undeground secure parking (for examle Holiday Inn in Salzburg). Unbelievable scenic route. Absolute must: drive Grossglockener-Hochalpenstrasse to the Pasterze glacier. The road is extremely steep, curvy and over the top of the mountains. My wife was screaming all the time. You will see 80km/h limit sign but you would barely be able to go faster than 25km/h. Good luck!!!

 

[ElDiablo Viper]

I know GEICO can insure you in Europe. BTW don't pick up too many girls in the Red Light District Maybe by late summer I'll visit you in Austria as I have a lot of family there.

 

[ViperGTS]

>>>Salzburg and Innsbruck. Some hotels have undeground secure parking (for examle Holiday Inn in Salzburg). Unbelievable scenic route. Absolute must: drive Grossglockener-Hochalpenstrasse to the Pasterze glacier. The road is extremely steep, curvy and over the top of the moun...<<<

YES-YES-YES-...

Yves: I am organizing a 3 day trip for the ViperClub in the end of June 2004 - Our hotel is nearby Salzburg-Kufstein and Grossglockner is waiting!

You must be registered for see images

 

[Yves]

Count me in for that trip !

Let's do it twice : once in the car and the other time on the bikes

 

[ViperGTS]

I enjoy driving to and over the Grossglockner several times each year. By car and by bike...

 

[OutThere]

Run over as many French as possible...

 

[Peter-RedGTS'98]

Cannibals...... they ride over the Grossglockner and drink German beer without me. Did you say that life is fair.

BTW, don’t forget to turn into the observation deck Edelweisspitze. A very short ride at about 10-15km/h. You will practice sharp turns by swinging Viper’s tail virtually in place. Any pics????

 

[ViperGTS]

Yves: You will receive an invitation, of course.

Our "tasks" will be:
drinking some french beer (iggitttiigit)
run over as many cannibals at low speed and taking some pics!
))

You must be registered for see images

You must be registered for see images

 

[Yves]

I can smell the ***** and Wurst ! Fraulein, another half liter beer please !

 

[phiebert]

OK, my German is a little rusty but here goes...

Ich bin traurig, Sie zu sehen, gehen Yves. Du sind immer zurück an unserem Haus willkommen. Gutes Glück zu Ihnen und zum Tea.

Make sure you drop in again when you return and maybe Shelly and I will come visit you in the Alps!

 

[ViperGTS]

>>>...and maybe Shelly and I will come visit you in the Alps<<<

That would be great and Yves and I -> we will have two free passenger seats...

 

[Paul S Lacey]

Any chance the UK can join in??????

European Viper Days with our European Brothers????

 

[ViperGTS]

Paul: I think that this would be GREAT. However, driving from the UK to Kufstein, Austria is a long, long way...
In case you and other UK members are interested - may be an extended weekend/vacation? - drop me an email or PM!

 

[Yves]

Wow ! Great ideas ! Maybe we could meet somewhere central like Luxembourg or the Champagne district.

On the other hand though...from first hand experience...when VCA people meet in the US there's usually a lot of alcohol involved. We might not be able to drive the cars the next day

 

[MOUNTAINWOLF]

Are you taking the good looking chic from Nike with you?
more pics please.

 

[ViperGTS]

good looking chic...
lot of alc...
beer...

 

[Yves]

Are you taking the good looking chic from Nike with you?
more pics please.

She was part of my ex-pat deal as long as I was in World HQ . A couple of months ago Nike wanted to send me to Moscow, but not the girl . We ran into a wall of bureaucracy as can only be created by an overstaffed HR department. I quit and she got laid off immediately there after.
I am now VP Finance for a Swiss pharmaceutical company.
Yes, she will join.

 

[MOUNTAINWOLF]

No no, I meant bikini pics...

Seriously, that is a great pic, great looking girl and the snake is looking good too (black rules!). excellent shine.
Good luck on your expedition. New experiences are where it's at. I have always enjoyed your posts, don't let those great peaks distract you from visiting the board.
ps. I understand the landscape over there can be distracting too. hehehe.

 

[Peter-RedGTS'98]

No no, I meant bikini pics...

You missed a point. He is moving to Europe. ******* (not bikini) is the game in town there. You will like it. She will love it. And after you come back home you will get confused and ask - What??? no ******* in US??? What are you people doing? sheeeesh...