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I would rent, try something more exotic or not lol.
I would have suggested renting also but many of the high end car rentals (Avis/Budget have Porsches) won't let them go to any country but Germany, Austria and Switzerland. No France, Italy and eastern Europe. Not sure about the Scandinavian countries though.
I say go for it! Renting cars, can be a pain in the ***. who knows whats available to rent and it cost $$$ as well. its cheaper to ship the car than rent a sports car. MAKE SURE you take SOme photos!!!!!
Probably - And, you have to surrender your "pink slip / title" to the shipping company. US customs has to clear the export of your car. They will stamp your title with an inked stamp similar to an passport.
If there is a "lien holder" listed on your title, you will have to have it removed and/or signed off by the listed entity. You will get your title back during pick up.
Take an US phone and activate global roaming - Great for calling home.
If you have an iPhone - find free wifi and use facetime and iText - it's free.
If you have an smart phone, install Google voice app and call the USA and Canada for FREE. US # can call you for free also. All you need is wifi. You need to set up GV in the US prior to leaving. IP address is checked during setup.
Last I checked, T Mobile USA has a cheap plan making it near useless to have an EU phone. If the T mobile deal is gone or you don't want to do it, get an throw away phone with an pre-paid sim; BUT, the Issue with this is that once you change countries, you go into roaming and burning thru pre-paid $$.
I got tired of all of the hassle and just activate global roaming on my US phone.
It's too long. It's a lot of driving packed in a short amount of time.
Plus the wife will detour / pitstop you along the way.
Ok cool, GV would be a great idea. I guess I'm more worried about having data capabilities while we are roaming around (not only to avoid getting lost, but to find the best places to eat, drink, stop, etc.). I had the T-mobile plan when we went to NZ, it was cheap and had coverage in most areas, but the only problem was that the unlimited data speed was limited to 3G. To upgrade to 4G/LTE was quite expensive, and they charged in 250MB increments if I remember correctly. I will have to look into this more, I'm sure there's a reasonable solution.
Wow, I didn't know I would have to surrender the TITLE! I figured the registration would be enough. That's definitely a new wrinkle that I'll have to take into consideration.
Yeah, I agree, the list has more roads on it than I'll end up going to. I will narrow it down as I get more feedback/do more research to see which ones will be most worth driving. I don't plan on doing them all consecutively, but rather one every few days (probably in the early morning) with stops in between to places that will interest the wife. Once I have the list narrowed down I can map it out logically, probably working my way from South to North.
I would have suggested renting also but many of the high end car rentals (Avis/Budget have Porsches) won't let them go to any country but Germany, Austria and Switzerland. No France, Italy and eastern Europe. Not sure about the Scandinavian countries though.
Are they pretty strict about checking where you've been?
I say go for it! Renting cars, can be a pain in the ***. who knows whats available to rent and it cost $$$ as well. its cheaper to ship the car than rent a sports car. MAKE SURE you take SOme photos!!!!!
Oh, you'd better believe I'll be taking terabytes worth of photos! Not to mention videos. I've never tried mounting them on my car before, but I have 3 go pros that should come in quite handy
Wow, I didn't know I would have to surrender the TITLE! I figured the registration would be enough. That's definitely a new wrinkle that I'll have to take into consideration.
Yes you do..
Here is an idea of what insurance will cost, 2015 pricing, figure 10% increase for 2016. Green card / liability only:
If surrendering your title is complicated, but, do-able, then Comprehensive insurance will be in order. You will be underinsured.
Green card & "Comprehensive"
ADAC roadside assistance = ~ EUR 150,00 / year
Rent an "Exotic car"
If you age is correctly listed and if you choose an "name brand agency": check and see if they rent "high profile" vehicles to persons under 30 years old. I remember that the cut off was 28 years old. If they do rent to an foreign national under 30, be prepared for an surcharge / stiff deposits.
Ok, thanks for the added info. I own the car outright and have the title in hand, so producing it won't be a problem at all. I was just surprised that I would have to hand someone the keys to my car as well as the title to it (seems like a con artist would then have an easy time keeping it, haha).
I'm 29, and I don't turn 30 until right after we would be returning from Europe, so thanks for the heads up on that. I will definitely have to make sure that is ok with a rental company, should I choose to go that route. I wouldn't mind putting down a "stiff deposit", assuming it was fully refundable upon returning the vehicle unscathed. Although, paying a higher premium simply because my birthday is about a month later would not make me very happy.
Also, those insurance/road side assistance prices are very helpful! They don't seem too outrageous, which is reassuring.
Are they pretty strict about checking where you've been?
No, they are not strict, it's that the car is not insured!
Let's say that France is excluded and you travel to France and your rental gets vandalized or in an accident. A police report will be needed in order to file a claim.. but.. you were in France.
Last edited by JR_2; Feb 9, 2016 at 12:17 PM.
Reason: Spelling
My last comment on subject, its basically a trip for your wife to go to a wedding why complicate things to this extent. I would rent a nice car or motorcycle a couple days here and there why she's busy. Enjoy your trip.
Naw RMC, I have to disagree. If there is a trip he (or any of us) would still be talking about in 30 years, it would be something like this. Don't remember where I read this: life begins where your comfort zone ends.
Of course the cost versus benefits equation still has to make some sense…
Originally Posted by cadamson
Are the speed limits strictly enforced? I was reading that it can get quite busy, as well as some of the other roads on my list, so I was considering hitting most of them on early mornings. I'm sure there are much better (more remote) options, but how would you recommend I go about finding them?
Yes, most European countries are enforcing speed limits quite strictly these days. Germany is probably still one of the better (lenient) ones. Speeding tickets in France, Switzerland or Austria will cost you an arm and a leg. VFE - very expensive. Not really much different to the U.S.
I'm not sure I'd bother getting up early for any public road. Spirited driving through a pass -OK. But driving fast… That's something for a visit to the Nürburgring or an empty stretch of Autobahn.
As far as finding a road to goes; I think you're doing a great job. Books, magazines, Google, and internet forums.
Steve, you're exactly right! While a normal trip to Europe appeals to me, something like this really gets me excited. Just the thought of it gives me chills! Luckily, my wife really enjoys our spirited canyon drives around here, so she would probably have quite a bit of fun as well.
Do they try to catch the speeders? Police with radar guns? Speed cameras? On the mountain passes I'm not looking to blast through them at unsafe speeds, I have spirited driving in mind. It's just more fun when the road is empty, haha. Now that you mention it, I should look into getting some track time somewhere. Have you ever done the Porsche Driving Experience?
Do they try to catch the speeders? Police with radar guns? Speed cameras?
A few years ago i got caught by an unmarked patrol car. An all white / unmarked VW Passat W8 4motion that was "de-badged"
This car was loaded with video equipment that video taped the "target vehicle"
While the patrol car overtook me, he activated his stealth mounted rear window "wig wag" blue lights and an motorized led display popped up stating, in no less than 4 different languages, to follow the officer/car.
Naw RMC, I have to disagree. If there is a trip he (or any of us) would still be talking about in 30 years, it would be something like this. Don't remember where I read this: life begins where your comfort zone ends.
Of course the cost versus benefits equation still has to make some sense…
Yes, most European countries are enforcing speed limits quite strictly these days. Germany is probably still one of the better (lenient) ones. Speeding tickets in France, Switzerland or Austria will cost you an arm and a leg. VFE - very expensive. Not really much different to the U.S.
I'm not sure I'd bother getting up early for any public road. Spirited driving through a pass -OK. But driving fast… That's something for a visit to the Nürburgring or an empty stretch of Autobahn.
+2 I agree with all of the above. It's something that you will never forget. As a kid, my father would EU delivery a new MB ever 2 - 3 year until I reached my teens..
I remember all of those cars and trips, as far back when I was 5.
I can say that driving @ 100+ Mph for over 1/2 hour (for me) does get very tiring. It's not easy to find an open stretch of road. And fuel costs are 2X ++ the price in the US.
Now that I think of it.. Most US credit cards don't allow you to fuel up your car twice in Europe on the same day with the same credit card. They will block the transaction due to security reasons. So, if you plan on having a lead foot.. take more than one card and/or small pile of Euro notes.
LOL.. does anyone use / accept Travelers cheques any more???
