patinum

So I'm planning a trip to German in August. I'll be doing a lot of driving around and plan on spending a day or 2 at the Nurburgring. I figure the cost of a rental car for 10 days will be about $500 and the cost of renting a track car for the ring will be about $1000. (I've read that taking a regular rental car on the ring can incur severe fines).

That got me thinking about how much it would cost to just ship my S over. If shipping costs $1500 I break even. And I'd even consider paying up to $2000 to drive my own properly setup car that I'm familiar with around the ring.

Of course, I'm sure there's a lot that goes into this. Import and export taxes, docking fees, transportation insurance, etc. So has anyone had experience doing this that can give me a breakdown? Will it be remotely cost effective? What companies are reputable?

I've done a google search. Found a lot of places that will give me a quote for shipping a car if I'm moving to Germany, but I'm having a hard time finding a round trip quote. I imagine the taxes are different if you're trying to move/register a car vs just for a visit. Also, I'm looking for some first hand experiences.

Thanks for the help.

Kamron

Pat, I would definitely suggest that you PM Siepel because I believe that he has shipped his S back and forth from here to Europe a couple times. I don't know if he checks the UMW that often because I think he's currently in Brussels.

patinum

Thanks Kamron.

PM Sent to Siepel.

Just the idea of driving my own car on the Nurburgring makes my naughty bits feel good and my good bits feel naughty.

Chris S2K

Pat,
I talked to my buddy who lived in Germany and he said it'll probably cost close to 3K to ship there and back. It will also take 4-6 weeks to ship one way and you'll probably have to pick up the car at the port by Denmark.

He used to track his motorcycle there, so let me know if you're interested in hearing about some of the other tracks, aside from the Nurburgring.

patinum

Thanks Chis. If that's the case, it looks like a VW Polo and 318ti for me Couldn't be without my S for 2 months.

Kamron

I was thinking that too. Awful long time to be without your S during the summer. You need to find someone with government control over C-130s, etc., so you can get it flown over on the taxpayer's bill. I know, it sounds silly, but I know a Iraq war veteran with a pretty crazy stories regarding transporting ice scrapers across the desert -- so this would be no worse.

midwesta

Yeah definitely not going to be cost effective. I could see it costing almost 10k all said and done for both ways.

4-6 weeks each way as well!