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[Pete-M]

Arrgh. The Escort's allegedly impending fixedness has left me in a bit of a pickle.

 

I have a few little issues that I really should have thought about a long while ago.

 

1. Registering the thing in Czech is a no-no. I'd have to either register it as a 'veteran' which takes a world of fucking about, inspection by a car club (the local one to where it is knows precisely bugger all about Escort Mk2s) who need to confirm the car is as original, they then take the old German logbook and keep it, giving me a Czech "V" reg which is mine, instead of belonging to the car. This is bugger all use for getting it back to the UK as when it's here not having a V5 type thing for the car doesn't fit with DVLA's idea of paperwork. The alternative is to register it as a normal car in Czech, and that means paying 'registration tax' which is pretty steep for a car that has only been previously German registered. Oh, and Czech export registration isn't an actual reg plate, it's a bit of paper that you stick in the window. GR99 for getting pulled in Germany, Holland, Belgium or the UK.

 

2. Tow it to the nearest German city, TÃœV it, insure and register it there on German export plates and then drive it home. I believe I'd need a German address to do that. Things are a tad awkward because the previous keeper is 300 miles away and I can't find his address, or the receipt for the car...

 

3. Go and get it with a car'n'trailer setup. Jeep would be bloody expensive to take over there as it's not the best on fuel by itself, never mind dragging an albeit empty trailer 1000 miles. Taking a trailer over there also means paying £££££ to the ferry company both ways, and I'd have to get the ferry because the Heep is LPGd. Can't a-frame it because they're illegal on the autobahns.

 

4. Fit a towbar to the Jag and flog the Jeep to pay for the fuel...

 

5. Get someone else to get the thing to the ferry, and just go and pick it up from this side. Probably work out more expensive than taking the Heep.

 

6. Flog / swap the Jeep for a diseasel estate and see if that works out cheaper.

 

7. Use my mates 306 diesel estate and risk the wrath of the German plod who don't take kindly to people towing a tonne with a 1.4 tonne car.

 

 

Anyone got any ideas on how I can sort this. Needs to be reasonably cheaply...

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

have you looked into the possibility of registering it in one of the neighbouring countries like Slovakia or Poland?

 

Isn't there any kind of car-transporting train that can help you at least go across Germany?

[AnthonyG]

I would go for getting it yourself, either with the Jeep or with a largeish (Mondeo or bigger) diesel estate that you've swapped the Jeep for. At least if you're doing it yourself, you know its not being done dangerously by some mong who gave the lowest quote on Shiply (if they do 'abroad'). Or sell the the Jeep to fund an epic Jag/Escort road trip!

 

Some sort of roadside assistance/insurance that would bring back the towcar, trailer and Escort is also a must I would have thought.

[Pete-M]

have you looked into the possibility of registering it in one of the neighbouring countries like Slovakia or Poland?

 

Isn't there any kind of car-transporting train that can help you at least go across Germany?

 

Don't know about a car-transporting train. If there is one that isn't prohibitively expensive I'd consider it. Unfortunately, that won't help much as the Czechs I know do not like taking their cars to Germany "As the German Police don't like Czech cars".

 

It would quite probably be very easy to register it in Poland, but it's how to do all that which is an issue.

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

Ceske Drahy have got a call centre which includes English. Give them a ring and see what they say...there are so many trains from CZ to all over Europe, and most of them seem fairly priced, so I'm sure there will be something on which you can transport a car, either all the way to a port or just to some place in France in order to avoid the inquisitive German police.

[barefoot]

Ring it, put on some English plates that relate to a similar Escort.

Insure it, drive it back to the border / ferry

Replace the dodgy plates and import it into Britain properly.

[Cavcraft]

Bit (a lot actually) dodgy but don't you know anyone with a legit, British registered Escort Mk2 with the same amount of doors and in the same colour? 'Borrow' their number plates and tax disc, sort out insurance and drive it back? Once you get it this end (i.e Dover or wherever) you can trailer it home.

Not that I'd condone or recommend that you understand.

[dieselnutjob]

put it into the back of a container and get that shipped?

[dieselnutjob]

find a trailer hire company near the port in France

unload the car in the port and buy a day trip or something to get it back to Blighty

[dieselnutjob]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/120723197408

[Pillock]

AA recovery with foreign assistance?

[Alexg]

Ring it, put on some English plates that relate to a similar Escort.

Insure it, drive it back to the border / ferry

Replace the dodgy plates and import it into Britain properly.

 

Thats how I would roll. To be fair the foreign plod won't be doing any ANPR checks on british motors, you could probably drive unhassled straight to Callis with a homemade numberplate that reads CNUTCHOP.

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

Seriously, guys, I'm all for being a bit flexible with interpreting the law, but in this case we aren't talking about 20 miles on a Sunday afternoon. Imagine having a minor bump somewhere on the way- things could go downhill very quickly indeed.

[HillmanImp]

Pete, as I said on Sunday I have friends who live in Germany so if you want me to get them to help let me know.

[CreepingJesus]

7.5t box van? Equipped with some ramps, a 'Scort would go in there easy, away from prying eyes. Make sure the export documentation's straight, and you should sail thro' les douanes etc., all the way home. No insurance hassles, or awkward questions you can't answer honestly.

[scaryoldcortina]

Book a UK mot on the chassis number, drive it. If you get stopped pretend to be Team Blitz. Sorted.

[dieselnutjob]

7. Use my mates 306 diesel estate and risk the wrath of the German plod who don't take kindly to people towing a tonne with a 1.4 tonne car.

 

By the way I wrote off a 305 diesel estate and another blokes Sierra doing exactly that about 18 years ago. I wouldn't do it even if the German plod were okay with it. You need a 4x4 or a big van in my opinion. A VW transporter is okay on fuel and heavy enough to be safe.

[warren t claim]

7.5t box van? Equipped with some ramps, a 'Scort would go in there easy, away from prying eyes. Make sure the export documentation's straight, and you should sail thro' les douanes etc., all the way home. No insurance hassles, or awkward questions you can't answer honestly.

 

I think the fuel economy of a 7.5 tonner would be a problem. There are plenty of HGV backload sites that might be worth investigating though.

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

7.5 ton box van "equipped with some ramps":

[tonedepear]

7.5 ton box van "equipped with some ramps":

 

Off topic, but I will never ever, ever tire of watching that skoda upend itself on those gates.

[alf892]

buy the sherpa that dnj posted............move the escort...........sell the sherpa..........post the story.

 

even if the sherpa depricitates a few quid its still a cheap (and autoshite) option

[Tayne]

.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Why don't you stick it on Shiply and see if you get a decent quote? Theres a bit of luck involved with it (i.e. finding someone with space going near there soon) but you might be surprised.

 

Alternatively 1) tow it behind a Ryanair jet 2) teleport it 3) dismantle it completely such that it will fit in a suitcase, and take it on as hand luggage 4) carry it on your back 5) move to czech instead of bringing it to UK 6) buy a decent low-slung braked dolly off eBay for £500, and hire a reasonable sized modern diesel van to tow it with. Chuck the dolly in the back of the van to save on ferry costs. do the job yourself and flog the dolly afterwards.

[messerschmitt owner]

Buy that beige Volvo 740 that's for sale in another thread.

that's a good idea - I think it has a towbar!

[garethj]

You can borrow my Volvo estate with towbar for a few days if you want, but it'll still leave you with £££ for ferry costs. I've never towed with it, but on motorways at 60mph it does 36 -38 mpg.

 

I'd fly over with some numberplates, personally.

[KruJoe]

There's loads of good ideas posted Pete, but here's another long shot for you:

According to his Q+A, the seller of the eGay Metrubaru may be interested in hearing a competitive price for dragging its sorry arse from Yorkshire to Berlin... could be worth firing off a quick email?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Metro-Subaru-4wd- ... 256397ecf1

[Pete-M]

You can borrow my Volvo estate with towbar for a few days if you want, but it'll still leave you with £££ for ferry costs. I've never towed with it, but on motorways at 60mph it does 36 -38 mpg.

 

I'd fly over with some numberplates, personally.

 

Thanks for the offer Gareth. Appreciated.

 

Current thinking is to do the anti-roll bar bushes on the Heep, sort out the exhaust manifold blow and use that for the mission. Would be useful taking some tat to Europeland to keep costs down though.

[Pete-M]

Why don't you stick it on Shiply and see if you get a decent quote? Theres a bit of luck involved with it (i.e. finding someone with space going near there soon) but you might be surprised.

 

Alternatively 1) tow it behind a Ryanair jet 2) teleport it 3) dismantle it completely such that it will fit in a suitcase, and take it on as hand luggage 4) carry it on your back 5) move to czech instead of bringing it to UK 6) buy a decent low-slung braked dolly off eBay for £500, and hire a reasonable sized modern diesel van to tow it with. Chuck the dolly in the back of the van to save on ferry costs. do the job yourself and flog the dolly afterwards.

 

I had so much faffing about trying to shift the 604 from Suffolk I ended up buying the Jeep in the first place.

 

1) There'll be a charge for that.

2) Hmm. Don't know of any working teleports

3) It's already dismantled and I've not moved it in two years. Unlikely to do it now.

4) Possible.

5) Would love to.

6) Don't think Dollys are legal in Germany. A-frames definately aren't.

 

Good ideas though