Bringing Car to Germany

M

micamaca

Registered User
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Hi there,

we're thinking of bringing our little Micra to Germany when we go away for the year. It's in very good condition and has been very reliable (up to now...touch wood!).
And I think personally it might be easier just to get used to driving on the right side of the road whilst keeping the gears etc in the same place.
Am I wrong? Any opinions or experiences here to offer??

I was looking at ferry sites...options are Dublin to Holyhead (Irish Ferries) and Portsmouth to Cherbourg with Brittany Ferries.
Or simply Rosslare to Cherbourg with Irish Ferries.
Our final destination is Trier in Germany, according to AA roadwatch it's a simple 8 hour drive from Cherbourg to Trier!

Has anyone any opinions about the ferry companies? I hear that you have to queue hours to load the car...any other useful tips?

cheers mica
 
You'll need to check out German legislation in relation to how long you can keep a car in the country before you need to register it. Have you checked out what the implications are for your insurance?

Having driven my own car in France, if I was going for a year, I'd buy over there. Much safer driving a left hand drive, visibility overtaking, at junctions, etc., is far better.

Don't worry about the gear stick being on the wrong side, you won't even notice after a day or two. You could alway get an automatic to make it even easier.
Leo
 
Hi Leo,

thanks for advice. I suppose main reason for wanting to bring car is that it has sentimental value, silly I know. But I don't want to leave it sitting idle for the year either. Thought it would be handy for bringing items to Germany too.

But I do take your point about it being safer to drive with a car with the steering wheel on the correct side. I haven't yet looked at the insurance, no.

Maybe I should look at the price of cars in Germany first and then start from there.

cheers mica
 
I agree with the poster who advises to buy over there. It's a pain using RHD in mainland Europe. Nearly as bad as our LHD campervan over here! Though we mainly use it in Europe so that's ok. Have you thought about using Celtic Ferries to Cherbourg? We did last year as a reaction to Irish Ferries staffing policy. The previous year on Irish Ferries the non-Irish looked miserably unhappy. Celtic actually worked out somewhat cheaper and included meals. Quite an old ship, but the cabins were much more spacious than Irish Ferries. We also found the public areas much calmer on board.
We are all booked up for June this year and are heading to Germany via Champagne region, where we'll mosey for a few days. Really looking forward travelling along the Rhine and then the Moselle from Koblenz to Trier. If we see a little micra with RHD I'll give you a wave!!
Mary
 
If you are driving to Trier consider going via Britain and the Chunnel, then via Bruxelles and Luxembourg to Trier. If you keep your car more than 6 (?) months in Germany you need to register it which will involve a technical test. Also will your Irish insurance cover you for a year in Germany? I never found driving a RHD difficult abroad. Order a RHD in Germany, register it there and then import it VRT free back to Ireland.
 
Thanks for the replies.

Was looking at the Chunnel website and couldn't locate the info about bringing the car. Was then going to ferry to Holyhead, drive to Portsmouth and ferry to Cherbourg and drive from there...circa 8 hours according to AA roadwatch.

But didn't realise there would be a technical test! Our car is 1996, as I say reliable to now. but maybe the Germans will be stricter than the Irish in their technical tests. It's passed it's NCT here up to now but who knows.

Have yet to look at insurance but we're not going for awhile yet

But I get the feeling, given the duration of our trip, we might be better off buying in Germany.

Metromary, I'll be over in Trier flathunting in June so if I see a large campervan flowing with irish accents, I'll give you a wave!
 
Simple really.
Sell your irish car.
Fly to germany and get a rental car at the airport,maybe having booked it online.
Buy a second hand car lhd in germany .
Before returning to ireland sell the german car and fly back.
This is the easiest and cheapest option.
 
sunrock said:
Buy a second hand car rhd in germany .
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and I suppose you'll find one at every street corner???

This is what I would do:

sell the micra, go to germany, order a new RHD top of the range BMW 320d and keep it for 6 months before coming home

Come back here and pay no VRT, if you still dont like the BMW, then sell it here for a huge profit and buy yourself a brand new poxy Micra with the money you made
 
Mica, I've done that trip a bunch of times, go with the Chunnel, if there's a spare driver, take the overnight ferry to Holyhead, then drive down through the UK and you're in France the next morning. A few hours drive to Koln to break the trip. From there it's only a short spin on.

Or alternatively, a short drive (morning ferry-Holyhead) to Hull and from there to Rotterdam, you arrive the next morning and will be in Trier by dinnertime. Going via Cherbourg loses you a day and also leaves you further from the objective. It's handy enough driving an Irish car on the continent, especially when you're on the autobahn's, just relax and don't worry about overtaking!
 

I presume you meant to say LHD above?

I'd very much agree. It's OK to take your own car on holiday for a couple of weeks, but any longer and you're much better off with sitting on the "correct" side of the car.

Having driven both RHD and LHD in France, Germany and Italy I find it much easier with LHD, and it's certainly safer (apart from visibility for overtaking etc., you're less likely to forget which side of the road you should be on if). There really is no issue with getting used to changing gear etc. with the "wrong" hand.

I'd assume that cars are much better value in Germany, too.
 
I think you might need a permanent address to buy a car there, I think....

 
"but maybe the Germans will be stricter than the Irish in their technical tests" - it is safe to assume that the Germans will be stricter than the Irish in all aspects of rules & regulations. A bit of a generalisation, but I think an accurate one.

z
 
zag said:
"but maybe the Germans will be stricter than the Irish in their technical tests" - it is safe to assume that the Germans will be stricter than the Irish in all aspects of rules & regulations. A bit of a generalisation, but I think an accurate one.
z
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Okay, have to confess am a little confused by all this RHD and LHD...RHD is what i have here in Ireland to conduire a gauche isn't it? And the LHD is for driving on the right? Who makes these things up !

Do the pedals switch around in cars too? Am completely clueless

Thanks for all the input guys... I was trying to avoid an overnighter on the ferry Almo but maybe it's not possible. Would be afraid of missing connection from Portsmouth anyway as ferries are always delayed leaving here.

I'd really want the safest and easiest option, which may be to buy over there and sell before coming home. Which I could cope with , but don't know what to do with micra. It was my mother's so I don't think I want to sell it.
 
micamaca said:


Okay, have to confess am a little confused by all this RHD and LHD...RHD is what i have here in Ireland to conduire a gauche isn't it? And the LHD is for driving on the right? Who makes these things up !
Click to expand...

Correct. We have RHD here to drive on the left, and they have LHD in Genrmany to drive on the right.

micamaca said:
Do the pedals switch around in cars too? Am completely clueless
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That would make things interesting! The answer is no: the pedals are the same way around. The only thing that's really different is that you change gear with your right hand: the pattern of gears etc. is all the same. It takes very little to get used to this. My own experience is that if you're stiing on the "correct" side for the country you're in, it's much simpler driving, as everything is on the correct side. It's also safer. More convenient too (think of toll roads, car parks etc. where you'd otherwise have to lean across to the passenger window).

micamaca said:
I'd really want the safest and easiest option, which may be to buy over there and sell before coming home. Which I could cope with , but don't know what to do with micra. It was my mother's so I don't think I want to sell it.
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I'd recommend flying over, doing without a car for a while (or hiring) until you sort out purchasing a local car. The ferries are fine, but my guess is that after a couple of months, you'd want to change to a local car anyway.

Do you know anyone you could leave the Micra here for the year? It would give them the use of it, and it's definitely better for the car to be used rather than lie idle for a year.
 
One further thought: do you actually need a car when you're away? Unlike here, they have a thing called a public transport system in Germany that works very well. I was there for about three months a few years back and never missed having one. If you're in one of the larger cities, a car might even be more of a problem than a help.
 
Sorry...yes i did mean lhd easily available in germany 2nd hand.
I`ve now edited my post. The idea of buying a rhd new..keeping it for 6 months or more and bringing it back to ireland and registering it here without paying vrt, might appeal to a select few. However one would have to have the money to buy a good model and face the inconvenience of driving a rhd around germany.
 
Thanks again for the replies.

I think we might not need a car but it would be very nice to have one as I intend to make full use of being able to drive to another country instead having to fly! I'll be staying in Trier which borders Luxembourg and is close to Belgium and France not to mention all the lovely parts of Germany to be seen. So while a car might not be a necessity it is a must!

Okay, glad to hear the pedals don't switch...had nightmare scenario of my pressing what I thought was the clutch but was actually the accelerator!!

I take your point about tolls and motorways. It does sound from most people's input that we will be better off buying a car in Germany for the year. My sister might take the Micra for the year and give it a run once a week.

Thanks again folks. My husband was just opting to buy a car in Germany but I wanted to hear some other opinions first. Now I can go back and tell him he was right, for once!
 
Leo said:
Don't worry about the gear stick being on the wrong side, you won't even notice after a day or two. You could alway get an automatic to make it even easier.
Click to expand...

I second that; I have hired cars with manual gears a few times in countries where you drive on the right side of the road and you do get used to it fairly quickly; yes you will bang your hand of the door on your left a few times when you try to change gears or use the handbrake but in a few days it will be second nature (in my case it was too second nature and by the time I got home I found it hard to adjust back again).

If you drive your Right Hand Drive car on the right side of the road, you will find it more difficult and if it is only for a week or two that would be fine but over a year quite difficult. I have a French mate who brought his car over to Ireland when he came here to work and he says it is a nightmare particularly when you want to overtake. Having said that in somewhere like Germany there are a lot more dual carriageways/autobahns which make it easier.
 
Having lived there for a good few years - sometimes with car/sometimes without - I have to second this.
At least just move there first and check it out. Whilst not having wheels can sometimes be a limitation, there is also a benefit in going without. I lived beside a train station in a small german town - just before leaving the house, I would check the deutsche bahn (railway) website for the schedule - and you could be sure trains departed at the time stated. A lot healthier living without the road rage, etc.

If you find you need wheels afterall, its easy to pickup a second hand motor - and they're likely to be in better nick due to regular maintenance and superior roads.

my two cents..
 
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