Tony_C Posted August 28, 2023 Report Share Posted August 28, 2023 Hi all, any advice greatly appreciated for reliable and cost effective classic car transportation from UK (South East) to Geneva, Switzerland- or, just Channel Tunnel? Briefly (and firstly apologies if this is in the ‘wrong’ section and or already covered somewhere else) California car has been imported into UK with taxes paid but not registered nor MOT’d, - which makes any UK insurance ‘impossible’? - Therefore, ‘plan’ is to register the vehicle in Switzerland but, first need to get there. - Anyone here done something similar? Thanks in advance/ anticipation Tony Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Motorsport Mickey Posted August 28, 2023 Report Share Posted August 28, 2023 Capable car or 4x4 and hire a trailer and about 6 tanks of fuel ( variable) and a pleasant 3 day road trip ? Much more affordable. Mick Richards Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tony_C Posted August 28, 2023 Author Report Share Posted August 28, 2023 Yep Mick, good advice as always, I did think along similar lines but currently haven’t got a car with a tow hook. - Apparently we can get insurance once on the European mainland, so trade plates or (more likely?) trailer to the tunnel and then a lovely leisurely shake-down trip across to CH? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Deggers Posted August 28, 2023 Report Share Posted August 28, 2023 All the makings of a cracking classic road trip, Tony. Remember to take your tow rope for hitchhikers. Deggers Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tony_C Posted August 28, 2023 Author Report Share Posted August 28, 2023 Brilliant Deggers…… we’ve got flights booked into Geneva and then on down to ‘the old stomping ground’ S of France in a few weeks…… I’m seriously going to look into cancelling the flights and trying the driving ‘option’ instead!…… Should be able to convince the wife as last few recent flights have all been delayed or cancelled and further chaos again today in the news? ! …… What could possibly go wrong? …… The car has not been driven in years and never in Europe but, it went in and out of the garage ok so at least first gear and reverse are fine (also the handbrake works well when it was left on!) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Charlie D Posted August 28, 2023 Report Share Posted August 28, 2023 38 minutes ago, Tony_C said: …… What could possibly go wrong? …… I used to have to carry stuff around Europe when I worked for EMI pre EU days. The paperwork needed at every border was quite horrendous, and often EMI had got it wrong causing delays, passports confiscated and fines. I would have thought it would be similar these days again since Brexit. Do you have plates on the car? As you say it is not registered in the UK so I would guess the French might get a bit iffy about what you were doing with it. Also the Swiss might ask a few questions. I do have previous experience of such things. I once crossed into Switzerland in a Volvo estate and was stopped at a remote border crossing. The car was disassembled (2+ hours) and half put back together again (Handed a box of bits that the border guard had removed but could not work out where they went). Eventually they told me to go back to France to get the paperwork in order. A similar fate happened in my TR3A in Germany. Again my car was pulled apart and almost wrecked. I was questioned for several hours and eventually got the TR back but they refused to let me have the number plates. Being stuck in the middle of Wiesbaden with no number plates caused all sorts of problems. Worth looking into any potential trouble in that respect first. Charlie. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stuart Posted August 28, 2023 Report Share Posted August 28, 2023 If you want a personal recommendation then I have used this guy Graham Eldrige several times, no fuss just does it and properly and securely, well used to International transport. https://www.coveredcars.co.uk/ Stuart. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tony_C Posted August 28, 2023 Author Report Share Posted August 28, 2023 Thanks Stuart, certainly looks good and I will check it out. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Deggers Posted August 28, 2023 Report Share Posted August 28, 2023 7 hours ago, Tony_C said: . . . it went in and out of the garage ok . . . As a wise Chinese fella once said, "a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single . . . drive in and out of the garage". The P1800's make for a great grand tourer (and the seats are more comfortable than the ones in an airport departure lounge). Regular oil changes and genuine Volvo parts, and they'll keep ticking along forever. Just ask Irv Gordon. Deggers Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tony_C Posted August 29, 2023 Author Report Share Posted August 29, 2023 Enjoyed that, thanks Deggers………. ‘. Logic’ would suggest a transporter and stick with the flights…… However, most of the fun things in my life have always come from giving things a go spontaneously…… I’ll see what the wife says? - she used to happily go through snow blizzards and storms all over Europe (& the wider world on boats ) in the 4pot TR’S before we were married: albeit, that was quite a few years ago! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Charlie D Posted August 29, 2023 Report Share Posted August 29, 2023 I still don't understand how, if you can't drive the car in the UK unless you use trade plates, you can drive the car in France and Switzerland without a European equivalent. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tony_C Posted August 29, 2023 Author Report Share Posted August 29, 2023 Car is going to be imported into Switzerland Charlie, you get a period to do all the paperwork and technical stuff (MOT type test) once the vehicle arrives.. Therefore, as per your previous post, "getting stopped at the CH border" would actually be a genuine bonus as you would get most of the import process out of the way immediately (my experience of this however, is that it is very difficult to convince them to carry out this part of their job ). - Apparently some folks crossing borders are looking how best not to pay taxes on imports; my approach is the opposite, I want to pay straight away on the border… Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Charlie D Posted August 29, 2023 Report Share Posted August 29, 2023 Tony, Thank you for the explanation. Obviously you know more about it than me. Good luck with the adventure. Definitely the most enjoyable way to get it there is to drive it yourself. I would guess transportation from Dover to Geneva would be £2000+, so driving would be a bonus there as well. 33 minutes ago, Tony_C said: ...some folks crossing borders are looking how best not to pay taxes on imports... Greece had a good way to stop people avoiding paying taxes on imported cars. When you drove a vehicle into the country the details were stamped into the back of your passport. If you tried to leave the country without the car you had to pay any import duty or else they would not let you leave. This proved difficult for me once when I took a convertible London Taxi, which was stolen a month later. Never did see it again. (And the insurance had run out the week before!) Going through passport control a few months later was a tense time involving my girlfriend flirting with the officer as I handed him my passport, and telling him what lovely hands he had as he flipped through the pages. It worked. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tony_C Posted August 29, 2023 Author Report Share Posted August 29, 2023 Thanks Charlie, although not sure if I really know any more….. My occasionally hard earned experience has shown what appears to be black and white in theory (hopefully we can still use that term in the correct context here ?) turns out various shades of grey in practice the further south you go across Europe …. Prices, somewhat surprisingly, are coming in starting just below £1k… this will need further checking out as I cannot see much of a margin there- unless of course they want to fill / subsidise a return trip? Thanks for sharing your Greek London taxi story.- How could they not find that again, it would stick out like the proverbial sore thumb just about anywhere!!1?? ……. I’ll certainly keep an eye out for it on my subsequent trips to Greece….. I go once or twice a month on average and genuinely love it, I work directly with the Shipping ‘Billionaire Families and owners’ and - back to the ‘shades of grey’ above - across the board they all pride themselves on being .. shall we say in Corporate speak… ‘tax defensible’ ; it is ingrained ever since the neighbour tried to enforce it all those years ago…. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tony_C Posted August 31, 2023 Author Report Share Posted August 31, 2023 On 8/28/2023 at 10:13 PM, Deggers said: As a wise Chinese fella once said, "a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single . . . drive in and out of the garage". The P1800's make for a great grand tourer (and the seats are more comfortable than the ones in an airport departure lounge). Regular oil changes and genuine Volvo parts, and they'll keep ticking along forever. Just ask Irv Gordon. Deggers Hi Deggers, great video but if you watch carefully the steering wheel appears to swop between left and right hand drive!….. Has Irv actually got a couple of them, or is something ‘tricky’ in the filming? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lebro Posted August 31, 2023 Report Share Posted August 31, 2023 Been through it slowly - It's two different cars - the LHD one has extra chrome bars over the bumpers (front & rear) the other does not. Bob Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Deggers Posted August 31, 2023 Report Share Posted August 31, 2023 1 hour ago, Tony_C said: . . . if you watch carefully the steering wheel appears to swop between left and right hand drive . . . Ah yes, well spotted Tony. Yep, as Bob suggests, there are several different 1800's featured: Irv's car, plus a couple of others in the Volvo showroom. Maybe they just flew him in for the interview? Keep us posted on whether you decide to transport or road trip your own Volvo Tony. Whichever you choose, I'd be interested to hear how you get on. Cheers, Deggers Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tony_C Posted September 3, 2023 Author Report Share Posted September 3, 2023 Sorry for the ‘silence’ Deggers…. Have hit a couple of ‘bump’s’ along the way…. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Deggers Posted September 3, 2023 Report Share Posted September 3, 2023 Hopefully just a few niggling logistical 'bumps' Tony, rather than a physical one ?? All the best with it, hope you're able to iron them out soon. Deggers Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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