PCS to Germany

[B52guy]

I will be leaving for Germany soon.

Does anyone know what if anything I need to do get my 01 Jetta ready to go. Fog lights Front and Rear? Parking light on left side front and rear? Upgraded injectors so I can keep up on the Autobahn ?

 

[DieselJeff]

Make sure everything inspectable is in great shape. You've never been through a vehicle inspection until it's done in Germany. In 1998 they tore up my 1995 Camaro and made me fix a bunch of stuff that passed inspection stateside. Their safety inspection is much more involved than here in the states in my experience. Other than that maybe get a Rocketchip tune before you go. Either way you'll be fine and able to keep up. We always cruised along at 120mph or so and didn't get left behind.

 

[B52guy]

Gettin ready

I heard that they are really tough on anything that even looks like a leak. I can handle that; the only leak I had was a fuel leak at the fuel filter valve and a new fuel filter valve took care of that. I'll also wipe up any [FONT=&quot]remnants [/FONT]of oil spilled while changing the filter.

I haven't really found anything that states what will be inspected. Safety stuff; tires, glass, emergency road markers, first aid kits, sure but what other mechanical stuff should I look at before I go? Is it an annual inspection?

Thanks!

 

[c17chief]

Spang or Ramstein?

 

[B52guy]

Ramstein if all goes well. Right now I have an unofficial notice.

 

[crimsonguard6]

I'm headed right down the road from you (Heidelberg). I've heard some horror stories about inspections but I plan to get the engine/undercarraige steam cleaned prior to shipping so if there are some leaks I can get them fixed now. I figure if they look at it and it's real clean looking they hopefully won't look to close at it. I haven't seen the car yet as I'm still deployed and bought it to replace the gas guzzling Trailblazer the wife is driving.

 

[AMMOENDI]

Germany Bound

Hello B52Guy, I was stationed at Bitburg and Spangdahlem, 1990-1995, and although you may think the inspections are tuff, they aren't that bad. Yes they do look at your car thoroughly but it is mainly for the safety aspects of the vehicle. They look at the tires, lights, body condition (to see if you have any bad rust, and some even test drive them to make sure that your brakes are in good repair. Although having front and rear fog lights is not a must I would recommend getting them. Ramstein and other sections of Germany get some heavy fog and having those added features may save your life. Hope you have fun over there. I know I sure did when I was over there.
Ammo Endi

 

[jjcsnlynn]

If it's anything like England, there is a minimum set of items they MUST look at and then the garage has 'pet peave' items they focus on. I had one garage that would fail every American car on rusted brake lines and emergency brakes (brakes were measured on a machine, so maybe not a pet peave).

Another garage would always fail American cars for turnsignals that didn't blink at the same rate as UK cars.

Good luck. Enjoy Germany. It's a great country.

 

[B52guy]

Lights

I have been digging through the threads to try to figure out what I have to do the get the various lights to work. I sure with it was listed in a "single How to."

The rear fogs look pretty simple, a "Euro stitch, a wire and a bulb.

Since mine didn't come with front fogs I am still figuring that one out. I'm looking for a set of lights off of one that came with fog lights stock.

But I have not seen anything on how to make the parking light work. Or what ever you call that one that must be left on all night if parking in certain areas.

At the very least I'll to the rear fogs.

 

[Wasserpest]

See if they require headlight leveling systems or if that only applies to new cars that are sold over there.

 

[B52guy]

Rear Fog MOD-- Suggestions

I guess that I'll go ahead and do the rear fog light Mod. I just have to search around and figure out who has a good switch, and not the Chinese crap.

Any Suggestions?

 

[Drivbiwire]

RMS!!!!!!!!!!! Man I go thru there ALL THE TIME!

Send me a PM, I stay local there and I will be there in two weeks.

Lots of US cars running around there. Plenty to see but bad news, the Autobahn has been torn up with road construction...good luck getting much above 120 (Kmh ).

Let me know when you are showing up and I will keep you in the loop and we can head out to the Irish Pub, then the Tree Bar (I think its still open) followed by a drunking excursion to the New York for a KaBob! That usually soothes the pain of a hard night

Get hooked up on Skype ASAP.

 

[owr084]

Just sell or store your car before you leave. You have so many choices of diesels that you can't find over here. Then before you leave, get an American spec diesel shipped home. Have fun and enjoy this assignment - you know darn well that B-52 folks rarely get overseas assignments that don't involve a place surrounded by water for a period of less than a year

 

[c17chief]

Ramstein if all goes well. Right now I have an unofficial notice.

My second home since the mid 90's. I'm sure I probably have several years easily there when you combine all the TDY's. haha. Man has that place really changed over the years too!

 

[Drivbiwire]

Well they don't have any "Buffs" at RMS. I can't imagine going from 8 engines down to only 4! Plenty of four holers running around there, if hes going to props he must be in the Navy cause Props are for Boats!

Having spent some time in those certain locations surrounded by water they are really hard to beat! Those snake inspections however are a PITA!

 

[roy1]

Welcome to Germany when you get here. The below link will let you what you need to know for driving in Germany. If you want to download the regulation for that governs all US forces in Europe , then make sure you log in from a you work computer.
http://www.hqusareur.army.mil/rmv/
Also since we have real strict emissions over here your 01 will either receive a red emission sticker or no emission sticker. This will restrict you from entering green zones of cities if it is missing or it is red or yellow. This link will give you the ins and outs of green zones. http://www.umwelt-plakette.de/int_england.php

 

[gojrracing]

Spang or Ramstein?

I think that the Spang is really nice for me.

 

[B52guy]

I took a look at the Green Zone Map and I think that I'll probably leave my Jetta here in the states and pick up something in country. I'll probably leave it with my folks, they could use another car with good MPG, and no car payment.

 

[ShagginWagon]

I was in Germany (Ramstein) for 3 years (2003-2006). I purchased my first VW while I was there. I bought a 1986 1200cc gas engine Golf. The car was great. I bought it on ebay for 300 Euros and drove it for 3 years. When I got back to the states I bought a 2004 Jetta TDI because I loved my German spec Golf so much. I suggest you take your VW with you. Parts there are cheap and you have PLENTY of good mechanics there that can help you out. Or you could go there and buy a brand new VW with American specs and ship it back to the states for free when you PCS. This can save you lots of money when buy a new car there but it really depends on the Euro/Dollar rate because if I remember right you have to pay Euros for the car.

Things to know about the TUV inspection that you will have to do:

-The Germans are big on cars, and they want them to be safe. All safety features must work on the vehicle.
-Tires are one of the biggest features they look for. The tires must have the right amount of tread (sorry I can't remember the amount) and must be matching tires. In other words, you must have the same size and brand tires on each wheel.
-Brakes are tested to make sure you have good stopping power
-Car in Germany WILL rust. They will make sure there is not too much rust on the vehicle
-Exhaust must be within the limits (again, don't know what they are, but your US diesel specs should be well within the euro-specs
-Diesel is (or at least when I was there) MUCH cheaper than gas off base, but not all the bases sell diesel. This may mean you have to buy gas stamps
-Diesel is best for raod trips, so your diesel is a great choice. I filled up in France once and paid 80 Euro to fill my Golf and buy a liter of oil

The German inspection is tough, but the American inspection is a little easier.

If you wanted to make some money when you PCS and not take your car, you should buy a truck to ship over there with you. Small trucks such as a Ranger extended cabs sell for a couple of thousand dollars more there than they do here. You can PCS with a used truck you buy for 3-4K on CraigsList and sell it for 5-6K on base in Germany. Trucks are in low supply and high demand there. Then, if you don't bring back a brand new VW, consider bringing back a Volvo C303 or other vehcile that you can buy pretty easily and cheaply over there and sell it in the states. I made about $5,000 on a C303 I bought in Sweeden and had shipped back for free. You just have to make sure it is old enough that it doesn't have to meet the US regulations when it gets to the states or you'll be paying for it.

I hope all this helps you, and I hope you enjoy Ramstein as much as I did. If you get a nice car while you're there then you should take advantage of all the places you can easily drive to. It only takes about 3-4 hours to get to Paris and you can be all the way to the Czec Republic in about 6-8 hours. The country is beautiful and I'm certain you will enjoy all that it has to offer.