Off to Germany sat morning to pick up my Ebay hardtop

[Z3I]

Bit of an adventure. Leave Dover at 02:45 on sat morning, 450 miles to Germany, then back again for 22:00 ferry to Dover again. Hope the hardtop works out ok. looks mint, and at less than £450 should be a bit of a saving. Got the car insured for beakdown, hope its ok!

[chinchilla]

Road trip!!! sounds like fun mate! and what a saving! ive seen hardtop go for more than twice that

You proble got time to visit amsterdam too

[Steve-E30]

Enjoy the autobahns mate
I go to leer in germany as i have friends out there

[Z3I]

I'm going to Osnabruck. Thats near Amsterdam isn't it?? Near enuf!

[DaveD]

not a bad run 660 miles there and back from calais...but the roads...the lane discipline...its a pleasure...have a good time

[Z3I]

Whats with the roads? All easy I hope! Anyone know the rules on the Continent for Tom Tom? If its ok with cameras etc?

[Theo]

The roads in Germany are a joy to drive on compared to the pothole ridden cart tracks we have in this country!

Hope it all goes well for you!

[delboye30]

I was planning on a trip to Germany to get my hardtop around a month ago. In the end decided against it. I bought the hardtop of ebay for £400 + £150 shipping, not bad hey!

[Z3I]

Its costing me £56 for the ferry, £26 for the insurance, say £80 for petrol. plus another £80 spending. That £150 a bargain if you dont fancy a road trip!
Hmmm

[SamE30]

Am jealous, have done a lot of random european roadtrips recently........ Cant beat a good road trip!!

Favourite one so far was driving to Budapest to pick something up..... Did the return journey in one stint!

[spook]

sure beats my two trips up to london this weekend,one to watch another away win, the other on sunday to pick up a double oven

[GDBN]

I did Copenhagen to near Dortmund last January to pick up mine .. think I paid 515 euro for it.
Paid Hertz 20 quid for a van for the day ... forget how much diesel was.
Wasn't fun getting stuck in a blizzard on the way home ... no chance for you.

Have fun .. one thing to be wary of .. their postcodes don't always match up.
I printed out the route before I left ... the actual address was about 5 miles away.

G

[Gwynleym10]

Whats with the roads? All easy I hope! Anyone know the rules on the Continent for Tom Tom? If its ok with cameras etc?

Is it not true that these are illegal in France? and can be confiscated on the spot? Probably wrong but worth checking!

Are you going in your convertible? Don't let any stone chips damage it if you do!

[DaveD]

I was planning on a trip to Germany to get my hardtop around a month ago. In the end decided against it. I bought the hardtop of ebay for £400 + £150 shipping, not bad hey!

who shipped it for you?

[Brianmoooore]

Its costing me £56 for the ferry, £26 for the insurance, say £80 for petrol. plus another £80 spending. That £150 a bargain if you dont fancy a road trip!
Hmmm

Stop off at Adinkerke on the way back will refund your £150 and more, of course!

[DaveD]

[Brianmoooore]

B&H

[Z3I]

Yep, I'm going in the convertible, can't say I'm overkeen to be putting another 1000 miles to its low 39,000, but thats what its for. Did look into hiring a van, but big premiums in the UK to take it abroad, so that ruled out the idea. Hopefully weather will be ok, I 'm allowing myself lots of time, so can stop off when I like.
Whats the B & H? Nothing illegal surely?
I wont use the Tom Tom in France just in case. Its a fairly easy route anyway, should be an easy road trip!

I'll take some photos etc, work out MPG out of interest etc and post it later.

I'm off...

[Z3I]

SamE30, Budapest? Thats a serious road trip...

[Brianmoooore]

No problem with any GPS equipment in France - it's radar detectors that are illegal.
French camera positions are printed on my paper map, and can't see any problem with them on a GPS based machine.
Don't even consider taking a van! Continental roads are still what motoring is all about. Don't stick to the motorways all the time either, if you have time.

[Brianmoooore]

B&H

If you park up in the small village of Adinkerke, you will be in the company of at least 50 other British trucks and cars, and I don't think they're all there because they like Belgian chocolate!

[gazza]

not meant to be a silly question but is you cab "hard top prepared"....you dont want to get there and find it cant be fitted because the fittings are not there on your car .......give the dealer your chassis and the build sheet will tell if it was fitted at the factory

[SamE30]

Yeah Budapest was a fair old trek...... Had to go pick up a load of posters as it was cheaper for the guy to pay for us to drive there stay in a hotel and drive back than delivery?? Dont ask?

We took his car which was a citroen Xantia 1.8 on LPG...... Managed to max it out on a downhill section of the unrestricted Autobahn at a photo proved 133mph....... Mighty impressive from the french barge.

Drive back was all in one go.. we only stopped for fuel and toilet breaks and to swap drivers.. Lots of redbull consumed... Think we did it in 18 hours in the end...

Others have included the annual Le Mans Pilgrimage and last summer I did the Student Gumball Rally in my old Volvo 340!!

[DaveD]

not meant to be a silly question but is you cab "hard top prepared"....you dont want to get there and find it cant be fitted because the fittings are not there on your car .......give the dealer your chassis and the build sheet will tell if it was fitted at the factory

I was under the impression that it came as standard on uk cars

[Z3I]

Yeh Gazza, I was also under impression that all UK cabs were fitted with the fitting kit in place for the hardtop. Anyway, still had to recheck, and its there ok. Phew!
Still got to get a GB plate and those headlamp converter things, so off to Halfords later.
Will be checking if Adinkerke is on the way, just to see whats there!
And, Budapest-Uk in one go, thats a serious Road Trip for Europeans. In the US its normal, Oz too, but not us. Sounds like fun though!
Just checked the weather for this weekend, and it seems its goiung to be nice n sunny for the trip. Rain here to clear up later, then off round M25 at say 10ish towards Dover.

[E3OBM]

that £26 insurance is it an extra cover from your existing policy or did you buy the insurance of some broker on the net,

and is it £56 for each person or for the car

[Brianmoooore]

!
Still got to get a GB plate and those headlamp converter things, so off to Halfords later.
.

You don't need plebish headlamp converters - you have a BMW! The lights adjust fully to RH dip!
Don't need a GB sticker either if your number plates are the modern type.
Adinkerke is on the old coast road (N1?) to Dover (half a mile off the motorway), just inside the Belgian border.

[SamE30]

Was gonna say I didnt think you needed Headlamp projection converters, I was under the impresion that you can adjust the headlights on the E30's

[Z3I]

E30Bm, the £56 is the total cost on P&O ferries for the car, out saturday 02:45, back sunday 22:45 with 2 passengers. Not bad I thought, but you have to pick unsocial hours for those prices. Off-peak they call them.
The £26 is for extra breakdown insurance also from P&O, which covers most events. Car has to be under 15 years old by the way. Other than that, theres the green card which is free with insurance I have.
Might get away with £200 all in, which doesn't make it a bargain, but still less than UK prices, plus you get a free road trip!
Thanks for the info Brian. I still have the original K plates on my car as you can see in the avatar, so will purchase the GB plate. Do I have to adjust headlamps in the car? Wasn't there a time too that France insisted on those dreadful yellow lights.? Ive got bulbs, warning triangle and a first aid kit.

[Brianmoooore]

Lights adjust be loosening three small screws on the back of the dipped headlamp units, rotating them slightly over a stop, and tightening the screws again. Easy on the RH lamp (lift the washer bottle out of the way), but ABS pump inhibits access on the left. Still a five minute job though.

[powelly]

Sorry, slightly off topic but......

Z3I, i just noticed you`re based in Weybridge, I work in Weybridge for Glass`s guide and my girlfriend was born and raised here too, come to think of it most of my our friends live round here. Can`t say I have ever seen your car out and about though.
Have a good time on your road trip, we drove back from Frascati in Italy in one hit (1200 miles) after the Staples 2 Naples rally last year, was a good crack if not tiring, do you have a passenger, could get pretty loneley if not.

[delboye30]

I was planning on a trip to Germany to get my hardtop around a month ago. In the end decided against it. I bought the hardtop of ebay for £400 + £150 shipping, not bad hey!

who shipped it for you?

I work for TNT mate

[jone23]

I've gotta drive to Zell am See (sp?) in Austria in a 13.5m long coach tomorrow. Would be good fun but i've got the worst cold ever!

You lot are right though the roads on the continent are soooo buch better than ours. Its quite amusing watching the Germans fly past on the autobahn when i'm limited to 62 mph.

[gazza]

re the preparation for hard top im not sure if all cars get it but there was an article on the zone about a year ago from a zoner who bought a hard top to find he did not have the fitting kit and was in a rush to get the bits .............z3i just take loads of gaffer tape and stick it down if all else fails

[ChrisBarns]

it was this thats frightened me - can i check mine is hardtop prepared by by looking at the car?