MIR 2022 in Sweden, registration opens tomorrow

Hi Art.
I sent my 1987 Spyder i from New Hampshire to Norway last summer. It will probably be sent out of New Jersey and arrive at Sarpsborg. That is where they have their office, port and ware house. I found them to be really helpful and easy to deal with. Not expencive either. Paid about 2000 dollars for a container freight. They might also have RO-RO shipping. I would call them and make sure that also the tax authorities are happy as all cars entering Europe are subject to import taxes. You should get around that somehow. Just check it early. Let me know if I can help you somehow. I really fancy you send the Bora over. Best of luck!!

https://www.interfreight.no/en/

 

Erik I hope you enjoyed/enjoy your top down spirited driving and touring

One important point to answer your sentence quoted below:

"I would call them and make sure that also the tax authorities are happy as all cars entering Europe are subject to import taxes."

End of quote.

While most cars/vehicles that are shipped from the US and Canada etc to Europe are on one way importation trips it is the right of anyone to travel abroad with his vehicle unless it is a country that specifically forbids that, a totalitarian regime for example (ask the US Billionaire who flew his megayacht's helicopter near the coast of one north African country in the Mediterranean and was intercepted by air force jets! Private helicopters were forbidden there as they are in China where F1 VIP's could not use them to go from Shanghai to the circuit).

If you are taking a car from the US or other country in the Americas to Europe it is no different than a Brit arriving in a ferry boat or through the channel tunnel car train shuttles: you just need to have insurance to drive your vehicle in the European Union.

In the case of vehicles arriving from the Americas or other continents for tourist use that just needs to be specified via the shipper.

It is NOT about the EU tax authorities being happy and you needing their permission like a child or someone in a dictatorship but about having this temporary insurance to be legal on the road in Europe and confirming that the car will not stay past the 6 month limit; that it is NOT a permanent importation or importation at all but a tourist vehicle visiting Europe which is going back to the US or wherever outside the EU it came from.

Here the post I posted in the Travel section in the thread about this topic, I found just the right company in Germany which PROVES there are a lot more people doing this with RV's cars etc:

I looked around and found this German company which seems super professional and can provide you exactly what you need in terms of temporary insurance to drive your US registered car in Europe.

Clearly a lot of people do this, NOT as expensive as is hyped, it makes perfect sense. My early 90's experience remains a great memory, I have to dig out the photos.

http://www.tourinsure.de/en/international-motor-insurance-and-frontier-insurance/car/europe

Needless to say this is not permanent and is limited, most likely to six months after which the vehicle must either go back home or be formally registered in a EU country.

What I did with my 924 Turbo in 1993 is that I enjoyed it for a few months in Europe and then I sold it in Brussels and let the buyer deal with the Florida title and the Belgian bureaucracy as he agreed to.

 

Thanks for the info. Yes it should be no problem, but it is too late if problems arise when the car has arrived, so better to look into it at an early stage. After ISPS were started at the ports, things have changed and there are no room for errors. This is why I just mentioned it. I hope to see more US registered cars in Europe. Always fun to see their registration plated which are more enjoyable than ours here in Europe. In south of France I saw a Gran Turismo with Maryland plates!

 

Tusen Takk Erik,
Dæven, Interfreight ser jo perfekt ut LOL.. mener du at kontaineren din ankom direkte på havna der på Sannesund? Da tar jeg bare drosje dit ned og kjører Bora'en hjem! Herlig .. Når jeg er i Norge bor jeg like ved Skjeberghallen i nærheten Kalabanen... Hvor bor du hen? Bora'en forblir US registrert, og skal fraktes tilbake til New York etterpå, da slipper jeg all fortolling. Jeg har meldt meg inn i AmCar Klubben for å ta fordel av vei-assistanse hvis jeg skulle trenge det. Kanskje NAF også. Tenker å ta en tur til København etter MIR 2022, med får se om jeg har tid. Snakkes!

Thanks Erik,
I'll contact them shortly for a quote. The Bora will remain US registered, and will return to New York after the summer, so I won't be subject to customs, import or sales taxes.

Cheers, Mvh,
- Art

 

Ruh Roh ... They're talking in that Norwegian code again.

 

Hey its better than Noe Jeuhsey chatting

 

hehehe. This was alot of fun. Yes. The container arrives at the port inside Glomma river so you can basically walk down from your house! Here is a picture of my Spyder (W.B.'s favourite car!!) at the dock in Sarpsborg. I myself live at Nesøya just outside Oslo. Came just home after theee years in Villefranche-sur-Mer at the French Riviera where I have been driving unusually much my 550 Maranello and my Chevrolet Avalanche (probably the only one in France). More fun to be home and wrench some Biturbo and look at rust orginated in Modena. Ok, I miss driving to work in Saint-Tropez in the middle of the winter when people back home struggle to scrape the ice of their windshields... But it is good to be home too! I am a bit envious on your Bora expedition. Shout out if you need any kind of assistance. I told Jonas at Interfreight about your project. Hope you don't mind ai post some of my own good experience pics. Your Bora need to have a break from Manhatten rush houre and be here in Europe for a few years so we can race together at cool places to go fast and show off!

All the best,
Erik
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I'm actually half Norwegian but it was never spoken in our home growing up same thing with German, my other half.
Assimilation was stressed in my parent's families.

 

And some more... Classic Maseratis are super rare even in Monaco, the "car country". Can't remember to have seen alot of them. Only one Ghibli Spyder SS at the local car wash in Cap d'Ail... I hope we can catch up and have a lunch at some nice place. I have been exploring Europe quite a lot from behind the steering wheel the last years and I have so many good memories. It is well worth it. And I hope many others from America and other places will do the same. For a modern car, the depreciation in value is alot. Why not ship the car and have some more fun out of it?

 

Hello everyone, I have an update on shipping quotes for information.

Interfreight.no - Newark, NJ to Sarpsborg, Norway by shared container (thank you Erik aka F456M).
$350 - Pick up car and deliver to Newark Terminal.
$1,250 - Transatlantic freight in shared container, including rigging, handling, delivery and secure storage until pickup in Sannesund, Norway.
$484 - Dock handling, toll, and documentation fee.
$825 - Insurance*
$2,909 - Total

*Shipping subtotal without Insurance = $2,084
Return freight-only estimate = $2,000 via RO-RO or $3,000 in a shared container.



Comparison:

JetCarrier.no - Newark, NJ to Halden, Norway by Ro-Ro with a transfer in Bremerhafen, Germany.
$650 - Pick up car and deliver to Newark Terminal.
$1,575 - Transatlantic Ro-Ro freight, including handling and delivery to Halden, Norway.
$100 - Dock handling, toll, and documentation fee.
$2,600 - Insurance*
$4,925 - Total

*Shipping subtotal without Insurance = $2,325 because better rates can be found.
Return freight-only estimate = None available yet.

Other cost estimates:
- Remote scanning highway tolls $200.
- AmCar Club membership with roadside assistance plan and towing $100.
- Roundtrip airfare to Gardemoen/OSL $1,200.

Cheers,
- Art

 

Hi Art. Sounds like you are right on track now. More people should follow your path and do the same thing. To travel a new continent in your own car and then take it back home afterwards is just priceless. I did almost that when I bought my Jag in America, went from Sacramento CA to Miami and Key West FL, and then took it to Norway and cruise around in the same XK8 I cruised up and down Miami Beach in some time earlier...That feel pretty soecial!

 

If you have Hagerty insurance it will cover the car even while on the ship. You still should get a General Average Coverage rider in case the ship burns, drops cargo to the sea, etc. As I learned, when a ship damages or looses cargo all "customers" have to share in the cost even though your car may have not been involved. I paid $160 for the rider through Hagerty when importing the Kyalami from Italy.
Ivan

 

What a great roadtrip, Erik!
Thanks for the tip Ivan, trust you enjoyed Amelia Island..

I'm checking my timeframe to see if I can fit a visit to Copenhagen before heading to the MIR in Sweden. The city is only 2 hours from the MIR via Helsingborg or Malmø..

Europe offers a lot of variety.. Looking forward to France and Switzerland next summer.. Fun stuff.!
- Art

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Every mans's dream is a Toyota Corolla 1,6 l station wagon and a rainy cold Norwegian ferry trip...

 

Hi Art,

Amelia was good, although the 8 hour drive is a bit long for a weekend event. We are spending a couple of nights in Copenhagen before headed to the MIR. Let me know if you decide to go and perhaps we can have a beer in Nyhavn.

Ivan

 

Hey all,
Plans are on schedule for an enjoyable weekend with our Bora in Sweden with the MIR June 30 to July 3rd... and other subsequent driving adventures in Norway await..

Things have worked out well so far.. the Bora was picked up on a flatbed bound for Port of Newark on May 2nd. It took about a week to process the customs documents and get it loaded on a Willenius-Wilhemsen Ro-Ro ship to Bremerhaven, Germany. From there the Bora was transferred to a smaller Ro-Ro for its final leg to Drammen, Norway where it arrived approx June 4th and awaits my arrival on the 17th.

Total shipping costs to date total $2,550. My wife suggested the workaround for not being able to ship any tools, spares, fluids, etc in the car via Ro-Ro: Just pay my airline for an added checked suitcase - weight allowance is 50lbs each - so I am able to bring everything I wanted.

I bought round trip airfare on SAS at a sweet spot, so only $900 spent on that..

I will start working on return shipping quotes tomorrow.. expect an added $1,000 premium for Ro-Ro but might splurge on a shared container if I decide to ship extra purchases back.

My own insurer wrote me a collision and damage rider for the duration of the trip, three months to be on the safe side, at no cost.
.. and an insurance agency in Germany suggested by Marc www.tourinsure.de wrote me the necessary liability policy for 408.75Euro.

I joined a vintage car club and NAF - the Norwegian equivalent of AAA - for services and roadside assistance.. about $100 each for a year membership. I used a Norwegian online portal to register my US license plate to be read by Scandinavian toll scanners that automatically bill my MasterCard, so tolls are taken care of.
.. and finally and most importantly...
I hooked up with the Norsk Maserati Klubb with whom I'll drive with starting Wednesday afternoon - they've organized about 15 Norwegian Maseratis and Maseratisti for an overnight stop near Grebbestad, a cute tourist town on the coast..

Erik, are you among that group?
Ivan, I won't be able to meet up with you and your wife in Copenhagen... but it will be super fun to see you both in Båstad!

Cheers!
- Art

 

Thanks for the update Art, please post photos of when you pick it up at the harbor and thereafter, have fun

 

We want some dramatic fiord shots with the Bora and reindeer ... oh we have to have lots of reindeer! LOL
If you run into a fellow Maseristi named Jarle, I know ... how unique, say hello for me. We've known each other on the internet for almost 20 years. He's Norwegian , owns a Biturbo and a QPIII plus he's a body builder so he kind of stands out. Use my internet handle he knows it well.

 

Hi Art.
Really nice to read about your adventure. I am happy things work out for you! I started the Norwegisn Masersti Club with Jarle and three car nuts in 2003, so I should be more active. Now I have two Maseratis, a 1987 Biturbo Spyder i 2,5 from the US and a Swiss version 1990 228i which I have lost all documents for so impossible to register... So none are operative and I work day and night with s boat lift I have designed. Hopefully a good business so I can buy more non running trident cars... I am not in a group like that at the moment. Would be great fun though. Depending on how much time you got, a trip from Båstad to Stockholm could be fun for you. I really love Stockholm. And then to Geiranger in north west of Norway. Super scenic. And continue and see the south coast too (should always be seen from the sea). You can also take a beautiful coast cruise with "Hurtigruta" ferry and bring the car with you on board. I believe it goes as far south as as to Stavanger before it returns northbound again. But bring gas money. It is completely crazy now. About 3 dollar for one liter. Today I fueled my Chevrolet Avalanche for 500 crowns, about 60 dollars and the low level light was still on! I sell American speed boats with monster engines for a living, and that market has come to a complete stop here.

Please post some photos of your trip. South of Sweden is very flat, and Norway has more terrain. Both good in its own ways.
Erik

 

Just a few days till MIR 2022 starts after the three year Covid delay, I so wish I could be there but have to be at Le Mans Classic itself the first edition in four years.

That was a VERY hard choice to make.

Please post plenty of photos and share the fun, 90 plus Masers only happens at MIR events and last time it was in Sweden, also in Baastad, in 2010, I was there and it was fabulous!

 

Sunset in Bastad, Sweden

Ivan
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This was my ride on the rally. The Mistral drove beautifully! Great weather and great roads.

Ivan
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