moving to germany need advice

[boynamedsue]

i'm getting ready to move to germany in the next 6 months i'm looking for info on what's legal for lifted xj. also parts avalability, as i'm building in the states before the move and will need replacement parts in the future ( ie. tires, re joints, axle shafts, u-joints, ect.....) please help, thanxs

 

[8Mud]

Re: moving to Germany need advice

Lifts and such have to be approved and documented, at the inspection station. In fact most any mod has to be inspected, documented and entered into the vehicle registration papers. Most of the guys that mod, build sleepers and put the add ons where it doesn't show as much (and take them off before inspection). If your going over in the military, they have there own inspection stations and things are a bit more flexible.
If you are coming over as a civilian, don't lift till you get here, depending on the mood of the inspector, even with the proper documentation, approval can be an iffy thing. You can easily double the price of your lift, if you have to get a dealer or a garage to approve/inspect it and supply the documentation. Pro Comp, Rancho and some others have gone through the trouble of getting blanket approval for there products (but you need the documentation papers, that come with the kit). Some manufactures stuff is installed and approved on a case by case basis. Rubicon Express is getting more popular, but I'm not sure if there stuff has been generally approved or needs an engineer to sign off on each individual installation or not. Point is, it's iffy and often depends on which inspection station your going to and whether they've seen the mod before etc.
Parts aren't really a problem anymore, there are various outlets, though they are expensive. One supplier ( http://www.asp-eberle.de/ ) does next day UPS delivers and uses mostly Crown automotive parts and has a pretty good stock of stuff, right down to complete and individual parts for the transfer etc. The site is also in English, a dollar is about 4/5 of a Euro, so you can get an idea of the prices.
Whenever you get over here, I can supply you with enough outlets, so you have some choice, in selection.
I usually have my daughter put together a care package from the states and keep normal consumables on the shelf in the garage, you can save a bunch that way.
If your coming over as a civilian, the import duties, the required headlight change and other stuff to meet the Euro standards and the documentation to pass inspection are a whole other can of worms.
Whomever ships your XJ can help you out with that. If a private company is sending you over, along with vehicle shipping, get them to spring for the Euro changeover also, which can add up to $600 (or double that) or more. Which can also be arranged through the shipper, usually.
Military are allowed to run with USA spec vehicles. State department and others aren't and have to change over to Euro standard lighting etc.
The whole thing will make you dizzy and changes often.

 

[boynamedsue]

hey man thanx for the info. i am in the military so some of that doesnt apply but it's still good info to have. i was planning on fabbing up my own suspension but it looks like that'll be a big headache. i'm thinking rubicon express now. once again thanx for the info. anyone else??

what would they say about rockkrawler's 4.5 long arm kit??

 

[OT]

hey man thanx for the info. i am in the military so some of that doesnt apply but it's still good info to have. i was planning on fabbing up my own suspension but it looks like that'll be a big headache. i'm thinking rubicon express now. once again thanx for the info. anyone else??

what would they say about rockkrawler's 4.5 long arm kit??

When I was stationed in Germany, we fabbed alot.
Like he said, on-base inspections are MUCH more lax.
I say do what you need to do, keep it street legal, put mud flaps on, keep the tires under flares, and not worry too much about it.

 

[RichP]

Whats the time limit for running his colorado plates ? Does he even have to register it in germany ?

 

[8Mud]

Re: moving to Germany need advice

Whats the time limit for running his Colorado plates ? Does he even have to register it in Germany ?

Things change, but now on days, if the military ships, they bring most of the vehicles to your front door (almost). And require you to go through processing, vehicle inspection and change over to military plates as part of the process.
I've seen a lot of guys, that shipped there own vehicles over, ran stateside plates for a year or more ( I ran California plates for three years, but that was long ago). An international drivers license is also a plus, but the military issues there own licenses. Some states have reciprocal agreements with Germany, A Virginia Drivers License is as good as gold here, there are others. As people learn to work the system, the locals make corrections, so things change.
Supposedly if you get an extended Visa (as a civilian), you are supposed to change your plates over, to German. The status of force agreements, with the Germans, allow the military to administer there own inspections and issue licenses, but the Germans have been trying to chip away at this, forever.

 

[Eagle]

AAA issues international drivers permits for $10 to cover the cost of the photo. Since they are the approved source/issuer in the U.S. they do this for anyone -- you don't need to be a AAA member.

But keep in mind that the international permit is NOT a "driver's license." It is a supplement to your home state driver's license, rendering it valid in other countries. You cannot legally carry only the international permit, it says right in/on it that it is valid only when accompanied by a current license issued in your native country.

The ones issued by AAA are multi-page, passport-size document valid for a maximum of one year. There is a law enforcement supply company that offers two styles of wallet size card, one that can have any expiration date you want filled in and one that has no space for an expiration date. The site is www.nles.com -- however, I am skeptical of how well these cards would go over. The actual AAA version is printed in a boatload of different languages (which is why so many pages) and will contain a page that can be read virtually anywhere in the world. German is one of the languages. The wallet card is printed only in English. It might be a useful supplement but I don't think I would trust it alone. If you go to that web site, look for item numbers C17 and C131.