I am in the Air Force and thinking of putting in for orders to Germany. The military will only ship 1 vehicle. Both of my cars were made in Germany so getting parts and service is not an issue. The only difference between the Passat and my 300SD is gas vs. diesel. I know that premium gas is expensive due to high taxes. Does anyone know if diesel is just as expensive. I am just entertaining the idea of having to make a choice of which car to bring if I did get orders. It would be nice to have a model of a MB that wasn't sold there, as in the case of my 300SD. On the other hand my Passat was designed to do 130 mph where as the diesel isn't really design for those type of speeds.

__________________
1999 MB SL500 (110,000 mi)
2004 Volvo V70 2.5T (220,000 mi)
2014 Tesla Model S 85 (136,000 mi)
MBCA member

Rick,

I spent about 7 weeks in Europe in 2000, mostly in Germany. Diesel and gasoline were both about $4.50 per gallon at the German gas stations. The Deutsche Mark fluctuates and so does the gas price, but maybe that gives you an idea.

I agree with the previous poster, the streets are narrow and you even find an Audi A4 too big sometimes, but on the Autobahn the SD would be great.

I was in the Army in Germany from April '69 to May '71. At that time we got ration books at the PX that we could use at any Esso service station in Germany. We exchanged the coupons from the book for petrol. Using the coupons gave us gas for about 23 cents per gallon, buying gas at a German station without the coupons, it cost about 60 cents per gallon. There may be some sort of program still available for the military which will provide fuel for you at a reduced cost.

If I were young and in the military and had a chance to go to Germany, I would probably hurt someone who was innocently in the way while I was jumping to sign the papers. I was extremely fortunate to go to Germany in those years instead of Vietnam. As it worked out, I only did a 90 day TDY in Vietnam that only actually lasted about 7 weeks.

My suggestion, go to Germany and spend every weekend enjoying seeing the beautiful country and take time to make friends some of these unique people.

Best of luck,

I have a buddy in the US Army in Germany, and he tells me that he buys fuel on post, as it's subsidized and quite a bit cheaper (close to US prices)

__________________
"If God had meant for us to walk, why did he give us feet that fit car pedals?" Sir Sterling Moss

Michael
2014 E63S Estate
2006 SLK55
1995 E500
1986 Porsche 944 turbo

rick,

Although Hristo is right about europe gas stations not selling diesel, this is not a problem in Germany. Almost all (if not all) the gas stations sell diesel (I never had a problem there).

I do not know about the exact price of fuel in Germany (I don't even know the price in the Netherlands), but I think it will be about 85-90 dollar cents per liter(!). I think the difference between petrol and diesel is not that big.

Germany is filed with audi's, volkswagens and mercedesses. The 300SD like yours will be something completely different on the road (since Germans drive rather new cars); take the BENZ.

greetingz,

__________________
1990 300SL-24
1993 C250D with a minor 600+k kilometer
www.MBenzNL.com(the Netherlands)

I forgot about the narrow streets. Like many people when we think of Germany, we think AUTOBAHN. I know that a nice long run on the autobahn would do the SD some good. I was there for only a week in '97. We were at Rein Main AB in Frankfurt. If I remember correctly, route A5 runs out that way. I do remember vividly traveling along at 135KPH (85 mph) which was the posted speed limit, then we saw the speed limit sign again except this time it had a slash through it. This I was told meant no more speed limit. Unfortunately as we passed that sign, our exit came up.

__________________
1999 MB SL500 (110,000 mi)
2004 Volvo V70 2.5T (220,000 mi)
2014 Tesla Model S 85 (136,000 mi)
MBCA member

If it were me I would check on buying a MB over there, I work with guys that were in the military in Germany and they shipped classic cars over there and made a good deal of money selling them, then they bought a Mercedes (cheep) and shipped it back to USA.

__________________
2000 Ford 7.3 Powerstroke 4x4
2006 Mazda Tribute
1983 Black 300 D (donated to charity)
1993 Teal 300 D (160K) Sold
"I love the smell of burnt diesel fuel in the morning, it smells like ....VICTORY"

Semper Fidelis
USMC 1973-1976

Yeah, everybody says that's the way to go. Buy a '64 Mustang, take it over there, make a killing on selling a "rare" car. With this money, buy a nice European spec MB, BMW or Porsche. The only catch is that you have to buy one that meets our safety regs. to bring it back. The cost to convert one is costly. Now this may not apply to the newer cars, but a while back there were still differences. Now that I think of it, I just read that the current Porsch 911 has a higher ride height due to taller springs, for the USA market. This was only to meet the bumper and headlight height requirements. I know MB are a dime a dozen, hell they use them as them as taxis. For the week that I was there, literally every taxi I saw was a W124. Most of them were, now hold down your lunches, cream colored with brown and white checkered cloth seats.

__________________
1999 MB SL500 (110,000 mi)
2004 Volvo V70 2.5T (220,000 mi)
2014 Tesla Model S 85 (136,000 mi)
MBCA member

Rick,

Not only are many MB's auf Deutscheland equipped with lower trim levels and cloth interiors, most have very small engines. With the cost of fuel, they just don't have very many with the larger engines that are typically imported to the US.

Many of my fellow car nuts in Europe are really puzzled that the US has the big engnines, and they can't use them because of the speed limits. To most of them a turbo 1.8 in a car the size of a Jetta is a hot rod.

Have you decided yet to go to Germany?

Have a great day,

Larry,
Well my wife and I ahve discussed a couple of times. It would be a great experience for our kids. Though they are only 8 and 4, they would still remember living there. It would be a 4 year assignment. All I have to do is go to the assignment office and change my "dream sheet" of what my prefrences are. This doesn't mean I would get an assignment right away. Should an opening come up for my particular career field and rank, then I would get orders. Basicly it's a roll of the dice. The Air Force would obviously send over someone who wants to be there versus those who don't. I talked this over with my neighbor and he said to bring my Passat because it has a 10yr/100,000 mile warranty. The problem with that is the warranty is a VW of America warranty not VW AG. Eitherway I am just toying with the idea right now, gathering info about which car would be the best suited is part of that.

__________________
1999 MB SL500 (110,000 mi)
2004 Volvo V70 2.5T (220,000 mi)
2014 Tesla Model S 85 (136,000 mi)
MBCA member

Rick,

1,75DM (deutsch mark) per liter (!) diesel and 2,15DM per liter (!) petrol...

gruße aus Stuttgart,

__________________
1990 300SL-24
1993 C250D with a minor 600+k kilometer
www.MBenzNL.com(the Netherlands)

rickjordan,

Even if you do not plan on bringing a Euro car back, consider taking something rare or special over there, you can turn a quick profit.

You could go with the old Mustang idea and sell it over there within a week or two (for your price) and pick up something nice! From what I understand, you can make a KILLING on Harley's too. If you took a older Harley over there they will buy it, for double! Do some asking around with any bikers at your base, they will probably concur.

At my last duty station (Ft Lewis, WA) a buddy had a 71' flathead or something like that? He was offered 30k for the bike from German buyers who come to the US looking to take them back, he said his bike was worth about 15k in the US. He turned them down as they actively take older bikes out of circulation and that is something enthusiasts do not like seeing, but I see no harm if that's what you wanted to do.

Could be more than worth your time and effort. Best of all, I believe you can include a Bike as part of your household items if you are not at Max. weight already!

Just a thought.

Greetings,

It's been a few years, granted, and my German spelling shows that. Spent a couple years at Leipheim A.B. about 22 miles from Neu Ulm or looking at the map, in the town of Guntzburg. Loved every minute of it, being single made it even better. They have some nice folks over there. At any rate I purchased my first Benz over there a trusty ole 240D 1977 model that seemed to serve me well. I didn't think much about it being Benz back then, everyone seemed to drive one, like a Ford or chevy here. The car prices seemed so reasonable I couldn't pass on the deal. My personal advice is to sell what you have and go with cash in hand and you'll end up with a decent car and money to boot. I paid $2300 then for a car that was 6 years old without rust and everything inside and out was clean. Didn't have any trouble at all while I was there with the car, and ended up selling to another enlisted for the same as what I paid when I left. Cheap driving while I was there, 0 dollars spent, just oil changes and regular maintenance. Their cars over there are European standard and as such create more H.P. than we could hope for with our U.S. spec vehicles. Trust me on this one, go with cash in hand. I believe the Military still allows you to bring a car back from overseas tax and duty free. Of course it has to be up to EPA specs before entering the States. There were several guys I knew that were bringing new MB back with them. I opted to return with a new Harley and saved $1500 off what the cost would have been here in the States, plus no sales tax to boot. Dollar to DM exchange rate can work in your favor sometimes.
You'll love the food, and if you enjoy beer or wine it doesn't get any better.

Charles

[Edited by can-do on 03-04-2001 at 10:03 AM]