18 March 2006
Camper Van Mayhem
A week or so ago we got some fairly disapointing news. A friend's relative who lives in France, had initially agreed back in January to lend us their campervan/motorhome for the 4 months we would be in mainland Europe. We had always intended to buy a campervan for our mainland Europe, but that arrangement would mean we wouldn't have to worry about the major hassle of finding the right one, registering it and then selling it at the end. In addition, non EU residents such as us, cannot register motor vehicles in Europe, which means to buy one you have to be creative.
Anyway, despite our offer to pay them a borrowing "fee" plus pay for any servicing, breakdown and damage, the friend's relatives changed their mind later in January and decided they only want to lend it to us for up to 2 months. We thought about this and decided we could live with three months, which would enable us to fly to further away places like Turkey and Bulgaria for a few weeks at the end of the trip. So, we wrote a nice, hand written letter, translated into French to plead for 3 months. Unfortunately, their concerns remained (after all, they don't know us), and wanted to limit it to 1 month. This is very generous, but unfortunately does not suit our needs.
So, we have to find another solution. And we think we have one. A company called Turner Cars and Campers in Amsterdam offers a form of buy back option (actually they agree to sell it on consignment if you buy it from them), vehicle registration and green card insurance service; http://www.dutchcampervans.com/ Suprisingly, this appears to be the only option in mainland Europe. We have had lots of very positive feedback about the company. So we are currently corresponding with them to source a campervan to suit our needs and budget. Hope it works out...
Anyway, despite our offer to pay them a borrowing "fee" plus pay for any servicing, breakdown and damage, the friend's relatives changed their mind later in January and decided they only want to lend it to us for up to 2 months. We thought about this and decided we could live with three months, which would enable us to fly to further away places like Turkey and Bulgaria for a few weeks at the end of the trip. So, we wrote a nice, hand written letter, translated into French to plead for 3 months. Unfortunately, their concerns remained (after all, they don't know us), and wanted to limit it to 1 month. This is very generous, but unfortunately does not suit our needs.
So, we have to find another solution. And we think we have one. A company called Turner Cars and Campers in Amsterdam offers a form of buy back option (actually they agree to sell it on consignment if you buy it from them), vehicle registration and green card insurance service; http://www.dutchcampervans.com/ Suprisingly, this appears to be the only option in mainland Europe. We have had lots of very positive feedback about the company. So we are currently corresponding with them to source a campervan to suit our needs and budget. Hope it works out...
