European ZR-1 Gathering

[nelson007]

Here is some info my friend gave me. He is the VP of the Bayern Corvette Club.
My biggest problem was trying to get an insurance provider in Germany without haveing the car inspected. I could not take a chance to get there and have some problem where it would sit for a few months.
i was in the market anyway for a new car, so I order an Audi. they provide me a German tag and 89 days of insurance and is good all over Europe and down to Greece.


German requirements

You have to pay a so-called customs security guarantee. That is in case you sell the car in Germany or stay longer then six months. The guarantee sum is normally 10% of the car value. Summarized: you can go with your license plate, you have to procure liability insurance, you have to pass customs and maybe pay a security guarantee and you must leave Germany within six months. The guy of ADAC also told me to ask for regulations six weeks prior to the import again because regulations may change during a year.
He also said that after 30 days you would have to have your car inspected and than past the emission test. You also have to pay 19% VAT. This would be returned to me after the car was shipped. They would not give me a time on how long it would take to receive the VAT back.

A neighbor who has a 73 Corvette told me this.
It is not required to change tail lights in Germany. I changed the one you saw in the video to the Original ones. The only thing to do is to adjust additional cat's eyes. - You can go with a German license plate to any other country. The only thing I need as a "green card" which is an additional insurance paper which shows the agreement of my insurance company to travel abroad. - Corvettes have to pass inspections every other year after their first inspection in Germany. They also need to pass a emission inspection which is really hard to get. Every time we do it we have to turn down the the revolution speed to a minimum which makes the engine wiggling and wobbling and shaking the car like a wild horse in a rodeo. First thing after being back from the inspection is turning up the revs to a normal status which is about 800 revs per minute.
I took the 73 to South Tyrol in the Alps and did not change anything. But the petrol consumption went up to about 7 gallons for about 60 miles. Normal consumption is about 4 gallons. - Of course Germans like old and new Corvettes. I recognized envy especially in big towns like Munich but as soon as you are outside Munich people love to see and hear Corvettes. And Germans love to touch cars. When you have polished the car and go for a show you will have fingerprints all over the car after only an hour. - There are 4 C4's ZR1s in Germany, that I know of one also in our club, the Corvette Club Bayern. - I think the vettes Germans like most are C1 to C3. - There are quite a lot Corvette clubs in Europe, the Corvette Club Bayern is the oldest one. - You can find high octane petrol in Germany up to 100 octane. - It is not so easy to rent a suitable garage in and around Munich. But I promise if you need to store your Corvette somewhere for a longer time and not on your farm we definitely will find a place. It's just asking the guys in our club.

Nelson007