Today was a superior day! So yesterday, I had rented the Fiat 500 for the week, when I got back to the hotel and checked my mail, guess what, I had a letter saying my car was available for pick up. Now that figures doesn’t it? I should be used to it, but when it happens, it still surprises me. That dog-gone Irish luck… or maybe it’s Donnelly luck, hmm. I let Tom know the car was in and he graciously agreed to help me take care of the processing. I spent the evening organizing my papers so I would have everything handy-proof of insurance from back home along with title and registration, checkbook, and my POV drop-off papers. Oh, and my German drivers license (temporary) along with the completed form to register the vehicle. Of course, don’t forget, I also have to drop off the rental. So I drive up to the ESSO station, this car is not registered so I can’t get the cheep rates. I put the E4.06 a liter gas in and pay the piper, and then head back to Heinerberg to park the rental in the Enterprise lot – they don’t open until 10 and I got places to go. Tom met me and drove me over to the insurance place to get insurance. The woman that helped us was fantastic and really made for a great start to the day. A grand+ later, I’m walking out with my insurance card in hand, and Tom even got a couple discounts for referring a new customer. We then drove over to the Vehicle pick up place, which is on the 4th kasern/post/base in the local Wiesbaden area. It is a 4-part process to pick-up and register your vehicle. First – Go to the Vehicle Registration office and get a temporary tag. You must have your proof of insurance, your previous registration and title, the completed application for registering a vehicle, and a lot of patience. You sign in and they eventually call your name. The office opens at 7:30 I believe, so we were there about an hour after they opened. You receive your temporary tags. Be nice to these people, you’ll be back in just a little while. Second – Take your plates to the building next door and show them along with your outbound vehicle inspection form to the gentlemen (cough, cough) at the desk. These men will take you to wherever your car is, mount the plates, and walk with you while you inspect the vehicle for damage during transit. Mine looked good. The key fob was dead, but I had a spare . Third – drive your car out of the holding facility and (if you are me) get in a long line (10 cars) of people who are also getting their vehicles inspected. This is why you have the temporary tags, so you can legally drive in the long line. (Not really, it’s in case you fail the inspection and have to have work done on the vehicle.) About 3 hours later, the inspection is completed; I passed. Woohoo. Fourth and final – Now you move your car to a parking place, remove the temporary tags, and take them back to office number 1, the Vehicle Registration Office. (When you are next in line for inspection, you should go back into this office and sign in-yes again.) You wait in this office until they call your name, take your plates to the man at the counter, and turn them in along with your “I passed inspection” form. He’ll ask you to sign various items and eventually hand you a set of new plates for your vehicle. - To register for one year it is $30.00 for two years it is $60.00; the paper they handed out had erroneous information on it. Are you surprised? I’m not. Now you have your plates and your car and all is right with the world, but wait, you now get to drive your car to get it washed – it’s a free service they offer and you should take advantage of it. Afterwards, you will need to head back over to Heinerberg and get a gas card. You take your identification card, a credit card, and your registration form in to the 24-hour gas station and the man at the desk eventually gives you a blue gas card, which you can use at any of the base gas stations or at any ESSO station. Fill up your car and call it a day. But wait, I have to go take care of turning the rental back in, so, well that’s what I did. And of course, Nicole was as just as sweet as she had been every other time I had to deal with her-she really is fantastic. A million Thanks to Tom for making the whole day much more pleasant than it would have been if I had been standing in those lines all by myself!
Posted on: Tue, 06 Aug 2013 19:54:11 +0000
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