Springing the Car

Tony was able to get his car from the Vehicle Processing Center (VPC) today. It was a slight hassle and we had a few missteps in the process, but it was not as bad as we were anticipating...says the passenger who didn't have to do anything, sign anything, inspect anything, provide anything...

The first step was to go to the Vehicle Registration Office, which is on the same site but in a different building from the VPC. We did that yesterday. They gave us two sample license plates and sent us out to the vehicle to determine if we needed the long European-style kind or the European square ones, which are more typically seen on SUVs and non-European imports. Six of one, half dozen of the other. Neither one fit perfectly on the Accord, but ultimately Tony decided to go with the square so he wouldn't have to procure a special mounting bracket or drill holes in the car. Once that was set, Tony showed a bunch of paperwork and they assigned him a license plate number, though they didn't issue it to us.

Once we got the license plate number, we had to call our insurer (USAA) and provide it to them so they could overnight the European proof of insurance, which must be displayed on the windshield at all times. USAA overnighted that to Pentagon Car Sales, a military car sales company located just outside one of the post gates. I walked over there around lunchtime today and picked it up while Tony was taking care of other business at the Housing Office. Then Tony's sponsor took us back to the Vehicle Registration Office. Tony provided his driver's license, ID, SETAF driver's license, proof of insurance, $20, 5Euro, and a partridge in a pear tree in trade for the license plates and registration.

Next, we walked back over to the VPC and they pulled the car around for an inspection. Tony's car came over here in perfect condition, and he found two damaged spots underneath the bumper. Probably from putting it onto or taking it off the car carrier. Anyway, they aren't very visible, but they're there, so he got briefed on the damage claim process. Basically, he can take an on-the-spot offer (though they give him a couple days to decide, I think) or he can go out on the economy and get a repair estimate quote. It was about 3:30 after all the paperwork was done, so we decided to deal with that part another day.

From there, we came back to the base and went to the Directorate of Logistics to get approval to purchase NATO fuel coupons. Depending on the size of your engine, each person is authorized to purchase either 300 or 400 liters of NATO fuel coupons from the PX each month. Since the car isn't fully registered yet (more on that in a second) we were authorized to purchase a one-time-only book of coupons for 200 liters until the inspection and registration are fully completed. So once we filled out that paperwork, we attempted to get the car inspected, but just missed the cutoff for the end of the working day. Instead, we headed over to the customer service section of the Exchange to purchase the fuel coupons. Basically you pay for the coupons at reduced prices; on the economy, gas is ten or eleven dollars a gallon, so it is definitely worth your while to take advantage of this program. Only certain gas stations are allowed to redeem them, and there's a lot of hoopla right now because the large gas station conveniently located right outside the base just got a lifetime ban for (allegedly) watering down his fuel. You can also get NATO coupons to purchase oil and propane, but today we didn't need to mess with that. The coupons are only good through the fiscal year, and we will have the opportunity to sell them back to the PX in September in October if we don't use them all.

Tomorrow we will get the car inspected on post; it doesn't cost anything. Once that's done, we have to go back to the Vehicle Registration Center and prove that the car passed inspection. In turn, we'll get our fuel ration card at that time. I assume it will work pretty much the same way. There's a lot of talk about upgrading to the German ration system, which gives you a scannable card and is all electronic. That makes a lot more sense to me, but obviously will cost the government some money to implement.

Anywho, at least we have the car! Still have to get it inspected and deal with the damage claim process, but it's exciting to have a bit more mobility at our fingertips.

In another exciting update, Tony's other business at the Housing Office today was to set up an appointment to start pre-negotiations for a rental house! We were going to look at one more place, but there were a couple small hitches in that plan and so we decided to take it as a sign. Cross your fingers that everything works out for the place in Marola!