I think that this may be a first but I just bought a new
GXE(manual of course) and shipped it over to Italy. I'm
moving there at the end of the year. I wanted something fun to drive over there that would not kill me on gas. My initial plan was to by an Xterra and take it with me but the gas milage would of killed me. So I decided to get a new Sentra SE. When I went the dealership(owned by wifes uncle) had a gold GXE with a good old manual. Well I was curious so I took it for a test drive. Needless to say I enjoyed the car so I had him locate a black one slap on the spoiler and fog lights. I only got to drive the car for a month or so then I had to ship it out so it would be waiting for me. Anyway I can not wait to go over and play with some of the european cars. Should be fun.

 

I don't know what the environmental laws are in Italy, but, depending on your conscience, you may be able to do away with some of the smog/catalytic/exhaust stuff that is required here and eek out more performance!

This would let you run things like superchargers and headers, but getting service and parts may be too much hassle.

Have fun!

 

Well, Nissan is kind of Europaean car too, not Full Japanese car anymore..."sigh" Poor Nissan still in debt...

 

plus, the italian women.

 

Expect to pay a lot in car taxes. Depending on where you are, you are taxed based on engine displacement, weight of car, horsepower, or a combination of them all. You want a fun car to drive that won't suck up gas? Sell the maxima, buy something when you get there.. there are TONS of car much more fun than the Maxima that costs a lot less to own. Plus I don't understand why you would ship a sentra over there... there are tons of sentra class cars there that are a lot better(ie more fun to drive). I think if you hvan't done it, you need to reconsider, in the end it'll cost you a lot more than it's worth. Plus you won't be able to get rid of the maxima will you are there... here's why 1) too much to own(taxes, gas, etc) 2) they don't like the maxima there. It's a fact, look at all the reviews there and they dog the heck out the Maxima/Cefiro.

So I think if you can, don't ship it thre... doens't make much sense.

-Shing

 

I know that it is going to be expensive to own the max over there but since I'm in the military I get a break on the taxes as well as gas. I'm allowed to have one car that is pretty much exempt from their taxes and I get gas coupons that equal out to about 1.50 per gallon. The only reason that I took it over was to pay it off while over there and buy my wife a new 4Runner when we get back. I know we should have taken her corolla over since it is paid for but I did not want to have to buy two cars when I get back stateside in three years. The reason that I bought a nissan was that you can get service over there if you need plus the maxima is a pretty fun car to drive. One thing that I wish that I had checked was insurance cost. It will go from about $600 to $2350 per year. That really sucks but when I get back it should be paid for and I do not plan on driving it that much while in Italy. It will be used mainly for long trips to Germany etc. We will buy a beater while we are over there to use around town. Anyone ever driven in Naples? I hear that it is crazy over there. A guy over there told me that the speed limits are loosely enforced. I'm scared of what will happen to the max but like I said it will not be used as a daily driver.

 

Ahh.. military... that's very cool. In that case, no problem.

Driving in European large cities is a little worse than downtown Manhattan. In france, the round-a-bout at the arch is a major *****... basically, everyone only looks ahead. So if you take the time to look back and side to side... you are taking too long, won't get anywhere.

-Shing

 

how much is it costing you for the actual shipment of the car?? PEACE

 

The Navy will pay for the shipment of one car. That is why
it was no big deal to me to take a new maxima over there. My main concern is with 1) Hoping that there is no damage done to the car in transit. 2) What is going to happen to it once I get it there. My wife is still giving me all kinds of heat about buying the max since I could have bought a new BMW or Volvo really cheap over there through the military. Who knows if I can pay the max off while I'm there I would like to talk her into getting a new 3 series BMW station wagon. I think that one of them would be much more fun then a 4Runner. Time will tell.