Is it a bad idea to buy a car with delivery in Germany and drive on the Autobahn?
#31
Moderator: Lufthansa Miles & More, India based airlines, India, External Miles & Points Resources
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: MUC
Programs: LH SEN
Posts: 48,123
A better bet is to rent a real car on the track itself and get a proper instruction. An example is here: http://www.nuerburgring.de/en/drives...r-rentals.html
#32
Suspended
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Canada, USA, Europe
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 31,452
Please tell me that you have some experience driving under those conditions and according to German driving norms. Otherwise you are a hazard to yourself and, more importantly, to others.
#33
Join Date: Sep 2015
Programs: LH SEN; BA Gold
Posts: 8,402
And just for the sake of illustration (No passenger or bystander was seriously injured):
#34
I'm not sure what you mean by this. What is an off-the-shelf car? A Porsche 911 is a normal factory car. So is a BMW 535 or a Mercedes E350. It is no big deal at all for these to go 200 km/h (I assume this is what you mean). If by off-the-shelf you mean a used Renault with a 1.1l four-cylinder engine then yes, these won't get anywhere near 200 km/h.
#35
Also it's with sll rental-cars from the big companies forbidden to go to the Nürburgring.
Perhaps its the best you come to Germany and have a look. After it you can decide by yourself
#36
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Capetown
Programs: Marriott Lifetime Plat, IHG and Hilton Diamond, LH SEN, BA Gold
Posts: 10,163
Probably we should ask our US friends to get a German driving license. This is something we had to do v/v when registering a car in California. No insurance w/o local license. And at the end it was a good albeit not easy exercise.
#37
Suspended
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Canada, USA, Europe
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 31,452
Good point. That whole stretch has huge sections limited to 120. There are also millions of construction sites. The A3 from Frankfurt via Würzbug is probably worse.
#38
Suspended
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Watchlisted by the prejudiced, en route to purgatory
Programs: Just Say No to Fleecing and Blacklisting
Posts: 102,095
Surely, German car companies with a European delivery program aimed at US residents want this business too, so why would Germany want to undermine such business?
American drivers in Europe are probably a more extreme hazard in more urban areas and on local roads than on European highways of sorts. How so? By not paying attention to pedestrian crosswalks, not knowing speed limits in areas with no clearly posted speed limits nearby, the trouble with driving manual transmission cars, and/or not being so good in the roundabouts -- more of an issue on relatively more urban roads in Europe than elsewhere in Europe.
Last edited by GUWonder; May 11, 2017 at 3:49 am
#39
Moderator: Lufthansa Miles & More, India based airlines, India, External Miles & Points Resources
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: MUC
Programs: LH SEN
Posts: 48,123
American drivers in Europe are probably a more extreme hazard in more urban areas and on local roads than on European highways of sorts. How so? By not paying attention to pedestrian crosswalks, not knowing speed limits in areas with no clearly posted speed limits nearby, the trouble with driving manual transmission cars, and/or not being so good in the roundabouts -- more of an issue on relatively more urban roads in Europe than elsewhere in Europe.
The US Army has good manual for military stationed in Germany here: http://www.eur.army.mil/rmv/Documents_PDF/aep190-34.pdf
#40
Suspended
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Canada, USA, Europe
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 31,452
Surely, German car companies with a European delivery program aimed at US residents want this business too, so why would Germany want to undermine such business?
#41
#42
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Minneapolis: DL DM charter 2.3MM
Programs: A3*Gold, SPG Plat, HyattDiamond, MarriottPP, LHW exAccess, ICI, Raffles Amb, NW PE MM, TWA Gold MM
Posts: 100,368
I once asked a European colleague about this--I'm not sure whether it was Germany--and got a shocked response that of course you cannot turn right on a red light.
#43
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Austin, Texas
Programs: Airline nobody. Sad!
Posts: 26,062
My usual approach now, if I'm not sure of the rules for short turn on red (having driven in three different countries where driving is on the left, I think more in terms of short and long turns now), is to sit and wait. If I don't get honked at, I stay. If I get honked at, I go.
#44
Join Date: Sep 2015
Programs: LH SEN; BA Gold
Posts: 8,402
Someone on TV once described it as "the only American contribution to western civilization". That said, most major intersections have bypasses for right-turns where you only have a yield sign. Roundabouts help resolving the problem too.
#45
Suspended
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Canada, USA, Europe
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 31,452
One of my economics professors once described this as being one of the few real-world examples of something that is Pareto near-optimal.