I'm moving to Wiesbaden Germany in about a month and I'm trying to decide if I should take my 2014 Lexus IS350 F-Sport with me or not. It has 40K miles on it. If I do not take it with me I'll sell it. I'm undecided due to not knowing if I can find a mechanic to work on it if something were to go wrong. Or the language barrier trying to describe what's wrong with it and not getting ripped off.

Anyone have any experience with having a Lexus in Germany as far as getting repairs done? Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

Consider too your warranty might not apply in Germany.

Id sell the car. It'll be simpler than bringing it over with all the headaches involved.

 

Any mechanic should be able to work on it. The engine is over 10 years old and no turbos, etc. Should be easy to find someone. I think if the costs to ship are less than what you'll lose on selling the car and buying another, then keep it!

 

My company will be paying for all costs associated with shipping the car to Germany and back to the US. I'll be there for 5 years.

 

I asked my company about how much it cost to ship a vehicle over there. With shipping cost and insurance it's about $800 one way.

 

It depends on how attached you are to your car and what your goals are for it. $800 each way is inexpensive and if they're paying for it, go for it. I've been to Wiesbaden and have traveled to Germany a lot. It is predominantly German cars there, I rarely saw Japanese cars. I don't have experience with Lexus in Germany. You will run into a language barrier there, I did. There will be unknowns/risks associated with bringing your car there that you won't realize 'til you get there.

Personally, I would sell it and get a car there for the time you'll be there. By the time you return in 5 years, there will be redesigns on the Lexus models especially the IS, if that matters.

 

Closest Lexus dealers to Weisbaden are in Frankfurt and Darmstadt according to google translated www.lexus.de. Both are ~35km away from Weisbaden

I am with PatrixUSA. It would be a dream to take this car on the Autobahn especially on the company dime. When those speed limits have the hashmarks through them, a boring highway drive becomes exhilarating should you choose to exercise the right to a cancelled speed limit. I was only able to drive the Autobahn on the rental Tiguan where we discovered the speed limiter between Munich and Marktoberdorff. And with the rarity of a Japanese car in Germany, I see more of an opportunity than a hassle.

In the 5 years that you will be there, what do you think you will need to do to it that requires major translation other than the maintenance? Get one last maintenance service in before you ship the car. You could always take a trusted coworker or friend with you to translate. Go to the Frankfurt location for better chances at getting an english speaking mechanic.

What are the chances something will go wrong with a Lexus in the next 5 years ? I am on the side of bringing it with you, but then again I have a more emotional attachment to my vehicle than my friends have with their cars.

 

If you are attached to the car and your employer is paying the shipping fees I'd take it. I'm the kinda guy that likes to drive something not everyone has.

 

It cost 600 bucks to ship a benz from NY to FL recently over here.. I can't believe it's only 800

 

With a 350 you are pretty unique here in Germany And if you wanna sell it- brace for impact. It's a 101% sale.

 

If it were me... I would probably ship it over to Germany despite any warranty issues, if there are any. I imagine sitting in MY car in a foreign country can give me a sense of "home" and comfort.

 

Yeah, only $800. Military is shipping it for me and they have government rates (what I was told).

 

You're right about being unique and that's why I'm torn between taking it or selling it. I like the idea of the locals looking at the IS and seeing it probably for the first time in person.

 

Gas prices are more than twice what they are in the US. The good news is the 91/92 octane is easily available in Germany (thank Porsche and the other luxury/performance car makers).

 

I grew up in Germany and was back there last year..its a great place and trust me most people speak English so the language will not be a problem in the slightest.If you ever get stuck ask someone under the age of 30 - guaranteed to speak English as they all learn it in school. As someone stated, Lexus have dealerships not far from your destination and you have an extremely reliable car that will probably cost you nothing other than routine servicing. Lexus are quite common in Europe, not up there with BMW and Audi but you will still see a few around just no 350's.

Fuel is much more expensive, so if you are commuting miles to your place of work or plan on driving around Europe exploring etc you may decide its not that cost efficient to run it out there, the place is diesel dominated and most Lexus will be hybrid cars. The EU really is hell bent on changing things, Germany want to get rid of all petrol and diesel cars by 2030.

However if it costs you nothing to ship it out and fuel / mileage isn't an issue there's no reason you can't take it. I would worry more about the car being damaged in transit.