Driving a Supercar in Baltic States/ Eastern Europe Safe?
Discussion
I am considering doing an extensive road trip around Lithuania/Latvia/Poland and maybe some other Eastern European countries eg Slovenia.
I hear that driving an expensive car in Russia with UK plates is an absolute no no due to car jackings and mafia. I know the Gumball took hefty security there.
I am aware of Mafia issues in other Eastren Eoropean countries but dont know how bad it is re driving a supercar alone in these places?
Any comments or experience would be welcome.
I hear that driving an expensive car in Russia with UK plates is an absolute no no due to car jackings and mafia. I know the Gumball took hefty security there.
I am aware of Mafia issues in other Eastren Eoropean countries but dont know how bad it is re driving a supercar alone in these places?
Any comments or experience would be welcome.
Edited by richardmancunian on Saturday 1st August 16:19
I've been to all of those countries, though not in a supercar.
Slovenia feels much safer than the others - other than extreme attempts to rip you off by taxi drivers, it could be Austria. When you get to Lithuania, Lativa, Poland its a whole different ballgame, and you have to pay much more attention, even to the police! Personally, I wouldn't drive around in an expensive car, unless it was a local plated one with tinted windows - they get a wide berth from everyone! I'm pretty sure that car hire companies still don't let you take cars over those borders, and I'd think there's a good reason for that. Great places to visit, but not to be flashing cash outwith places which are "protected", IMO.
ETA
As above on Slovenia v others:
"Hertz vehicles cannot be driven into and/or dropped off in any African, Asian, or Middle-East countries, nor in Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan.
Hertz vehicles MAY be driven into Slovenia and/or Croatia but you need to inform the pick-up location in order to get the authorization that needs to be presented to the customs authorities."
Slovenia feels much safer than the others - other than extreme attempts to rip you off by taxi drivers, it could be Austria. When you get to Lithuania, Lativa, Poland its a whole different ballgame, and you have to pay much more attention, even to the police! Personally, I wouldn't drive around in an expensive car, unless it was a local plated one with tinted windows - they get a wide berth from everyone! I'm pretty sure that car hire companies still don't let you take cars over those borders, and I'd think there's a good reason for that. Great places to visit, but not to be flashing cash outwith places which are "protected", IMO.
ETA
As above on Slovenia v others:
"Hertz vehicles cannot be driven into and/or dropped off in any African, Asian, or Middle-East countries, nor in Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan.
Hertz vehicles MAY be driven into Slovenia and/or Croatia but you need to inform the pick-up location in order to get the authorization that needs to be presented to the customs authorities."
Edited by footsoldier on Saturday 1st August 22:48
You also need to consider where you will park it overnight and realise that the tracker will be useless there. How easy would it be for somebody just to lift your car on to a truck and take it away while you sleep? Have you also checked with your insurance company? Possibly your insurance will be invalid as the tracker won't be operating correctly.
Edited by sjn2004 on Sunday 2nd August 00:03
As the one who's originally from eastern europe I would strongly advise against taking UK plated supercar there.
Plenty of things to be aware of, no point trying to describe everything here. Yeap, EE is much safer place than it was 10-15 years ago but I still wouldn't provoke people by driving & sometimes leaving unattendant the car which could be worth 10-20 times of their annual salaries... Also don't forget that 150k Italian supercar worth at least 1.5 times more in EE.
You should be fine with local plated car though.
Plenty of things to be aware of, no point trying to describe everything here. Yeap, EE is much safer place than it was 10-15 years ago but I still wouldn't provoke people by driving & sometimes leaving unattendant the car which could be worth 10-20 times of their annual salaries... Also don't forget that 150k Italian supercar worth at least 1.5 times more in EE.
You should be fine with local plated car though.
alexms said:
As the one who's originally from eastern europe I would strongly advise against taking UK plated supercar there.
Plenty of things to be aware of, no point trying to describe everything here. Yeap, EE is much safer place than it was 10-15 years ago but I still wouldn't provoke people by driving & sometimes leaving unattendant the car which could be worth 10-20 times of their annual salaries... Also don't forget that 150k Italian supercar worth at least 1.5 times more in EE.
You should be fine with local plated car though.
Whilst not driving a car with Italian heritage, my wife and I are visiting Budpest and Krackow in September in my RHD but Dutch registered Elise. Are you aware of any specific issues in these places ?Plenty of things to be aware of, no point trying to describe everything here. Yeap, EE is much safer place than it was 10-15 years ago but I still wouldn't provoke people by driving & sometimes leaving unattendant the car which could be worth 10-20 times of their annual salaries... Also don't forget that 150k Italian supercar worth at least 1.5 times more in EE.
You should be fine with local plated car though.
It would not be safe, do not do this.
But i am willing to help out, I would not do it for every one mind but I think I can trust you. I would swap my old ML270 cdi for the duration of the trip. Its cheap to run and will run nice on cheap Russian fuel, unlike your super car. I will drive your super car very carefully and would even chuck in a free valet before I return it.
Also you will need to leave the log book in the glove box so I can Insure it.
Feel like I can call you `Mate` already
marc
But i am willing to help out, I would not do it for every one mind but I think I can trust you. I would swap my old ML270 cdi for the duration of the trip. Its cheap to run and will run nice on cheap Russian fuel, unlike your super car. I will drive your super car very carefully and would even chuck in a free valet before I return it.
Also you will need to leave the log book in the glove box so I can Insure it.
Feel like I can call you `Mate` already
marc
halfpenny43 said:
alexms said:
As the one who's originally from eastern europe I would strongly advise against taking UK plated supercar there.
Plenty of things to be aware of, no point trying to describe everything here. Yeap, EE is much safer place than it was 10-15 years ago but I still wouldn't provoke people by driving & sometimes leaving unattendant the car which could be worth 10-20 times of their annual salaries... Also don't forget that 150k Italian supercar worth at least 1.5 times more in EE.
You should be fine with local plated car though.
Whilst not driving a car with Italian heritage, my wife and I are visiting Budpest and Krackow in September in my RHD but Dutch registered Elise. Are you aware of any specific issues in these places ?Plenty of things to be aware of, no point trying to describe everything here. Yeap, EE is much safer place than it was 10-15 years ago but I still wouldn't provoke people by driving & sometimes leaving unattendant the car which could be worth 10-20 times of their annual salaries... Also don't forget that 150k Italian supercar worth at least 1.5 times more in EE.
You should be fine with local plated car though.
halfpenny43 said:
alexms said:
As the one who's originally from eastern europe I would strongly advise against taking UK plated supercar there.
Plenty of things to be aware of, no point trying to describe everything here. Yeap, EE is much safer place than it was 10-15 years ago but I still wouldn't provoke people by driving & sometimes leaving unattendant the car which could be worth 10-20 times of their annual salaries... Also don't forget that 150k Italian supercar worth at least 1.5 times more in EE.
You should be fine with local plated car though.
Whilst not driving a car with Italian heritage, my wife and I are visiting Budpest and Krackow in September in my RHD but Dutch registered Elise. Are you aware of any specific issues in these places ?Plenty of things to be aware of, no point trying to describe everything here. Yeap, EE is much safer place than it was 10-15 years ago but I still wouldn't provoke people by driving & sometimes leaving unattendant the car which could be worth 10-20 times of their annual salaries... Also don't forget that 150k Italian supercar worth at least 1.5 times more in EE.
You should be fine with local plated car though.
Assuming you cant take a hire car across borders, hire a Porsche Cayenne with tints in each of the countries on your tour, its not really what I would call a supercar, but guarantee no body will fu*ck with you at any part of your journey! I have it on good authority from a Russian ex Moscovite that the Cayenne is almost considerd the regulation mafia company car in those parts.
Erich Stahler said:
Assuming you cant take a hire car across borders, hire a Porsche Cayenne with tints in each of the countries on your tour, its not really what I would call a supercar, but guarantee no body will fu*ck with you at any part of your journey! I have it on good authority from a Russian ex Moscovite that the Cayenne is almost considerd the regulation mafia company car in those parts.
In Armenia the company Mafia car is the H2Callughan said:
Erich Stahler said:
Assuming you cant take a hire car across borders, hire a Porsche Cayenne with tints in each of the countries on your tour, its not really what I would call a supercar, but guarantee no body will fu*ck with you at any part of your journey! I have it on good authority from a Russian ex Moscovite that the Cayenne is almost considerd the regulation mafia company car in those parts.
In Armenia the company Mafia car is the H2Erich Stahler said:
Assuming you cant take a hire car across borders, hire a Porsche Cayenne with tints in each of the countries on your tour, its not really what I would call a supercar, but guarantee no body will fu*ck with you at any part of your journey! I have it on good authority from a Russian ex Moscovite that the Cayenne is almost considerd the regulation mafia company car in those parts.
Um, did you look at Alexms's profile "garage"!nomisesor said:
Erich Stahler said:
Assuming you cant take a hire car across borders, hire a Porsche Cayenne with tints in each of the countries on your tour, its not really what I would call a supercar, but guarantee no body will fu*ck with you at any part of your journey! I have it on good authority from a Russian ex Moscovite that the Cayenne is almost considerd the regulation mafia company car in those parts.
Um, did you look at Alexms's profile "garage"!
How many of you have actually been in the countries you mentioned in the last 15 years? I have been living in Poznań Poland for the last 5 years and have not seen or felt MAFIA presence, the crime rate is no higher than in the UK . Poland, Slovenia, The Czech Republic and Slovakia are ok, the problems start when the EU ends i.e. Latvia, Lithuania, The Ukraine etc. As long as you park in secure parking spaces everything should be fine.
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