Transporting my Ferrari to France and back.

[2500julian]

Hi, I have a 488 Spider and my buddy has a Cali T. We drove them down through France last summer and back up through Lake Como and onto Calais. Great fun, but I ended up putting 3,000 miles on the car, maybe more.

Is there a cost effective way to transport the cars from London down to the French/Swiss border and then collect and return them a week later? I like the tunnels and driving around Lake Como, but less keen on the laborious motorways.

Or is there a great route to drive from Calais down to Lake Como that isn’t just French motorways?

Thanks

[F355GTS]

Loads of good routes, we've driven to Troyes then off the autoroute follow the Seine to Beaune, you ca nthen wither go to Chamonix and go up to the passes in Switzerland and onto Como. This year we're going over the top of Lake Geneva through the Jura region then driving the Susten, Furka and Simplon passes, to get to Como you'd need to go further over from the Susten, maybe head for the Splugen pass

I often ship the car back, costs around €1800 these days which seems a lot but when you add up fuel, hotel/ dinner, tolls, tunnel it doesn't seem that bad particularly as it keeps 1200 miles or so off the car

[Caddyshack]

Do your driving and then I will drive it back for free...that has to be cheaper? You can drop it at my mates Hotel near Dijon.

[ANOpax]

Nobody ever lay on their death bed and said ‘I wish I’d driven the Ferrari less.’

Just drive the damn thing and enjoy it. If the eco-loons have their way, you might not be allowed to in a couple of decade’s time...

[supersport]

ANOpax said:

Nobody ever lay on their death bed and said ‘I wish I’d driven the Ferrari less.’

Just drive the damn thing and enjoy it. If the eco-loons have their way, you might not be allowed to in a couple of decade’s time...

This

[hidetheelephants]

There's a motor rail service from Dusseldorf to Verona, it would take some of the trudge out.

[Pericoloso]

You really should forget any depreciation concerns over mileage and just drive it.

I have gone to Italy a dozen times by various routes ,last route I favoured was Calais ,Lille ,Luxembourg for cheap petrol fill ,

Karlruhe ,South of Stuttgart ,Ulm ,Austria ,Brennero but I usually am not a mountain pass driver and just want to get there

using the less toll routed than France way.

[anonymous-user]

I get where the op is coming from but this mileage thing is a joke. Might as well buy a fking ornament.

Edited by anonymous-user on Sunday 16th February 02:27

[CitySlicker]

Don't bother with it OP unless you're pushed for time. If it were something like an Enzo I could see some sense in it but the 488 is very capable cruising and the additional mileage doesn't actually matter that much in the end. These days I meander between France and the Netherlands targeting the German derestricted autobahn. Blast all the way down west Germany past Frankfurt, into Switzerland past Basel to the Swiss mountain passes and zig zag all the way down to the Italian lakes.

[MDL111]

I spoke to ecartrans a couple of weeks ago about transporting a car from the South of the UK to Austria - they quoted c 1,500 plus VAT as a high-level indication - I think that was for a covered transporter and an open one was cheaper (possibly c 1,200 plus VAT but can’t remember). I need to get a car transported mid/end of March, so will firm up the quote soon (still waiting for some input on how much other stuff needs to be transported with the car).

Any other transport company recommendations would be welcome

[DickyC]

Off Topic - when I was moving cars I met a bloke who spent his summer holiday with a wealthy family he had got to know. They were amiable people but status driven. On holiday they needed all their toys. He drove one of their exotics to wherever they were staying in Eurppe. He stayed with them at their villa or hotel and drove the car back afterwards. He was introduced as the guy 'who looks after our cars' as though he was a full time employee when in fact he did two or three weeks in the summer and occasional car moves at other times. He claimed they him paid him well although the money is rubbish generally so that wouldn't have been difficult.

[Caddyshack]

MDL111 said:

I spoke to ecartrans a couple of weeks ago about transporting a car from the South of the UK to Austria - they quoted c 1,500 plus VAT as a high-level indication - I think that was for a covered transporter and an open one was cheaper (possibly c 1,200 plus VAT but can’t remember). I need to get a car transported mid/end of March, so will firm up the quote soon (still waiting for some input on how much other stuff needs to be transported with the car).

Any other transport company recommendations would be welcome

Stuart Harry is brilliant, really cares for the cars, has covered and normal trailers, races his own cars and is a proper business man...pm me if you need his contact details as I don’t have them to hand but I will try and remember to add later.

[Hewbie2015]

this is what we do at Heaunique,

get in touch if you want a quote, fully enclosed transport uk and Europe wide and we are insured upto 2 million per car.

thanks

[silber]

hidetheelephants said:

There's a motor rail service from Dusseldorf to Verona, it would take some of the trudge out.

I took my 360 on the Dusseldorf to Innsbruck train last summer. Had about 1cm either side of the car with high metal runners either side wanting to kiss the wheels... The 488's a bit wider still, so will be even less pleasure to get on and off and might not even fit.

[2500julian]

Thanks for all the tips. It looks like the auto trains are declining and I wouldn’t want to scrape a wheel. I’m now thinking of heading over to Stuttgart and then heading down to Lucerne thorough the Back Forest. Then a couple of Swiss passes and onto Tremezzo where we hang out for a few nights before heading back. Just have to find a decent route back now.

[F355GTS]

MDL111 said:

I spoke to ecartrans a couple of weeks ago about transporting a car from the South of the UK to Austria - they quoted c 1,500 plus VAT as a high-level indication - I think that was for a covered transporter and an open one was cheaper (possibly c 1,200 plus VAT but can’t remember). I need to get a car transported mid/end of March, so will firm up the quote soon (still waiting for some input on how much other stuff needs to be transported with the car).

Any other transport company recommendations would be welcome

I use these guys

https://www.mnbtransport.com

[430scuderia1]

2500julian said:

Thanks for all the tips. It looks like the auto trains are declining and I wouldn’t want to scrape a wheel. I’m now thinking of heading over to Stuttgart and then heading down to Lucerne thorough the Back Forest. Then a couple of Swiss passes and onto Tremezzo where we hang out for a few nights before heading back. Just have to find a decent route back now.

I did a 16 day euro tour last year in my Speciale.. One thing to note is I did Stuttgart and would not do it again on a road trip.. Many nicer places to visit.

[2500julian]

430scuderia1 said:

I did a 16 day euro tour last year in my Speciale.. One thing to note is I did Stuttgart and would not do it again on a road trip.. Many nicer places to visit.

Thanks for the tip. I was thinking of stopping overnight at Baden Baden and then heading South. I’ll bet the Speciale sounded amazing through those tunnels. I’m hoping to get one in a couple of years.

[Pericoloso]

Stuttgart's 2 main attractions for me are the Porsche and Mercedes museums,both well worth a visit,both doable on the same day.

[AinsleyB]

There are some crap boring bits where I can see driving would not be great, like the M25 and the bit to the tunnel. The first few hours across France is also boring. But the rest of it can be great. Plan a nice lunch stop with some wiggly bits in to get there and make the whole thing part of the holiday. Me and my wife regularly drive down to Corsica and back. We pick a lake for a picnic lunch and swim as part of the adventure on route. Never know what it will be like till we get there, all part of the fun. Each time we go a different way and have found some really great places.

As others have said, soon you won't be able to drive it. So I would be aiming to do as many as possible while I still can. Cars are for driving.