A practical guide to getting mobile (set up with a car and license and insurance):
As luck would have it my sister was selling a 2002 Peugeot 206. We test drove it, Anna and myself, and we decided fairly quickly that we would invest in this lovely little "careen". There are a few reasons why this was a good idea. The engine is small 1100 cc (don't know what that means but it is good for registration), it is good on petrol/gas mileage, it is an easy car to learn how to drive a manual/stick-shift (for Anna) and although the insurance companies say it doesn't matter I think the valuation of the vehicle does have a relationship to the insurance premium.
Any way, we purchased a red Peugeot 206, 2002 with 98,000 miles for 2,000 Euros. Neither Anna or myself have ever had a license in Ireland. This means that we have to apply for a provisional license, sit a theory test, then apply for a full license, sit the practical test and then get a full license. I have done the theory test and have not yet applied for the practical full test.
The theory test is: Get the book and study it. (My nephews advised getting the cd and studying that way. I did not.) I passed. For a fee you can register for this online, show up with id and sit the test, hopefully pass it and then get a certificate to say that you have passed it. Note: you need your pps number in order to register online (your pps number is similar to your social security number and is applied for through the social welfare office - a very important number to get a.s.a.p. on moving to Ireland). I had a pps number from when I lived here but Anna did not.
Our local Garda suggested that I could then go to the motor tax office and get my provisional license with no extra work. Wrong! I then had to get an eye test (30 Euro) and two photos (15 Euro) and fill out an application form. They took it and sent my provisional license out within days.
The Provisional license for me and the US license for Anna with the promise that she would be applying for an Irish drivers license was enough for us to get insured. So I went to insurance companies.
My auto insurance company in the US gave me a form-letter (which I had requested under the advice of a friend) which had included this statement:
"Our records indicate that you have been insured with XXX from 8/22/1997 to 8/22/2009
A review of the claims records for the previous three year(s) shows that no losses were reported."
This is an important letter to have in your possesion if you are moving. Without this letter the quotes were in the area of 1,328 for comprehensive insurance or 1,247 for third party, fire and theft insurance. With the letter in my possesion, the quotes were in the area of 615 Euro to 850 Euro. One insurance agent read the quote above to mean that I had 12 years of "no claims bonus" and therefore the quote I received was for 554 Euros. The difference between third party fire and theft, and comprehensive makes it prudent to take the comprehensive if only for the windscreen.
So the cost of buying a car and insuring it for both of us with only a provisional license for myself is 2,554 euros. The insurance brokers said that the value of the car would make no differnece to the insurance quote all the way up to a car valued at 20,000 euros. I find this very difficult to believe. There were some small costs associated with my provisional license, 20Euro for the theory-of-driving book, 40 Euro, I think, for the test, 30 euro for the eye test, 15 euro for the photos and some euros for the actual provisional license.
It is a big deal to get on the road and mobile and legally. We are law abiding people and felt a need to get this sorted out rapidly. We managed to get it done just inside the two weeks we had the rental car for. There is a generous amount of tooing and froing to get it done. The motor tax office is 25 miles away in Castlebar. The theory test was administered in a mobile unit on a Tuesday morning outside the Tip-Top petrol station on the Westport-Castebar road. I had registered online a week in advance. One individual who had registered online a day before the test was not "in the system." So it is probably better to register a.s.a.p. so that the process is a smooth one.
We are now mobile as residents, as opposed to driving a rental. Anna is in Armagh for a few days with her family and I am hoping when she returns she'll be driving a manual stick-shift confidently.
The Peugeot 206 is brilliant. It is a deceptively small looking car. There is much space inside compared to the outside impression. The road handling is fantastic IMHO. I have driven it back and forth to Westport and Castlebar many times and up to Keady and back. For a small car its handling on the road is excellent. And the mileage is so unusual to me I am in awe. I have gone from a Ford 250 Truck at 12 miles to the gallon and the ford focus in the US to the Peugeot and it beats both - hands down. I think it is getting in the region of 40 to 50 miles to the gallon.
It does use more petrol as I push the speed over XX miles per hour but this is to be expected. If you stay steady it is extremely economic.
I did notice today that petrol in Armagh is almost 5 pounds for a gallon. This is going to take getting used to! But the mileage is good for now.
All is going well. The weather is great and I feel at home.
Posted by Tommy.
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Glad to hear the DMV over there is just as ridiculous as it is here in the States. Now I want to see a picture of you standing next to the big "L" sticker in the window of your car. Some say it means "learner," but in your case, I think you know what it means.
ReplyDeleteSince I'm the only person posting comments, expect many more smart ass remarks just for you.
Oh, I forgot to mention the L stickers. Which would be the most drastic - a big man (me) in a little car, or a big man in a little car with L stickers?
ReplyDeleteDon't answer that!