I'm planning an extended trip around Europe and am looking to save on expenses by buying a van to travel around and live in. Will either sell it when done or store it for the next time. In the old days we just went to the American Express office to find someone hanging around waiting for money from home with a vehicle for sale but i'm looking for a little more predictable arrangement now. any and all tips welcome. thanks.

You might have luck if you look at newspapers from towns near American military bases in Europe. When personnel rotate out of Europe to their next duty station, a lot of times they have cars to sell before they leave. Sometimes an American-owned European car will be advertised in the local newspapers after all efforts to sell the car on base have been exhausted.

Long shot, I know, but might be worth a try anyway.

Before you are tempted to buy a van, either locally registered or military, check if you can register in your name. Unless you are a legal resident and not a visitor in a country, it's virtually impossible. Only Britain and Ireland allow non-residents to give contact address for the purpose of registration. You can get 'export' plates, but you have to leave the country where you bought the car within a short period and you still find yourself unable to register in another country.
I don't know if civilian visitor is allowed to register or even drive a vehicle on military plates.
Another problem you'll meet is getting auto insurance. If you can't register you can't get insurance. Even in UK only a handful of companies cover non-resident's cars.
It may have been possible years ago, but procedure for registration has been tightened up in recent years to combat crime and fraud.
You may like to consider the alternative of rent/lease deal offered by several manufacturers to non-EU citizens.

I was going to mention a few of the things alec said - but he gave you even more details. EU and tax rules have really made this sort of thing pretty much a thing of the past. As he says - it is still possible in the UK (I did not know about Ireland). But even there it is harder than in the "old days".

Years ago my parents were able to purchase a Volkswagen camper by going through a Volkswagen dealer here in the US. You might inquire if that is still possible.

thanks to all who replied even though the update was a tad depressing. i'll follow up with both possibilies mentioned (purchasing in england or the rent/lease option) as well as ponder a couple of other somewhat more creative ideas which have come to mind. once again, thanks all. if anyone has any further suggestions please tack them on and i'll check back with this site in a while.

I guess my recommendation would be to buy a car/van/whatever at home and ship it to Europe. It takes around 3 weeks (from the east coast, longer from the west, naturally) and ought to cost around US$750 plus or minus, depending on length x height (some carriers offer roll-on, roll-off, others might want it inside a cargo container, 8 ft. x 8 ft x 20/40 ft.) Look here: http://www.movecars.com/

You probably ought to think about getting a car that has a dealer/service network in Europe, so probably German or Japanese, then find a dealer or mechanic on the web in some European country and email them to see if they'd be able to get parts if you needed them. (In other words, don't take your '56 T-bird over and expect the Ford dealers in Stuttgart to have spare portholes.)

If you look carefully at the earliest Rick Steves series, when he was schlepping the family around and discovering back doors all over the place, you'll see that he was driving his 70s-something VW camper with Washington (state) plates on it. No spendthrift he, and you can do it too.

Or, if you get something with US-car sex appeal (think convertibles, pony cars), you might be able to sell it when you're done, provided it can meet local and/or EU safety and title standards, not yet uniform as mentioned above. I'd also check with various consular offices in the US to make sure you do the right thing re import/export. The EU, like the US, is getting quite retentive about all this.

Also remember gas is <i>lots</i> more in Europe, so leave the Hummer home, Homer.

Forgot to add, this would also help you get real familiar with the European car insurance industry, oh joy.

Here's an article: http://query.nytimes.com/search/arti...5AC0A9659C8B63

RE: Gardyloo's suggestion about shipping your US car over and when it breaks down, being able to find parts for it, in whatever country you happen to be traveling through....

We brought our American Ford Escort with us to England this time, and even though Ford Escorts are sold over here in the UK, (and I know that the steering wheel, etc is on the opposite side of an American car) we can't get ANY parts that fit our American car. We have to order them from the States.

You may have more luck with a different make of car, but I'd be careful about counting on that. Definitely definitely take Gardyloo's suggestion to check with overseas dealers BEFORE shipping your car, to make sure you can find parts for it outside the US.