Bimobil Update - Rolling Stones Edition

I haven’t done any updates about the bimobil lately, but that doesn’t mean progress hasn’t been made.  Things have been moving right along, and this was a very big week indeed.  Let’s step back in time a bit.

Within days of the bimobil arriving, our great landlord Wim asked me about when I was going to register the bimobil.  One of the businesses at the Tatelaarweg Shell Station complex is a small rental company (think U-Haul) that includes a couple of Iveco trucks.  Naturally I asked Wim who is dealer was.  Wim, being Wim and knowing everyone, immediately called and hooked me up with the post-sales manager of Schouten Iveco, Jos, a buddy of his who also lives in Didam.  A few days later we were driving to Doetinchem to meet with Jos, me with all my bimobil paperwork in hand.

The meeting was short.  Jos said I had everything I needed and that they’d help me through the process.  Two days later Jos informed me we had an inspection scheduled two weeks from then at RDW (the DMV) to inspect and classify the vehicle.  Since my temporary German plates were no longer valid, they would lend me green loaner plates that come with insurance.  Two weeks later, Jos went with me to get the vehicle inspected.

Of course Jos knew folks at the inspection station in Hengelo, which we chose over the one in Arnhem (which was closer) because rural folks aren’t as ornery as city folks.  Jos called his contact once we were in the shop and the guy came down.  “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure they don’t get stupid about things.”  It wound up not being a problem.  We passed with flying colors.  The mechanics asked why in the world this vehicle hadn’t been plated in Portugal given the new condition it was in and they simply could not believe my story.

Anyway, before we left, they said to make sure that when we register it we ensure the filing is for the Iveco vehicle only, and does not include any of the bimobil add-ons.  Apparently, the first time user (BPM) fee for caravans that are built on a commercial truck (which the Iveco Daily is) need only be based on the truck itself, not the cost of the built caravan.  That alone, saved me a bundle over what I was expecting to pay.

Jos then called another buddy at RDW headquarters, who told him that he could not tell Jos how to maximize the system (i.e. minimize my BPM payment), but that Jos should call this other contact “to make sure it’s done right.”

After contacting the contact, who works for a company that registers vehicles, the guy prepared the filing for the tax authority (Belastingdienst) but didn’t file it.  Jos saw what the BPM was for the vehicle and was outraged (I on the other hand was smiling a big one).  After some back and forth, the contact asked how long I’d had the vehicle in my possession.  He said that since it was over 6 months, I should ask to have customs consider it personal goods and waive the BPM, though getting an answer might take a few weeks.  We decided to try that approach because, hey, money is money.  I can wait a few weeks to get the vehicle plated if I can get a waiver that saves me enough to pay for a trip back to the US.

A few days later, Jos and I filed the paperwork.

While Jos and I drove up to Hengelo, he noticed an odd whining noise and asked me about it.  I told him we had not really driven the vehicle because we couldn’t, so I have no idea about whether the noise was always there. But I agreed, it sounded bad.  Jos was convinced there was something wrong and that I should get it looked at.  The shop was busy, so he’d call me when things slowed down so I could bring it in.

A couple of weeks later and we get a letter from Belastingdienst.  They would like to see an additional document.  Unfortunately, it was the German Title, which I’d given over to RDW at the time of inspection.  Fortunately, I had a scan of it (I scan everything I can), and sent that copy to Belastingdienst.  More waiting.

A week or so later, Jos calls and says to bring the vehicle in.

Another week passes by and guess what arrives in the mail?

I’ll save you the hassle of doing the translation - “Ik her uw aanvraag goedgekeurd.” means “I have approved your request.”

So there it is - my customs waiver for the bimobil, which means I do not pay any BPM for the vehicle!

Perhaps the only good things that arose from all of the insanity, frustrations and delays in trying to get the bimobil registered in Portugal is that we wound up moving to The Netherlands and the delays took so long I didn’t have to pay BPM for the vehicle by the time we arrived in The Netherlands!

It’s not all good news though.  The bimobil’s noise was not the front differential, it was the intermediate gearbox.  Apparently it is a known problem that periodically occurs with this model and Jos’s team has to do a bit more testing.  Based on that analysis, Iveco will send a technician to repair it, or they’ll send a new gearbox.  Yeah, bad news.

But as I hinted above - good news, bad news, good news.  The good news is that the gearbox repair/replacement is covered under warranty! It will cost us nothing.  And given we will be heading back to the US for a vacation, the repairs should happen while we’re gone (knock on wood!).

It was a very good week indeed.

Oh, and last Friday we got the Belastingdienst customs waiver for the Peugeot! 

Now if the immigration folks would just approve our residence permits.  For now, we’ve scheduled an appointment the week before our trip to get new stamps in our passports.  Hopefully, we will return to an appointment to pick up the residency cards (again, knock on wood).