How's this for a surprise....... If I'd sold my Jeep in RSA, I'd have got something in the region of R40000 or about E4000 for it.



I had it valued here in Portugal by 3 separate dealers who each told me it was worth something in the region of E25000 - E30000..... I was more than a bit skeptical about that until I saw this:

http://suchen.mobile.de/auto-i...ativeFeatures=EXPORT

It's not the identical model to mine but it is similar and if anything, mine is a rarer model than that one.

Pause for thought huh

Steve

I offered you more and im still jealous you should have listen to mum and gave it to me.

Luan

She keeps saying the same thing my friend but I reckon bringing that car to Portugal is one of the best things I've ever done....... the investment side of it was a winner but more importantly, all I have to do is slide in behind the wheel, turn the key, hear that big old V8 rumble into life and I instantly get a big smile on my face that stays there for the rest of the day.

And you should see what a head turner the vehicle is over here!

But hey, if it's any consolation, if you ever get over here, you're one of the very few people I'd let drive it!

Thats a deal mate im really looking at coming to visit next year.

Luan

With a bit of luck, we might even have the guest accommodation finished by then!

I just don't understand how you can keep a vehicle that clean! Not a ding, dent, or spec of dust!

How could you guide with it and keep it looking like it came of the show room floor???

BTW, a really nice looking vehicle!

Jason

Glad you like it and thanks for those kind words.

I'd never use that vehicle as a hunting vehicle in a month of Sundays...... Firstly because I love it too much and secondly because it has the AMC 360 5.9 litre V8 engine and it's fuel consumption wouldn't make it financially viable.

Now I've bought it to Portugal I just use it as a fun vehicle for an occasional trip to town but even when it was in Africa, I'd use it for the same thing and occasionally exhibit it as classic car shows.

I did also use it for the annual trek to Botswana but only to get there/back and to collect/drop off clients to/from the airport but it'd never be used as a proper hunting vehicle under any circumstances whatsoever.

That car has just one scratch on it and that's from the ONLY time I ever let anyone else drive it and Susan drove it into a bush next to our drive.......... I've gotta tell you, I wasn't best pleased......She, nor anyone else has ever been allowed behind the wheel since and about the only person (other than me) that will be allowed to drive it in the future is Luan.

I have to say that keeping it in that condition was made a lot easier by my having a Roger-o-Matic when I lived in Africa...... Roger worked for me and his job was to keep the cars clean, tidy and polished and also to look after the garden...... Now Roger loved my Jeep almost as much as I did and he'd spend about 4 or 5 hours a day, every day, washing, polishing and looking after the Jeep and the rest of his time would be spent doing the other cars and garden but at least 4 or 5 hours a day just on the Jeep.

If I dared to bring it home from somewhere dirty, he'd have the right hump and the worst words out of his mouth when he saw it would ALWAYS be "Mr Steve, what have you done to MY Jeep" and then he'd spend the rest of his day getting her back into the condition he was happy with and believe it or not, he'd work late if necessary rather than go home and leave the truck dirty......He'd even wash and polish the inside of the ashtrays every day!

I do my best to keep the car as clean as Roger did but although I keep do look after it and keep it pretty well I don't have time to do it as well as he always did and I've gotta say, I actually miss having a Roger=o-Matic!

Great story Steve! It is interesting seeing how different people, in different parts of the country/world take care of their vehicles!

I lived in South America for a few years and the people would leave the factory, plastic covering on their seats.

Where I live here in the states, most people ranch and beat their trucks up BAD! I guess I fall somewhere in the middle. Maybe I can train one of my teenage sons to be "Roger-o-Matic"

Jason

The problem with teenaged kids is they want to drive them as well!

Classic cars in Africa are VERY popular (though undervalued to the rest of the world) because people use them to hide money from the taxman and because they're an investment that's easily moved across a border in times of political trouble.

In the part of South Africa I lived in, some of the classic car shows would have something like 150 cars on exhibition and I know of several individual/private collections that number in excess of 30 cars each....... that said, the more normal cars, especially those owned by farmers were always treated very badly but I guess that's the same worldwide.

Classics are quite popular here in Portugal as well but I think largely because all cars are so ridiculously expensive here. Fuel is also obscenely expensive and most roads are small so the classics one sees are usually fairly small vehicles and my big, thirsty Jeep is an extreme rarity. I've twice been told (by people working in the vehicle registration dept) that it's the only one in the country but I have no idea if that's true or not....... the car is certainly a head turner here though.

It'd be even more of a head turner if I still had Roger to look after it though!

It is amazing to see how much more expensive, vehicles and fuel are in RSA (as well as Europe). When I got back from South Africa, it sure made it easier buying a vehicle, without buyers remorse!

When me and my PH would discuss vehicle, electronic items, clothing etc... costs, his comments were alway "thats nothing" "thats cheap"!

My PH had a 2002 diesel Toyota Tacoma. I wish we had these vehicles here in the states!

You guys in the States get incredibly good deals on car prices and fuel costs compared to Africa and Europe.

Petrol here is about E1.60 or US$2.11 per litre and there are about 4.5 litres to a US gallon. Cars here are equally ridiculously priced. I bought a little runabout Renault Megane last year that was made in 2000 and it cost me E3750 or US$4875.

Road tax on my Jeep is E773 or about US$1000 per YEAR and it goes up every fucking year as well!

Car values between Africa and Europe sometimes offer a profit though. In RSA, you can buy a fully restored LHD Merc SL190 from the mid 60s for about E10K, shipping, import tax and PT registration costs something in the region of around another E12K and it's retail value here is in the region of E40K - E50K.

It seems there is an economic opportunity to ship old jeeps to Portugal.

I wonder what my 1999 Mustang Cobra Convertible would bring there?

The percentage of import and other taxes vary dependent on engine size & year of manufacture etc and the best deals are to be had on cars of engine size less than 2000cc and made pre 1970 but if you stick to that criteria there is indeed money to be made.

They also need to be LHD or they're going to be difficult to sell and/or will have to be sold for a lower price.