OK, it is 0400 and I am sitting waiting for the 0525 bus to Capodechino Airport to fly back to Germany..."WHAT?! I thought you were picking up your 914?"



Well ladies and gentlemen, Murphy's law prevailed and stomped all over my ass! As I intend to post a lengthy synopsis of my trip a bit later, I will post the abbreviated version as a teaser to the main event for now.

Flight to Catania (pronounced caahtaanya) very close, almost missed it.
Actual pick up of the car easy; first set of problems.
1. fuel gauge not working, odometer and trip meter inop, windshield wipers not working.
2. Get to Messina in the dark, shit! Lights just went out!
3. Spend the night in Messina to catch the ferry in the morning to San Giovanni, Guess what? It stormed all night and is still raining when I get up. Remember #2?
4. Get across OK, finally starts to let up on rain, stop for gas 25 KM outside of Palmi.
5. Did you know that 'Gasolina' is not gas? Nope, it's diesel and I just put 24 liters into my tank.
6. Make it 10 KM then the diesel kicks in and she dies; Carbineiri (police) show up within minutes and tow me to an emergency area where I am eventually picked up by a tow truck and taken to Palmi.
7. After much meddling by the Italians, we drain the tank, put in "BENZIN" which is regular gas, add some oil, she was low and try again. No luck.
8. Towed from Palmi to Napoli, 400 KM, 1,100 Euros, do the conversion, not cheap.

So now, the car sits at a Porsche dealer in Napoli awaiting transport to Germany by ADAC, US AAA equivalent. Thankfully, that won't cost me anything. I will follow up on this with an in-depth snyopsis after I get home. As far as Italy? Napoli is a shit hole. Will do an OT thread on that later as well.

i could have told you to look for "Benzin", but other than that, murphy really hit 'ya hard, didn't he?

and yes, Napoli is a shit hole ...
Andy

Holy! That's the road trip from Hell! Sorry to hear about stuff like that. Takes all the fun out of it.

Yep, it really is. I was once warned never to go there without a weapon. Is that where you had to pick up you car? Sorrento is really close and is so much nicer

The entire story really sucks.

Wow ... I've had some horror stories picking up cars but that is one on top of the other on top of the other etc

Man, and I thought getting lost in Queens, NY driving an F350 with a car carrier in tow was a bitch when I picked up my car. Hope the diesel didn't wreak havoc with your motor.

I bet the diesel cleaned its pipes real gud. Maybe too good.

? for Andy

gasolin = gasoline
benzine = petrol ??

Assuming that is correct, would petroleum STILL be benzine or is there another from for petroleum?