European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 11, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Continued from Page 13 inner condition is not listed on the document. It s up to local claims offices to decide whether the claim is legitimate. Next step is the safety inspection station. About 20 percent of the cars going through this station flunk the majority because of Brake problems according to Center personnel. The station has a special machine that checks All brakes individually and can detect even slight prob lems. Motorists should have their warning Triangle and first Aid kit in their car. If they Don to they re turned away until they get them. Motorists whose cars fail the inspection Are sent Back to the Center where personnel can recommend a reputable garage. In most cases the car is ready the same Day. The billeting office can help find accommodations for those who have to spend the night. Once the car is fixed the customer brings the Bill Back to the inspection station where an official looks it Over to verify that the car was fixed. The next step is station six tags and registration. Station six is actually station two revisited Here motorists collect and install their tags. Tools Are available at station three for the Price of an id card. When the Job s done customers return to station six to pick up their registration. Then they re free. To get Back on the autobahn turn right going out the front Gate and follow the Blue signs. The Section is open monday saturday from 7 45  3 30 . For More information Call  military 2441 8167 or 8168, its 342-8167 or 8168, or civilian 0471 891-8167 or 8168. Greece the transportation terminal in Piraeus is the Only for Mal vehicle processing Center in the country. There arc Small centers at Iraklion and Souda Bay Crete. They ship and receive vehicles moving Between Crete and the greek Mainland. However All vehicles entering and departing Greece including Crete must go to Piraeus for Complete import and Export processes. The five employees at Piraeus process about 1,500 vehicles a year. During the summer the weekly workload ranges from 35 to 50. The transportation movements offices to at Hel Len Ikon a Iraklion and Souda Bay prepare the paper work to get Host nation customs clearances by working from an import Manifest listing vehicles owners Nam Sand units. Once the vehicle is in country and in control of the Center at Piraeus the mos arc called. They in turn Complete customs forms and notify the owners. Personnel stationed on Crete get their vehicles by ferry boat or Container to either Iraklion or Souda Bay within48 hours. Vehicles arc inspected three to four times depending on their final destination. These include when it s discharged at Piraeus. Stored in a holding area or warehouse. Delivered to and loaded aboard a ferry boat. Picked up by the owner. Picking up the vehicle is a snap officials say. Custom ers report to the documentation Section on the second floor of the Center. There they Complete the paperwork and proceed to the operations Section. After a joint inspection to see if the vehicle was damaged during ship ment the customers sign their do form 788 and depart. To Clear customs motorists present a copy of the completed customs clearance form to a greek customs offi Cial at the Gate. Vehicle inspection stations Are at the . Embassy in Athens hell Nikon Iraklion and Souda Bay. The inspection includes brakes lights condition of tires and Overall mechanical condition of the vehicle. A warning Triangle approved first Aid kit and a fire extinguisher also must be in the vehicle. Operating hours Are monday through Friday except american and greek holidays7 30 . To 2 30 . Phone numbers Are 462-3173 or 6311. Helpful hints Contact local transportation movement offices As soon As possible. Read the Greece vehicle processing Booklet available at the to. Complete a defensive driving course before attempt ing to drive in Greece. Spain Cadiz on the Southern tip of Spain holds the main . Vehicle processing Center for the iberian Peninsula. There arc Small ports at Barcelona Spain which handles Zara go a and Lisbon Portugal which takes care of Portugal. Six people at the Cadiz Center process the majority of vehicles to and from Spain. During the Low season the Cadiz Center handles about 5 to 10 vehicles a week during High season about 15-20. During 1983 it processed 1,360 in 1984, 1,134. Customers in Spain Are notified by letter that their vehicle is ready for pick up. In Portugal they Are contacted by the local transportation office. Vehicles Are inspected twice. The first inspection is done at Cadiz immediately after the vehicle is unloaded from the Container. This determines if the vehicle was damage when loaded transported and unloaded. Next comes the joint inspection by the service member and the . Government official when the vehicle i picked up. In Spain there Are no safety inspection requirements to be met before a vehicle can be released to its owner. Motorists Are encouraged to Contact their local vehicle registration office for information on Host nation and base safety requirements. The Spain centers arc open monday through Friday except Spanish and american holidays from 8 30 . To 4 30 . The Portugal Center is closed on portuguese and american holidays. For More information Call Cadiz commercial 263503 or Auto on 723-1110, and ask for the terminal at Cadiz. Or Call transportation movements offices at Rota Spain commercial 811389, ext. 2119 or Auto on 727-1110, ext. 2119. Moron a Spain commercial 573956 or 573957, ext. 2131, or Auto on 722-1110, ext 2131. Torr Jon a Spain commercial 2056432 or 2056433 or Auto on 723-6432/6433. Zaragoza a Spain commercial 214600, ext. 2115 or Auto on 724-2115. Lisbon Portugal commercial 243-0932 or Auto on 723-1110 ask for . Embassy in Lisbon then for Berlant and ext. 335. . Embassy Lisbon Portugal commercial 725600, ext. 2286 or Auto on 723-1110, ask for . Embassy in Lisbon then ext. 2286. Italy about 80 cars a month Are processed at Livorno for incoming motorists at Livorno Vicenza Aviano and Verona. The Naples terminal handles about 45-50 cars for people in Naples and Brindisi. Naples is the Only area in Italy that i know of that registers cars and issues Afi License plates free said Mario Grille motor vehicle transportation officer for Italy. Most registration offices charge about $15 for registration and licensing  Naples has not charged for those services since april 1. All cars shipped into Italy at government expense on offi Cial orders Are picked up at either Livorno or Naples. Once a car arrives in Italy a temporary importation document is issued. After the car is registered with the motor vehicle office an appointment is made to get a Tittio an italian document for customs free temporary  once a Motorist has the Tittio License plates Are is sued. Road tax must be paid on any car issued a Black Afi License plate which indicates the second car owned by an individual Grillo said. That tax is determined by the horsepower of the vehicle. A car of 90 horsepower costs about $35 a year in italian Road tax. Grillo and motor vehicle registration office employees from other areas of Italy said the first step anyone should take before picking up their car is to Check with local registration offices. The leghorn terminal is open monday Friday except America holidays 8 to 11 . And 1 to 4 . Telephone is Auto on 633-7587. The Naples Center is open monday Friday except american holidays from 9 . To noon and 1 to 3 30 . Telephone is Auto on 625-4252. Don t worry about damage d on t worry about damage official say the Odds Are about 0.5 percent that an has occurred while a car is being shipped. Soit s unlikely they say that a car has been crushed by a tractor or dropped from a ship. This command is not in the Odds making business said an official for the european military traffic management come at Rotterdam Netherlands. But the chances of having a damage or pilferage free vehicle shipment Are excellent. A goal of .5 percent for major damage or pilferage is realistic from a transportation perspective he said. The definition of major is any damage or pilferage that exceeds $200. About 95 percent of incoming vehicles Are received inside a Container. Containerized vehicles officials say have More Protection against damage or pilferage. Benelux Rotterdam is the Home of the Only certified vehicle processing Center for the Benelux countries and serves Oesterberg a Camp new Amsterdam he accent Brun sum and nato shape at both Brussels and Mons Belgium. It s also used As an alternate port for customers in other european countries to ship vehicles to the states or other destinations. With two military workers and three civilians the Center processes about 75 vehicles a week during the Busy months May to August and 50 during slower periods. The vehicles Are inspected when they come off the ship before being placed in the import lot. If the car was damaged during shipment it s noted on the do form 788. Customers and local transportation offices Are notified by phone when the car arrives. Documents needed to pick up the vehicle Are a copy of do form 788, proof of identity a set of keys and a Power of attorney if the car is picked up by anyone other than the owner. While motorists Are waiting for their Host nation License pates to arrive stateside plates Are used. And a stateside Driver s License is valid in the Benelux. Vehicles Are Given saftey inspections at the customer s Home station. The inspections Are usually stringent and must be passed before the vehicle can be licensed. The Center is open monday Friday except dutch holi Days from 8 . To 3 . Telephone is 31- 0 10-280208 or Auto on 362-1110, ext. 133. Turkey there Are three ports in Turkey. Izmir the largest serves that area a Small port at Iskenderun serves incur Lik and Istanbul serves All other areas. Izmir and Istanbul process about 800 cars a year. Iskenderun is not operating at the moment. At Izmir customers Are contacted by the processing Center and Given a checklist of things to do involving turkish customs and Laws. Once the car has been cleared through customs by the processing Center the customer can pick up the car. The car is inspected about three times when it comes out of the Container 99.9 percent of vehicles come by Container by turkish customs and by traffic police. An official at Izmir said the traffic police inspection fixes the identity of the vehicle to make the sure the same car that comes in goes out. The inspection notes items such As serial number and color. Repainting a car before it leaves the country can cause problems because Ankara is 300 Miles from the port of Istanbul the to at Ankara processes cars before customers assigned there go to pick them up. Cars go through the traffic police inspection when they get to Ankara. The centers Are open monday Friday from 8 . To 5 . Lon Cabot Naples Bureau chief contributed to this report. Workers at a port in Britain open up a Container As they prepare to unload the car inside. S8.s photo by Dave Diehl the woman behind the voice Page 14 the stars and stripes is photo by Terry d. Bake Bremerhaven workers examine a dented Container. Such damage officials say is rare. Tuesday june 11,1985 p at Bruenjes is  is the Oracle of Bremerhaven the voice that almost everybody who is looking for their car talks to. She s the information woman at the vehicle processing Center. Although she can handle just about every question her official Job is to Tell people if their cars Are ready to be picked up. For eight hours a Day she sits in a Small room. Her desk two telex machines and a coat rack keep her company and two phones on the desk keep her Busy. Hello vehicle processing she calmly says As her other phone is ringing. Where is it coming from sir she Waits for the answer. When did you turn it in pause. What s your name another pause. Yes your car is ready for  she finishes and hangs up. Almost instantly As she answers the other phone the first phone starts to ring. She ignores it while she patiently goes on to the next customer. Bruenjes answers about 100 to 150 Calls a Day. On March 22, she answered 197. I be worked Here for 14 years and i be done just about every Job Bruenjes says. So if a customer has a question i can answer it or at least i know who can. One time 1 had a Man Call me to ask if he could ship 200 pounds of used ammunition with his car she says. Can you imagine that i Haven t the foggiest where he would have put  another time a Man was expecting a camper from the states. The camper was Here. A lot of people want to know if there s any damage to their car this Man did t care about that. He wanted to know if the curtains in the camper were dirty. He said if they were his wife would give him a dog s  i get All kinds of strange Calls she said leaning Back in her chair and laughing. One time a Guy called to find out if his car was in. I asked where he d turned it in and he could t Tell me she said. Apparently he d gotten so drunk he forgot what port he went to. A Guy called Here asking about his car. When i asked for his name he said is that necessary How did the Guy expect me to help him without his name one might wonder How with the constant ringing of telephones she keeps her sanity but she swears it does t bother her. As the door shuts to Seal her Back into her Small office she picks up a phone and says in a Calm Friendly voice hello vehicle  Diana Valdez the stars and stripes Page 15