3rd Gen Tacoma in Frankfurt

Hello,
It looks like my employer will be temporarily transferring me to Frankfurt, Germany for a few years. I have the option of taking my 3rd Gen Tacoma (2016, 2.7 2wd) with me at their expense. Not sure if this is a good idea or not and checking to see if anyone has any experience or recommendations on whether I should take it or just sell it and buy something smaller (employer will pay reasonable amount of VAT) when I arrive. I'll be temporarily rehoming my 1st Gen with family or friends as I'm keeping that one until it dies or I die. Thanks.

 

Good afternoon! I'm in Germany with a Tacoma that I bought here through MAS. Personally I think it depends very much on what you plan to do. As many will tell you, parking in Germany and even just driving around in general can be tough with a vehicle bigger than a car. I have driven mine through downtown Stuttgart several times and it is manageable if you are a confident driver. Parking is the worst part. Many parking garages are too low for trucks, and I find myself looking up garages in the area where I want to go just to check the height limit (which will be listed in meters).

In addition to this, be prepared to have the odd German give you a dirty look for having such an extra vehicle here. That being said, sitting higher up in a truck is nice because most cars here are small and I can see over them in traffic.

If you plan to stay in the city and travel within the city area mostly, it's very easy to use public transportation here. I generally take the train now as it's just easier than driving and finding a place to park. However the Tacoma is great on the autobahn so if you want to travel further it does fine there.

I've attached a couple pics of my truck parked in garage spots to show how tight they can be. I have it backed all the way up to the wall in these pics and it barely fits length wise. The spots are narrow as well, so if people park on either side of you be prepared to squeeze.

Any other questions just let me know!

 

Thanks for the input. At this time I’m leaning towards selling as my employer advised I’m on my own to pass TUV. It’s not a final decision yet. I think the hardest part will be being away from my 1st Gen. I’m beyond attached to it.

 

That's true, I didn't have to pass TUV since mine was new from a dealer so I forgot that may be an issue for you. The inspections are notoriously strict. You're probably better off with that plan.

I feel you on your first gen. I've never had one, but I did leave a couple vehicles behind in the states that I miss dearly. Such is life.

 

I would probably pass TUV but was warned about others that tried and ended up having to ship back to the US because of TUV. My employer will pay a reasonable amount of VAT if I don’t ship my car. Maybe I’ll get a VW GTI or BMW M140i.

My contract is for 3-5 years so I’ll eventually reunite with my 1st Gen at the displeasure of my wife.

 

A quick hatchback would be perfect. Decent amount of room for a small car and zippy enough to be enjoyable around town and on the Autobahn.

Good luck with the move my friend, hit me up if you need anything. I'm not in Frankfurt but I may be able to offer advice. Missing your 1st gen will suck but at least you have something to look forward to when you get back.

 

Just brought my Tacoma through German specs.
If you are not under SOFA here, you need to have several conversions, depending on what model of Tacoma you have.
Mine is a 2023 DCSB TRD OR V6 AT. The reverse lights had to be modified into orange turn signals. The electric for the trailer has to be redone.
Key is having lived in the US for more than 365 days and having the vehicle more than 183 days in your possession and use (registered). Then, if you can prove residence in Germany (not tourist visa), you can claim it as houshold goods. That means no VAT. Customs will charge you one month of German vehicle tax-€57.—.
Going through specs is interesting. If your vehicle is younger than 2013, lots of extra mods have to be done. If houshold goods, there are many waivers (e.g. head light waiver, air conditioning, noise, speed, tires, …). If not household goods, they can even disable your air conditioning if ran with R134a instead of the new R1234yf. Hessen (and Frankfurt is in Hessen) requires a light check, no waivers excepted.
The trailer hitch is the next part… Toyota states in the handbook 3500kg. Initially they just put 1500kg. I complained and they put 2900kg. Don't ask! My take is that is Toyota tested and cleared for 3500kg, why do I get only 2900kg entered in the documents? They also only will accept fixed mounted trailer adapter with 50mm ball. Ugly as crap! Here a link to a company making adapters that do not require specs by TUEV:
https://www.ahk-onlineshop.eu/zubehoer-ahk/us-adapter/#cc-m-product-14626973022
Just make sure the height above street is correct.
They will mount a red rear fog light in the back under the bumper. German requirement for fog with visibility below 50m.
Not sure if your Taco shows mi and km/h. If yes, no props. If no, you need to replace the speedometer.
Next is the size of the license plates. Front is German size plates, no way around it. Rear is complicated! The area for the plates between the plate lights is 52cm-sufficient for German size plates. However, you then have to remove the US trailer electric outlets. Some DMVs are cool and give you the US size plates, some are plain buttheads and give you the large plates only.
Registration- next issue. The customs classify the Tacoma as PKw (car). Why? Because the tax is insanely high if younger than 2013. The TUEV classifies it as N1 pick-up. The insurance may insure it as PKw or Lieferwagen. The DMV can opt to either follow the Customs or the TUEV. Therefore, make sure you ask your insurance for both eVBs, PKw and Lieferwagen.
Fuel is crazy expensive. Climate freaks here may just destroy your car by scratching the paint or worse. Know where you go? My Tacoma is LEV III which is Euro 6 norm. They will give you an Euro 4 sticker. It is green, so no props to drive in the city. But here the German craziness: our 4Runner is 2008, 4L engine, LEV II. Tax is 280 a year. My Tacoma is 2023, 3.5L engine, LEV III. Tax is 648 a year. How can a clean car be more expensive in tax than an old dirty one? As of 2021 they go by CO2 emissions! And there the Tacoma is high. This can be avoided by registering it as Lieferwagen, which then will be more expensive in insurance.
The size is not really a drama, there are huge European cars as long as the Tacoma. But garages are mostly tight spots. Be prepared to park outside.
You will lose the US title. Make sure you have a certified copy before you register in Germany for when you come back to the US.
Parts-I brought half a container of spare parts. You can get them here, but crazy expensive. all connect services and the SOS (which the 2016 does not have) will not work due to the GSM band.
Hope that helped. If more info needed PM me.

 

Taco and I now in Germany! Got all the conversions for German specs done, got then specs, got the German registration. Trailer weight limitation took a discussion, as initially they entered 1500kg (as the handbook states 2900kg) . But that was corrected then. Size of the license plate was an issue, some municipalities are just ignorant! However, got a 38cm plate which did allow to mount the German trailer electrical outlet next to it.
Driving here is different…
The vehicle has sufficient power to master the roads and the road situations, as accelerating onto the Autobahn-I just have to punch the gas pedal and get into the 4000+ RPM sometimes. Anthing I very seldom had to do in the US.
Max allowed speed was determined at 182km/h. Driving at 160-170km/h is the limit or my comfort zone in the Taco on straight roads in dry conditions . But till then it rides really well on the Autobahn. 182km/h means that I am 2km/h above S and need T tires-which are more expensive of course… Need different tires than my GY Wrangler AT M&S, they slip pretty quickly on these highways. This is one requirement of German specs anyways-tires with EU specs.
Pick up in speed in the hilly areas around the Eifel is challenging if you try to keep the fuel consumption in mind. Running the truck between 12 and 13.5 L/100km equating to 17.5-19.4 MPG. Gas prices are at 6.5-7$ per USGAL.
Refueling is interesting also. When the pump clicks off, I can still add around 7L (almost 2 USGAL) when slowly pumping. Seems like the pressure is a bit higher here and makes the fuel bubble up more.
Parking is an issue, the Taco OR DCSB is a long vehicle in comparison to most German cars. Nose or aft often sticks out, just waiting to get hit. Wide turn radius also does not help much in these situations.
Typical one car garages are too small for the Taco, often have to park outside.
Really annoying thing is the speedometer and the display. The speedometer has km/h on the inner arc, of course smaller than the MPH. In daylight, with DRL on, the speedometer is unlit which makes it incredible hard to read the km/h. The display has the km/h in big, well readable numbers, but they get masked by this useless “radar ready” and other indications for several seconds. Especially when driving in speed restricted areas, this is disturbing as I am driving unaware of my actual speed. Hitting the return button on the wheel is equally distracting. Running into a speed trap may get more expensive for a Taco driver, as it is registered as small truck, not as passenger car. For trucks the penalties are higher by nature.
The nav does not work, no way to get the European maps loaded. Apple car play works, but is often overloaded when nav, music, and a call is ongoing- I have one of these bluetooth connections type deal things. Will have to go back to the good old cable solution…
At night, the LED lights are perceived as blinding by some drivers in opposing traffic, as they flash their high beams at me. The auto-high beam does not work well. The sensor does not recognize the small lights on the top of the cabin of semi trucks. The guard rails block the headlights. Result is that the high beams are not cancelled automatically requiring manual on/off.
Else, it is an awesome drive here with Taco, I enjoy it majorly! Taco is one great vehicle and it was well worth all the efforts to bring it here!