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Anybody taken their Lupo over to Poland

Me & Chris are driving to Poland in November, we were gonna take his van but due to the fact it wouldn't probably get impounded if we did, we have decided to take the Lupo.

My main issue would be the gearbox pooping itself.

But any advise on parts to take/care to take or things to watch out for?

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Why go to Poland, when any city will do these days, plenty of them about :twisted:

Aslong as you've got good breakdown cover, make sure all fluids are topped up and don't forget (which everyone seems to) to ensure the spare tyre is pumped up correctly :paperbag: Other than that I can't see what the issue will be.

Take your Jetta, be far more comfy no doubt

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Remember the usual kit, warning triangle, spare wheel, mini air compressor, tool kit, tow rope, first aid kit, high-visibility vests, breathalysers for France, GB sticker, headlight beam deflectors, and obviously your driving license, V5 and insurance certificate.

I also have ADAC breakdown cover, which has proved to be useful over the years, even if it has been just to get me recovered to a hotel where I can fix the car myself.

In November don't forget winter tyres and snow chains, even though I have been to ski resorts in the winter, I have never needed to use snow chains, but many countries require you to carry them.

A can of spare fuel can be useful too, as service stations can be few and far between at times.

Just make sure the Lupo in in good working order, and any upcoming servicing is done.
How far is to where you are going in Poland? Would you normally drive that sort of distance around the UK without worrying things like the gearbox?

I am pretty sure the Lupo cannot tell if you are driving 3k miles around the UK, or 3k miles around Europe.

I have travelled to many places in Europe in the Lupo, not quite into Poland, but I have been as far as Norway and Hungary in it. On each of those trips I ended up with a worn wheel bearing, as if they objected to 2 days of constant driving. Of course they lasted the trips, but they made a lot of noise along the way. The only other issue I had was the passenger wiper linkage failing in a Swedish thunderstorm. As around home, you never know what odd faults may occur.

I always take a basic tool kit with me, including duct tape and cable ties.

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Remember the laws in France, you have to have correct insurance and I'm sure a hi viz top and first aid kit

Luckily I work at HIC and have all the correct cover and EU breakdown already. I'm already aware of everything needed as it is something that I need to know as part of my job.

I really needed to know more on parts that would be best to take.. Wheel bearing is a good shout and the gearbox has only just been changed in it in the last few months

I'd love to take the Jetta but the engine isn't in yet!!!

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Is your car really that unreliable? I remember going on long journeys in my old Audi and feeling sick of all possibilities, nothing went wrong.

You could take everything and you'll still forget something, so I wouldn't worry. I'd love to see you fix wheel bearings at the side of the road :P

You could prehaps do an oil change + filter, maybe air filter too

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Is your car really that unreliable? I remember going on long journeys in my old Audi and feeling sick of all possibilities, nothing went wrong.

You could take everything and you'll still forget something, so I wouldn't worry. I'd love to see you fix wheel bearings at the side of the road :P

You could prehaps do an oil change + filter, maybe air filter too

Just to be practical n wheel bearings are fine they would be useful

I changed the Corrado ones on the side of the road before no issues!!

As said I do have full breakdown but only to being me home. If we have a small issue on the way there I would like to have the parts ready to sor there and then.

So belts, fluids, wheels bearings and that would probably be it!

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Surely you'll be able to get Lupo parts easily enough anyway?

I'd just go for it. Only 1000 miles. If you were doing that distance around Britain over the course of a weekend you wouldn't even think about it. And it'll be mostly motorway miles so nice and easy on the engine and gearbox.

You know if you take spare parts it'll be something else that breaks anyway. Haha.

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I'm looking forward to taking it

and we were going to take Chris' van but he was worried he would get arrested with it and would rather have issued with he Police in this country and not Poland where he doesnt understand what they are saying!!

& that would have a much higher chance of breaking than the loop haha

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Unless the engine is in the back why have the exhaust coming out of the boot ?

Remember to pack extra socks and undies too then, maybe some bottled water and a big packet of aspirin, the list could be endless, just pack a bit **** I to a bag, fill the car up with fuel and set off.

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Unless the engine is in the back why have the exhaust coming out of the boot ?

Remember to pack extra socks and undies too then, maybe some bottled water and a big packet of aspirin, the list could be endless, just pack a bit **** I to a bag, fill the car up with fuel and set off.

I worry too much, I'm so excited about going but just worry, especially with us going end of November. Duvet will be going incase anything does happen and its sub zero conditions.

& he likes to be different and with the amount of smoke from it he looks like a steam train! :lol:

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For parts, just take duct tape, cable ties and a credit card. That will usually solve ~99.1415926535897932384626433832795028841971693993% of problems.

If you want to be sure your gearbox holds up, then take a spare and all the tools needed to change it.

But seriously, you cannot plan for failures, unless you have a known issue, in which case you should sort it before you go.

If you are making stops on the way, then it will be just a normal few thousand miles in the Lupo's life. Just carry on and drive as normal.

If you have to stop for fuel in Germany, you may have to explain that you are not Polish, your credit card is not Polish, and that you can afford to pay for your fuel, before they will activate the pump for you. BTDT many times.

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id change the alternator belt before you go, also full service and fluids and filters just because.

alternator belts are easy to change, and id rather do it now on my drive than on the side of the M4 in the rain. its not cool, trust me :tongueout:

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