Between the seller and us, things are not going so smoothly. We tell him we want to buy this green Jeep but, as we will take it to Europe, it should be tax free. He is positive that either we pay taxes and it is in order for us to take the car and make what journey we want, or we do not pay the tax and the car is directly sent to Los Angeles in the return container. The atmosphere is a bit tense. The shining eyes of Stéphane L, at the prospect of owning “his” Jeep, are gradually fading. It’s a real blow. And yet this Jeep is so magnificent: “Willys Edition” model, green colour, camouflage seats, enhances, big tires, it has got everything for a Jeep to go to the Rubicon Trail. Stéphane L can’t believe it.

 

The seller does not want to see sense. A deep breath and we resume the discussion. We already managed to make the price drop, from 19′000 to 17,000 dollars. But now, we can’t do without the tax, otherwise no Rubicon. Moreover, Stéphane B is waiting of us up in San Francisco. We are coming to a breaking point. Our interlocutor is stubborn and we feel lost. He will never change his mind and the time is running against us. We cancel some of our future steps. It took us more time and more kilometres than expected to find vehicles,. And then, we still have to go to Roseville for the black Jeep papers. As a result, we agree with the seller, that’s OK, we don’t  pay the taxes. The seller agrees to have the papers ready for the following day. We pay our vehicle and go to San Francisco to meet Stéphane B. 

 

Quite an exhausting experience. No way for us to speak French. In the United States, we speak English and it is not easy to understand everything, above all the administrative matters. Anyway, we meet Stéphane B in San Francisco and analyse the situation. Our budget went beyond the previous 15,000 dollars. Two Jeeps for 24′500 dollars. Oops!. Okay, it will be easier to resell the green one (and to cover our costs!) – it is from 2004, it is a very limited series made on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Normandy landings, with a full equipment apart from a winch. We had seen another one, blue at 14,000 dollars, but which dated 2001. The additional investment will be worth it. Back to San Francisco, we fetch Stéphane B almost frozen to death and go to a motel in Auckland for the night. Tomorrow will be another day. On the evening of the fourth day, our two Jeep were there. Finally. However we now know it is not so easy to find a Wrangler.