We went online to https://www.whereismypov.com/ (type this in exactly as you see it, one altered letter will bring up 100 porn sights popping up!!, yea it happened to us!) and found out that Atlanta,GA was the closest VPC (vehicle processing center) to Fort Benning. On the site it tells you what you are and are not allowed to keep in the car and what all paperwork you need from Lienholder or Lease holder. The website is very informative, you can look up and see where the nearest VPC is to you and to where you are going.
We got to Atlanta from a 15+ hour road trip back from Texas so you can imagine how the inside of the car looked. We stopped off and got our rental car to drive until we leave for Germany. We transferred all of the luggage we had with us over to the rental at the car wash (most of our luggage at this time was stored at a friend's). Then we began the rush to detail and clean the car so we could take it to the VPC. We vacuumed out the car real well, wiped down the leather seats, cleaned the windows and overall did the best we could with what we had at the car wash. I took it through the drive through car wash and did the ultra supreme wash. I had to wipe off a few stubborn bugs from the front bumper but overall it looked good. I checked under the hood and it was just dusty, I did my best to wipe it down. It was about 2pm and I wanted to get the car to the VPC in case we had to re-clean anything we would have time. They are open from 8-4pm M-F but when I emailed them to see if I needed an appointment they said no just make sure we were there before 3pm so they would have enough time to do all the paperwork.
Sorry for the poor quality pics but my rear camera on my iphone is messed up so I had to use my front camera for all these pics.
Once at the VPC you will give your keys to an inspector who will take it into the inspection area and you will go inside and start your paperwork. I had to provide them with 3 copies of my orders and amendments (although website says 7), the lienholder authorization letter, and my vehicle registration form. The clerk will give you some forms to fill out, address, phone and emails stateside; address phone and emails for overseas; point of contact of family or friend stateside; and sponsor info. After you finish all your paperwork inside you will go out and do the walk thru with the inspector to check for dents, dings and scratches on your car. They are thorough, they even documented small swirl marks left from wiping off the car with a dry cloth.
They will provide a box to put anything you have left in the car. We had our trailer hitch, tow rope, warning triangle, small tub of tools, windshield screen and owners manual. When I got outside to meet the inspector he already had all of the items in the box and told me to check through it to see if it was all there or if he missed anything. He will also take off your license plates and place them in the box.
Once we went over all the cars scratches and dings he had me sign and initial the forms. That was pretty much it. He gave me a customer comment card and I gave them all excellent. It was way easier than we had thought. I did notice they had a vacuum and cleaning supplies in a corner so I guess if you had to re-clean something they would let you do it there, but our quick cleaning at the car wash seemed to be enough.
Along with all the paperwork you walk out with they will give you info on how to go onto the website and track where your car is. The clerk also told me to go online and add the phone numbers when we get our German cell phones and let the VPC in Germany know when we arrive, so if it does arrive sooner than expected they will know we are there.
I have heard that coming from Germany back to the states is a harder inspection? Is that true? Let me know your experiences and/or hints for returning.
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