Norway > The car won't start anymore

Up early. We have a long travel day ahead. Today we are driving to Tromsø. Along the way, we will need to take two ferries. After breakfast, we load the luggage into the car. When we try to drive off, Brutus won’t start. It only makes a “click.” It can’t be the battery, because the lights still work. It seems the starter motor has failed. There is no choice but to call the ANWB for help. They’ve never handled a breakdown this far north before.

Norway - The hotel in the northernmost town in the world Hammerfest

They can’t say exactly how long it will take for someone to arrive, but they will send someone. About half an hour later, a car pulls up with a mechanic. He checks the engine, tries to start, and examines the battery. “It’s the starter,” he mutters. He can’t fix it on the spot. The car needs to be transported to a garage in Hammerfest. Someone will come to pick it up. Another hour of waiting. A truck arrives. The driver turns out to be from the local fire department but is currently the only driver available for this truck. The other driver has reached his driving limit. Brutus is lifted onto the truck and driven to the garage. In front of the garage is another Land Rover—a Belgian Defender. The owner explains in Flemish that he also had starter problems on his way to the North Cape. His starter motor has already been replaced. He didn’t make it all the way to the northern tip. The garage owner looks concerned. He explains that there are hardly any spare Land Rover parts available in Norway. There was only one starter motor, and he just installed it yesterday in the Belgian car. He will call for alternatives. A little later, he returns with an option. There is a starter motor available, but it must come from abroad. With express delivery, it could arrive next Friday. He also estimates the transport cost at 15,000 Norwegian Kroner (about €1,700). The mechanic calls us over. He might have a trick. If you give the starter a little tap, the engine might start again. This works a few times, but then no longer. The starter motor seems completely dead. Disappointed, the mechanic sees this option fail too. Back to calling the Netherlands. If the car can’t be repaired within 48 hours, a replacement vehicle would be provided. But given our travel schedule, we wouldn’t be able to pick up the car later. The car would then need to be transported to the Netherlands, and a rental car found that could be returned there—a costly and complicated solution.

Norway - The car needs to be towed to the garage

Several options are considered: temporarily renting a car for a week and then driving straight home from Hammerfest? Anything is better than being stuck in Hammerfest. Eventually, the ANWB proposes sending a starter motor from the Netherlands. Someone would fly with the starter to Hammerfest, arriving tomorrow afternoon. The route would be via Bergen, Tromsø, and finally Hammerfest. Although the garage is normally closed on Saturdays, Kristian is willing to open it and install the starter. This way, no mechanic needs to be flown in, and no tools need to be brought from the Netherlands. We cancel the hotel in Tromsø (though the costs are non-refundable due to the late cancellation) and book the hotel in Hammerfest for two more nights. Hopefully, the car can be running again tomorrow, and we can continue our trip. After that, we’ll figure out what to do with the already booked hotels and ferries. A taxi takes us back to the hotel. It’s now four o’clock. The day has passed. In the evening, after dinner, we plan how to adjust the route to still get home on time. If we stay one night less in Lofoten and one day less in the fjord region, it should fit. Of course, this is conditional on Brutus starting again tomorrow.