Err.. I think that for the cost of shipping this car over, you could get quite a few parts locally, eh?

Well, first of all, I'd like to thank everyone for their responses and thoughts and advice. They are much appreciated. It is nice to know that there is somebody out there who understands. Most of my friends here are saying that it should be a no-brainer and I should simply get rid of the car. Easier said than done, at least for me.

I just got back this evening after 5 hours and three changes by train. Not my favourite mode of travel, but I must admit the trains here are efficient. I spent about three hours chatting with a German woman who works at an addiction rehab centre. We got to talking about cars, naturally, and she admitted that she also has a problem in letting go of old yet much loved cars. I suppose you could say I got a bit of free therapy. Guess I am addicted to my SVX.

I left the car back in Switzerland since we haven’t made any final decision. I’m about 99% certain that we won’t fix the car, though. The Swiss mechanic told me that there’s a glut of SVXs on the market right now in Germany, so I wouldn’t get much for parting it out. You see, the taxes and registration fees went up a lot as of January 1 this year, so many folks are getting rid of their SVXs. The price of gas also isn’t helping. Last time I filled up, it was 1.38 euro for premium gasoline. Now it is over 1.40 euro per litre at some places. That’s about $6.47 US per US gallon!

For just a teeny bit more than the cost of repairing our car, someone could buy a newer model with less mileage already in running condition. Obviously there could be hidden faults that would need repairs. But that's how it goes.