Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Ron Mummert
Even back then dealers didn't want anything older than maybe 5 years.
Used car lots weren't as common as they are in the states, & most of the older vehicles were wholesaled out to "lesser" societies such as Holland & Belgium.
|
The used car guy I was put in touch with actually exports many of his cars to Turkey and Russia. Those are the new "lesser" societies of today.
You're right about there not being so many large used car lots around here. Thank goodness for the internet, or we'd spend most of our time driving around to various dealers, many quite small, in search of a car. My in-laws seem to always either buy new or a demo model direct from a local new car dealership. Another newer popular car shopping trend is to go for EU imports. Prices vary quite considerably within the various different member countries of the EU so you can sometimes save a hefty amount by buying a car in, for example, Finland, and bringing it to Germany. There's lots of EU-import dealers nowadays who do only that. Mostly they deal only in new/er cars.
Quote:
08/03/2005
The European Commission’s latest report on car prices shows new car prices converging across the EU, including in new Member States. While price differentials between certain countries, and particularly for certain models, are still significant, the gap is closing. In the euro zone, pre-tax prices are generally lowest in Finland and most expensive in Germany. Looking at the EU as a whole, cars are less expensive on average in the new Member States, with Estonia being the cheapest market.
|
Hmm... maybe we should plan a holiday trip to Estonia?
Figures we live in the most expensive region
Quote:
|
Only an American G.I. could get away with such an abomination, as such a contraption would never get through "TUV" - Techniche.....etwas?...the equivolent of a USA safety inspection, but MUCH more scrutinizing.
|
Yeah, the Technischer Überwachungsverein (TÜV) inspection is mandatory every two years. There's also a compulsory emission test at the same time. Your car will fail even if you have a bit too much rust yet is in perfect working condition. Our Justy is prone to rust, so just before the inspection date, we shell out money for bodywork and partial paint jobs. Funny thing is that our SVX passed inspection just last November with NO problems found, so I wasn't expecting such a catastrophic failure.
Quote:
|
As the Germans tend to raise bureaucracy to an art form...
|
Oh, don't get me started!
I was lucky and didn't have to take any driving tests to get my Germany car licence. I was told it was a simple trade. HAH! Ended up taking 7 weeks and 5 days, plus trips to city hall, licensing bureau, an optometrist for eye test, photo place for passport photo etc. etc. before I finally had it in my hand.
Quote:
|
I take it you're an American citizen? Viele Gluck!
|
Close - I'm Canadian and my husband is German. Thanks, I have a feeling I'm going to need all the luck (Glück) I can get.