HELP! Need reasons to fix and keep SVX

[RojoRocket]

Bipa,

"Lately, I mostly swear when I see the "end of speed limit zone" sign as I'm crawling at 5 km/hr in one of Germany's famous summer traffic jams."

I could easily substitute "Bay Area" for Germany here, but NEVER "end of speed limit zone."

"Hmm... guess I should stop swearing so much"

Nah!! LOL Great to have a new contributor with a different angle on driving on "the continent". Welcome! and please stick around (with your SVX of course!!)

Glenn

[SSSVX]

Thanks for showing us the pics.

See, you even have the headlight washers that we don't have...

Your svx looks good. So you going to keep your car, right..?

I was sitting at my computer today, trying to decide which route to take down to Switzerland. This time I figured it was worth studying a map before actually getting into the car. I actually like getting lost when there's no time pressures; I discover great new places that way, but not when my car is being cranky.

I'm not sure if I should stick to the autobahn and try for a fast time, or take it easy and stay mainly on secondary highways. I'll want lots of available rest stops along the way so I can pretty much pull over at any time to cool off the engine if it starts to overheat. My goal is to never let it go over the 3/4 mark to ensure no further damage. The autobahn has quite a few nice big rest areas, along with lots of little emergency stopping areas, though I'd prefer to avoid using the emergency areas if possible. Secondary highways have lots of little parking lots for people who want to go for a little nature hike, so both options are viable.

I've pretty much decided to stop at my in-laws overnight. That will add about 100km to the length of the trip because of the slight detour, but should make it easier overall since they are almost exactly half way. I'd end up driving about 185 km (115 miles) the first day, and 175 km (109 miles) the next. (Assuming autobahn route.) My sister-in-law and her family want to go with me to the fireworks festival, so we'd be at least two cars together for the second leg. Seems I'll be alone on the first leg, since my husband has a tentative business trip coming up right around that time. Can't decide if it's good or bad that he won't be along

I'm a bit concerned about the Stuttgart area - lots of roadwork and always heavy traffic, so I'm also thinking of doing the first leg at 2am to avoid the worst of the delays, and it's also cooler. With a cell phone handy I shouldn't get into serious trouble, and I've always preferred late night driving in Germany when the autobahn is practically empty. MINE!

Somewhere I read once "Seek and ye shall find" and guess what? I found a great web site I want to pass on. Forgive me if you already know about it, but I think it is worth a mention. It allows you to plan trips and it will mark various places along the way for you, such as rest areas and parking lots, or even dentists and zoos. It seems to cover Canada and the US, as well as all of Europe and a few other countries as well (anyone planning a road trip in Lebanon? ) www.map24.com

I'm using it to map out possible nice rest areas for my trip. I gotta remember to bring some munchies and a good book along to read, since each stop will be at least an hour But if I can manage to stop only at big proper rest areas, then I can enjoy an ice cream or ice café while I'm waiting. Gotta think positive, eh?

[TomsSVX]

good luck!! I hope all works out for the best

Tom

[ensteele]

Good luck on the trip. Sounds like a good way to go and keep the car cooler. Let us know how things turn out.

[94svxred]

Since your making thr trip to swissland. Dose this mean your going to keep the car YEAH Good Luck and have fun on the Autobahn Oh and say HI to the In-Laws for us!!

I wish it were that easy, just drive down, fix it and done.

Last night had a long chat about car costs. Can't figure out why a country that has no-speed-limit highways makes it so expensive to own and drive cars that have a bit more power to take advantage of those highways.

Car taxes in Germany are based on emmission standard and also how many cubic centimetres your engine has (in hundreds). This year the price went up to 15.13 per 100 ccm. The SVX has a 3319 ccm engine, so they round it up to 34 for the calculation.

15.13 euro x 34 = 514.42 euro

From 2001 to 2004, SVX tax was 10.84 per 100 ccm.
In 2000, it was only 6.75

Today, new/er cars with the best emmission class of Euro4 cost 6.75 per 100 ccm. The SVX is classified as a Euro1. It might be possible to get it up to a D3, which is what the German SVX Club is trying to organise. That would bring the tax down to 6.75, same as current best Euro4. But the fact that the govt has made a special class for 3 litre motors makes my husband suspicious that soon it will also be increased. I blame it all on the current coalition government which includes a strong Green Party. But German politics is another story

Here's our cost rundown for the next 6 months:

Registration tax for one year: 514 euro (assuming no further increase)
Insurance: around 450 euro
new winter tires: about 600 euro
head gaskets,brakes,service etc at least 2000 euro

So we're talking about costs of at least 3,564 euro in the next 6 months, not including gas and anything else that comes up. That's about $4,350 USD.

I need about 10 litres per 100 km. At current prices of around 1.29 euro per litre, that means it costs me about 13 euro per 100 km for gasoline. My trip to Switzerland will cost about 100 euro just for gas. Thank goodness I can stay at a friend's place, so no additional hotel costs.

Well, we'll see what the mechanic says in his estimate.

[RojoRocket]

Bipa,

"So we're talking about costs of at least 3,564 euro in the next 6 months, not including gas and anything else that comes up. That's about $4,350 USD."

Admittedly a good bit of expense, even aside from the cost of repairs. What alternatives (yes, there are alternatives SVX fans) have you looked at should it become necessary to replace her? I know we ***** here about the current fuel costs, for me, $2.65 a gallon. What could you purchase that would significantly lower your costs, higher emissions rating and fuel economy, but still afford the same pleasures of driving? I assume insurance costs would rise significantly with a more expensive purchase?
Sorry, but after a year and a half of driving my rocket daily it's difficult to imagine stepping down to an "econobox" that wouldn't treat these old bones with the same comfort.

Glenn

[94svxred]

BIPA , I will not let mine go if i can help it , but I haven't encountered the exspenses your looking at . Mine is not a daily driver ,just fun on the weekends. I hope when you get to your mech. ,It won't be as bad as you think! . Try to keep your chin up and I'll see at 2006 World Cup!

Hmm... maybe I should start a new thread "what's the best budget car to get when replacing an SVX"

We recently test drove a car my husband spotted on the lot of a Toyota dealer in our area. It is a Corolla station wagon, 1.6 L engine with 81kW / 110 PS (similar to HP but measured a bit differently).

I don't think you can get them in North America 'cause I doubt anyone would buy it, but this car is quite popular over here because it is inexpensive to maintain re: taxes, insurance and gas. Suffice to say that when going up a bit of a hill, I had the gas pedal floored and managed to hit 80km/hr as I was reaching the top. (max 100km limit there - I usually whizz up at 110 in the SVX) I wasn't impressed, especially since the car was empty except for the two of us. Can't imagine the car fully loaded with 4 people on a longer holiday trip But they seem to think it is worth 16,400 euro. It's a 2003 with 24,000km.

Take a look at it if you want: http://www.faircar.autoscout24.de/ge...=&euroto=&zip=

I actually enjoyed our test drive of the Outback but it's a little steep at 25,900 euros. It's a 2004, 2.5 Litre, 121 kW (165 PS) with 21,710 km and is even a Euro4, but we just can't swing that at the moment. (We just renovated our new apartment, put in new carpeting etc... the renter in Germany has the responsibility of painting and renovating either when moving in or moving out.)

You can see the Outback here:
http://www.mobile.de/SID1xIsYguiu2mU...1111168790945&

Husband wants a station wagon since it is more practical. I guess what I'd be okay with is either a 2.0 or 2.5 litre engine, with at least 85kW or 116PS, (well ok.. more power would be nice but I'm talking bare minimum here). We don't really need AWD now that we no longer live on the side of a mountain, but I can see it coming in handy a few days each winter on the rural roads around here. Perhaps an Impreza or Legacy kombi (station wagons are called kombi's here) Husband would also consider Audi, Mercedes, VW, Toyota, Ford, but nothing French and no Opels or Fiats.

Keep in mind that many models are continent specific, so for example the newest Subaru Tribeca or Baja doesn't even appear on the German Subaru web site. Instead, we've got the little Justy which only appeared in North America for a few years before being pulled 'cause nobody bought it. If you really want a shock, compare the USA Ford web site with the German. Almost a totally different line-up of cars. (ok, slight exaggeration )

Well enough about possible replacement cars. I'm starting to get depressed. Time for chocolate!