I FUCKING HATE OWNING A CAR.

I see friends earning the same money as me (which is fuck all) buying cars and I wonder how the fuck they can possibly afford it. Owning a car would probably put me in another couple of grand in debt in the first year alone.
 
Torniojaws said:
You don't insist on it. It is mandatory by law for all cars, new and used. A car that has not passed the test (or the test has expired) is illegal. When caught, the police will give you a fine and order you to reserve a time at a test center. You are only allowed to drive to that test center, and nowhere else. If you get caught after this order, I guess they detain the car and will probably fine you with one helluva large fine for a repeat offense.
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They take your license plates. This has happened to my brother and my sister. Cheapskates, eh? :lol:
 
PhilR said:
I see friends earning the same money as me (which is fuck all) buying cars and I wonder how the fuck they can possibly afford it. Owning a car would probably put me in another couple of grand in debt in the first year alone.
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Yeah I own the car outright and don't have a car payment, so I can't bitch to hard when a repair comes up.

I hated having a car payment. Insurance was a lot higher as well ($35 now, $135 when I had a stupid car payment).
 
I've just not bothered learning to drive at all because I know for a fact that if I did pass my test insurance would start at £2000 here.
 
Torniojaws said:
Actually people *would* do it often, because in Finland there is some tradition about changing your car every couple of years. Mostly because it's so damn expensive to buy a new car (most average people can't afford it), they often have very old cars (15-30 years) and they keep "updating" them so they won't break so often. They bad thing ia that old cars pollute more, so I guess that's why the government made it easier to buy new/less used cars. The car tax is now based on the CO2 emissions, as I mentioned, so people also have an incentive to buy more environment-friendly cars (read: not 30 years old ones :lol:). But it's kind of hard on the poorer (40 % of Finns :p) people who can't afford a better car, so they pay more taxes.
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Jarkko Mattheiszen said:
Quite a lot of people do that, actually.
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Okay, this may be down to the used market in Finland. Here it is so big that you usually only end up importing a car if it's a rare US model or you're buying a cheaper new one as a re-import through a dealer. Importing used cars from other European countries is a rare occasion otherwise.

Jarkko Mattheiszen said:
The car had just recently passed the test, and if we had taken it to one on the day of purchase, it would have passed without a problem. The people doing the inspection won't notice if the clutch is going to break in the near future or if the gearbox is adding some nice metal flour into the transmission oil :/
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Alright, I have no idea how thorough the test in Finland is.

I'm quite lucky I guess because the guy I bought my Audi S2 from actually became somewhat of an friend and personal mechanic.

But still, even though my car just passed the test with flying colours, I still had to invest over 400 Euro for some wearing parts.

Overall I've made such great experiences with Audi over the years and throughout the family, I can hardly imagine ever driving any other brand. My S2 is almost 18 years old and in better shape than many 8 year old cars. Rust is a non-issue even though the car is always outside.
 
slashvanyoung said:
Okay, this may be down to the used market in Finland. Here it is so big that you usually only end up importing a car if it's a rare US model or you're buying a cheaper new one as a re-import through a dealer. Importing used cars from other European countries is a rare occasion otherwise.
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Importing a car from Germany is also often done because usually the cars sold here have less optional accessories (air con etc.) as those jack up the price and of course the tax a lot. So not only is there more of the better models available, but you can get them cheaper than buying locally.
 
So, let's see the situation a year later... Everything went fine for a while, until the exhaust pipe needed attention. It was supposed to be just some minor patching, but ended up to 265€ for a new pipe a few weeks ago.

Now, the Golf has to be inspected by Friday. I was comparing prices this morning, thinking I'd take it in today or tomorrow, when my fiancé came home and asked if it's normal for the airbag light to stay on. Fuck my life.

So now I'm looking at 39€ for just the diagnosis (I really need to get me a VAG-Com), and in the worst case scenario the repairs will be another 700-800€. And of course, the inspection is another 70€.

We have already spent around 3000€ in just repairs during the 1,5 years we've had this fabulous automobile, which cost us 2100€.

Oh yeah, and I have 470€ to my account.
 
Jarkko have you had all the work on your car done at the same shop? I have found it can pay to shop around with mechanics for different procedures. Especially if the work was done at the car dealership. They tend to be the biggest crooks.
 
When people talk about cars, the only ones I can recommend are

1. Honda
2. Toyota
3. Pre 1993 Volvo
4. Air-Cooled Volkswagen (for diy types)

To me, those represent the most reliable vehicles I've come across.

I have worked in two import auto shops, the first one focused mostly on the Japanese cars, I really think these are some of the best cars built. They fucking last as long as your not retarded with them. Right now I work at a shop that specializes in European automobiles - BMW, Audi/Volkswagen, Mercedes, Jaguar, Porsche, Volvo, etc... I really feel these are all pieces of overcomplicated shit. Sure they have comfortable seats and lots of cool features, but none of that is important if the fucking thing doesn't work right.

Also, I never bought into the Toyota gas pedal stick situation; to me it seemed so obvious that it was to boost domestic car sales in America. I've had accelerators stick in cars, like my '78 Volkswagen Campmobile, but hell, you fucking do what you have to do to remedy the situation, no big deal.
 
well...

1.) you got ripped and the car has a tough past
2.) you've spent the monetary equivalent of a gibson custom shop ( which is a piece of wood and some wire.) on a object that acctualy... you know.. drives, and has a zillion mechanical parts.. go figure
3.) car manufacturers make little profit of selling cars, thir key profit source is on selling car parts and service.. that's the sad reality ;/
 
midget donkeys said:
Jarkko have you had all the work on your car done at the same shop? I have found it can pay to shop around with mechanics for different procedures. Especially if the work was done at the car dealership. They tend to be the biggest crooks.
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The work has been affordable and almost always of good quality. The work itself isn't the problem, but the fact that whenever I get one thing repaired, something else breaks.

I'm kinda not sure what I should do. Fix the damn thing somehow even if it's expensive, get rid of the little bugger alltogether or take a loan and buy something decent.
 
cars.... oh yes

the exhaust pipe of mine got split from the middle while i was driving like a week ago, that's gonna cost me a new pipe plus installation, and a SHITLOAD of other stuff needs to be done as well
 
I find that just about every time I fix something on my car, that same exact day something else normally breaks or goes bad. So, I haven't done much to my car maintenance-wise except for new tires and whatever it needs to pass inspection. Last tune-up was probably 2 years ago....Haven't vacuumed it out in probably over a year.

WEEE!!!
 
The catch 22 here is that I can't win, really. It's a cheap old car, that's for sure, so it'll always have trouble and cost me money. But if I bite the bullet and buy something newer and better ("new" is pretty much anything from the 2000's for me :lol:) for, say, 10.000€, it'll sure as hell have some trouble too and repairing it will be even more expensive. The only financially logical solution would be buying something really old and really cheap that has almost a year on it left and just change it to another every year, but I'm a sucker for at least some comfort.
 
If it makes you feel any better, I bought my car (1992 Buick LeSabre) about 5 or 6 years ago for $700. Add maybe a few hundred more for title/registration/insurance/inspection, and its still kicking. Its falling apart everywhere but still drives me around. I win....but I will NOT be buying another one of these cars in the future. Definitely something 2000 + for me. Just hoping she makes it through the winter and up to next July when inspection is up!!
 
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