Bye Bye SVX

(darn it, my message kept blowing up, perhaps too long? I started pasting paragraph by paragraph to find out exactly where it would freeze, and here is the last bit that just wouldn't go with the previous post.)

continued from previous.....

My Swiss mechanic, however, had an interesting idea. He suggested that we wait until the bright German Subaru dealer has a used car that we'd like to buy. Then we'd take his trade-in offer, which now seems quite generous given the actual condition of the car. It wouldn't really be dishonest, since he did have the car for a week to look over and supposedly checked everything. <evil grin>

Oh, well. I will keep you all posted on my continuing adventures. For now, I’m just going to kick back, put some nice liqueur in my coffee and relax

Well folks, it's time to play "Let's Make a Deal"

The final decision has been made - we're NOT fixing the SVX. I'll be bringing the car back home in the next week or so, and parking it while we see if we can get anything for it.

The problem is that most dealers here in Germany have a policy of not taking trade ins over 10 years old. Selling it privately probably means basically giving it away. An Audi dealer put me in touch with a used car dealer, and after explaining what the heck an SVX is, he wouldn't touch it. Said he has no market for such a car, that his customers are mostly buying 1.8 or 2 litre cars. That's before I had said anything at all about its condition.

Now comes the search for a "new" car. We aren't in a big hurry, since we've got a second one (our trusty Justy ) , but it would be nice to get things settled soon.

I'm not sure if anyone would be interested in my continuing story. From this point on, it will simply be the same ups and downs as anyone (blond female and husband) looking for a car (on a budget), in a foreign country, using another language (German) with all sorts of German auto terminology that's unfamiliar, with different laws and finance (seems much more complicated here and loads of fine print!)

The next one won't be an SVX.

Let me know if you want the blow-by-blow of test drives and the trials and tribulations of buying a car in Germany.

[94svxred]

Originally Posted by Bipa

Well folks, it's time to play "Let's Make a Deal"

The final decision has been made - we're NOT fixing the SVX. I'll be bringing the car back home in the next week or so, and parking it while we see if we can get anything for it.

The problem is that most dealers here in Germany have a policy of not taking trade ins over 10 years old. Selling it privately probably means basically giving it away. An Audi dealer put me in touch with a used car dealer, and after explaining what the heck an SVX is, he wouldn't touch it. Said he has no market for such a car, that his customers are mostly buying 1.8 or 2 litre cars. That's before I had said anything at all about its condition.

Now comes the search for a "new" car. We aren't in a big hurry, since we've got a second one (our trusty Justy ) , but it would be nice to get things settled soon.

I'm not sure if anyone would be interested in my continuing story. From this point on, it will simply be the same ups and downs as anyone (blond female and husband) looking for a car (on a budget), in a foreign country, using another language (German) with all sorts of German auto terminology that's unfamiliar, with different laws and finance (seems much more complicated here and loads of fine print!)

The next one won't be an SVX.

Let me know if you want the blow-by-blow of test drives and the trials and tribulations of buying a car in Germany.

Absolutely!! Keep us POSTED so to speak!!

[Ron Mummert]

.....Different laws and finance (seems much more complicated here and loads of fine print!)

Let me know if you want the blow-by-blow of test drives and the trials and tribulations of buying a car in Germany.[/QUOTE]


I'd be particularly interested in your adventures, as I was stationed in Helmstedt (25 or so K's east of Wolfburg), back in the last century, years '65 - '67. I went through 3 cars - a '57 beetle, a '66 Fiat 850 that I totalled, & a '56 Mercedes 190 sedan that I traded the remains of the Fiat for, plus $300. The Mercedes was pieced together from the parts of other assorted Benzes, & then painted green to hide the taxi contributed doors. 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.
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. As the Germans tend to raise bureaucracy to an art form, I'm curious to see how many nails lie in the road in your quest for an autobahn cruiser.
I take it you're an American citizen? Viele Gluck!

Herr Mummert.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

[Ron Mummert]

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.[/QUOTE]


Then I suggest you let hubby deal with the Burokratie whilst you stay home, & deal with a stein o' Molson.

Prost!

Ron.

Originally Posted by Bipa

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.

Originally Posted by Ron Mummert

Then I suggest you let hubby deal with the Burokratie whilst you stay home, & deal with a stein o' Molson.

Prost!

Ron.

When we first moved to Germany a few years ago, that was exactly my strategy. Anything that didn't expressly require my presence, I left up to my husband.

As a result, I ended up paying monthly Church tax to the Roman Catholic Church. I'm not Roman Catholic! enuff said.

Now I deal with my own "Burokratie"

[Clydesvx]

I repaired my head gaskets once. When they blew after another 50,000 miles I opted for a junkyard engine. I have about 80,000 miles on that engine now. Best $2,000 I have spent on my SVX.