how expencive is it to drive in your countrys

[wheelboy]

When i read some board messages about vans i get the feeling you dont have teo pay much for them .Let me give u an idea how it works in the netherlands .first of all all cars have 4 types of taxation .vat 19% use tax 28% road tax depends on the weight and feul sort .a van like the chrysler you pay apox 250 euros for 3 months on benzin if on diesel feul apox 500 euros per 3 months .than insurance tax 9% .than the fuel price 173,9 euro pro liter for benzin 149,9 diesel 0,79 lpg .

What i mean to say with this is that its almost impossible to drive a van down here unless u are very wealthy .Lucky for me that i can still use a handchair if beeing pushed when long distance .Else i could use only public transport ore call a taxi compagny to transport me ,.i drive a seat ibiza 1.2 tdi station wich has a weight of 1109 kilos i have to pay 256 euros every 3 months on road tax .For me its inpossible to get a van .Than the ajustments they dont pay them here if your working .Only when you live on welfare .lol and they cant pay a car .

Than parking in the netherlands for foreigners its a crime .Since every town has its own parking rules .Let me explain .Eindhoven is free parking .Helmond you have to pay the same as a abled person .Another town says you pay half .Can you imagain when you visit another town what will happen .Ore when your comming from belgium ore germany where disabled parking is free.

here the governement feels sorry for you as long as it doesnt cost them a penny .I was in florida asked a lady from highway patrol if i would get a fine using my europeen disabled parking card sir it aint no problem with your card you can park on any disabled spot .should there be problems go to the sherrifs office .

Well us citicens dont ever do that in the netherlands it wil cost u 320 euros (apox 420 usd).Also if u work here they steal from u untill your on welfare level than you get it for free .

[Armand]

That is crazy expensive. I live in Michican in the US. I have a Dodge Grand Caravan that uses gasoline. Very fer cars use diesel here. When I bought the van I paid 6% sales tax to register the van I paid about $100. In fees and then I pay about $150. Per year (I haven't got my first years bill yet). For auto insurance I pay about $400 every six months. Fuel cots between $3 and $4 per gallon and parking costs nothing (no one pays for parking). One important point is that we live in the country side very far from any city. There is no public transportation and very few side walks. If I need to buy milk then I need to drive my van or my wheelchair about 6 miles each way (or have one ov my sons go )

[ex-Gooserider]

I agree with Armand, though details vary a bit, as I'm in a different state, and the tax laws and fees differ...

I just recently got a Chrysler Town & Country (same as Dodge Grand Caravan, more or less), gas powered. It was purchased second hand, lightly used (just under 18K miles) from a dealer. It cost about $21K USD. Our state's Rehabilitation Agency (every state has one, their job is to get disabled people back into the workforce so that we become taxpayers) paid about $33K to have it converted to a drive from chair WAV, with lowered floor, hand controls, lockdown for the chair, etc...

In Mass. there is a 6.25% Sales tax on vehicles, but HP vehicles are exempt. We also have an annual Excise tax, but again HP vehicles are usually exempt, or get a reduced rate. Registration is about $50 / year. We have to have a safety and emissions inspection annually which is another $50 or so.

Parking varies all over. In the suburbs and rural areas, most people have driveways so parking at home is free. Most businesses also have free parking for customers. Many communities have metered parking on the streets, but vehicles with HP plates or placards don't have to pay. In cities and other high density areas, there are also garages and lots which charge, their policies vary, but mostly HP vehicles don't get any breaks. Cities also have fewer free parking options, more meters, and so forth.

Insurance is much more expensive in Mass. For a combined policy on both my van and Mary-Anne's, we are paying about $1800 / year. This includes a high deductible coverage for damage to the vehicle, plus much higher than legally required coverage for liability, and un / under-insured drivers (pays us if our damages are higher than the other guys insurance) Just the legal minimums would be less, but those are not really adequate...

As mentioned, Gasoline is between $3-4 gallon at this time (who knows what the Arabs and other gov'ts will do next week...) Diesel is usually about 25-50 cents a gallon more expensive, but since the few diesel cars usually get better mileage than their gas versions, so it's about even... However diesel is mostly a truck fuel. There are some fleet vehicles that use LP or compressed natural gas, but there are no significant private vehicles using it (and no generally available support systems for fuel, etc...)

Overall it is generally a lot cheaper to drive ANY vehicle in the US than it is in most other places, probably in large part because the US historically grew up around the car. The flip side is that distances between common destinations tend to be greater, and there are a lot less options for mass transportation like buses and subways, etc.... Most cities and towns don't even have very good taxi options. If one is HP, the options are even worse, so you almost have to drive.

ex-Gooserider

[Burgerman]

Fuel cots between $3 and $4 per gallon

Fuel for my 3.8 litre grand caravan costs 6 uk pounds a gallon. Thats over 9 dollars! You guys dont know you are born!

Insurance 900 a year, or 1200 dollars.

Van in right hand drive? 57K pounds or 90 thousand dollars with controls added delivered.

Thats why I imported one from usa for HALF PRICE almost...

[Burgerman]

Not sure about house prices. What does a brick built well maintained house/bungalow detached house cost in an average town in the US with say garage, 4 bedrooms, car parking etc? Here you are looking at anything from 200k up to 500k+ depending how well appointed and where in the country.

Or things like electronic goods. Japanese cameras etc. Its always about 25 to 40 percent cheaper to import from the US.

Some of this is exchange rates. So visiting europe must look very expensive for the US poulation. My carer went to new york to do xmas shopping because it was cheaper even after the flight.

[LROBBINS]

Imperial gallon is 20% larger than U.S. gallon, but yes, fuel costs in the U.S. are far, far lower than in Europe. Gasoline (petrol, benzina) here is now about E1.75/liter, which works out to $8.65/U.S. gallon or $10.38/Imperial gallon. Diesel (gasolio) isn't much better. Fill up on the 3.3 Grand Voyager last week was E100. Road use tax is ca. E500/year, legal minimum insurance for the 1997 Vantage/Chrysler is also ca. E500. PWD's can get a break on the road tax, but only for vehicles up to 2.2L gasoline, 2.6L diesel, so our 1981 Kangoo qualifies, but the Chrysler doesn't. Public transportation in Siena for people with wheelchairs is non-existent. Most are mostly house-bound (finding an accessible house/apartment takes great persistance and better-than-average income, figure E400k for a 100-115 meter2 apartment) with medical visits handled by Misericordia or by Pubblica Assistenza volunteers. On the other hand, the national health is pretty good (and with no co-pays for people with disabilities) and universities are, compared to the U.S., virtually free. Students complain about the tuition, about E1000/year with discounts depending on income, but a year at the U costs about the same as a few weeks' driving school cost (and that's essentially mandatory to get a license). U.S. university costs, for those unfamiliar, is roughly equal to the cost of a new, mid-size car per year for a state university in your state of residence, a mid-size mid-luxury car per year for a state u. outside your state of residence, and a larger Mercedes/year for a top private university (minus needs-based and talent-based scholarships). Ciao, Lenny

[wheelboy]

Well one thing is cheaper i see lol .I pay apox 400usd all risk for my insurance .car is for americans a small town car weigt is apox 2400lbs 1200cc turbo diesel seat ibiza station car a green engine .So untill 01-2014 i dont have to pay road tax.When i bought the car last year new .our governement supported green cars they said if u buy one you dont have to pay road tax if the engine is cleaner than 95 parts co pro km .mine is 89 so i thought i buy such a car .Well a lot of dutch did .so it was such a great suc6 that gov changed the rules instaid of road tax free its now untill jan first 2014 .Than i have to pay 328 usd every 3 months road tax .So i can sell it because i dont drive that much .

If i want to go anyware i cant take my powerchair with me .since it doesnt fit in my car .lucky that i can still use a handchair for short distances else i could sell my car .and see how i come at my work .

well house prices are falling here in the netherlands at a rate of 4% a year now .since the money crisis and a unreliable governement .See here we can deduct the morgage rent of our tax .Saves me 42% (thats what i pay on incometax) .i have brick house almost doubele size as a normal dutch house is at least downstairs on a corner 325 sq meter (small for us big for dutch) i think if you wanna buy the same its about 350.000 usd i pay bruto 775 euro(4,5% rent) and net apox 400 euro thats 1018 usd bruto and 525 usd when i get my tax refund .

one of the reason houseprices here are falling is that almost all dutch political partys (left wing) want to stop with deduct the morgage from the incometax.They rather give it ayway to corrupt 3th world countrys and all kind of subsedises .Left here stands for more tax more spending .Our labour party is called here foreigner party lol .

firtst they always do when they are in power is highten the fuel taxes (we pay almost the heighest gas price on the whole globe)because the belive its good for the enviroment .lol my ass .good for them so they can spend it .High prices never stopped one dutch to drive ore sell their car

[ex-Gooserider]

House prices are all over the place - the same basic house can cost over a million in Silicon Valley, or 40-50K in Detroit or other low popularity areas...

The house that the GF and I live in was about $160K when she bought it about 20 years ago. Before the US real estate market crashed, we were told that we might get 4-500K for it, now it is hard to say as some places have dropped a lot more than others... Our lot is much bigger than most in the area, and we have a very nice location (Next to last house on a dead end road, with conservation land (woods) across street, but close to shopping, major highways, etc... So the place might well still fetch a premium price... OTOH, we haven't done a great job on a lot of the home upkeep, so right now I'd say the place would be classed as a "fixer-upper"... It is also a "contemporary" design, one of only a half dozen or so in town, which makes it hard to estimate costs as there isn't anything to compare it to...

ex-Gooserider

[Burgerman]

Its easier to compare cameras/cars/fuel/wages on common jobs.

[Martin O Refurbisher]

When I was frquently in Florida a few years ago, I got introduced to the concept of self-insurance.

You had to lodge / give a charge over a min of 20k in assets (ones you had access to), and for $5 the State issued an annual certificate of self-insurance.

I also got a similar response from the Sheriff about parking in disabled bays, execpt that they look for a prominent swing-tag hanging from the interior mirror, and don't look for anything laid out below!

Best,

Martin

[Burgerman]

So someone can total your 60k van, or ferrari at multi 1000k prices and have only 20k to cover it? Or kill maim 30 people and not have the millions to cover its compensation claims? Legally??? Cant be correct can it?

[ex-Gooserider]

Most states have similar "self-insurance" options, but realistically they aren't very viable... First off (like the compulsory liability requirements) the amounts aren't really very useful in the real world... Typical is $20K / person; 40K / accident - assuming an "at fault" accident, it doesn't take much to run that amount out when hospitals cost over $1K / day (and even the trip TO the hospital can cost that much!) and most new cars are over $20K...

If you are at fault in an accident that costs more than your coverage, then ALL of your other assets are at risk, including possible lifetime attachment of future income.... In actual practice these days most smart folks carry $100 / 300K coverage for personal injury, plus $100K of property damage... In addition it is also recommended to carry $100K of "Uninsured / underinsured" coverage in case you are NOT at fault, but the other guy doesn't have enough coverage, or in case of a "hit & run"... Surprisingly, the added premium for this extra coverage is not all that much.

In addition, how many folks have an extra $20K in assets to lock down in self insurance, and of the ones that do, how many would be dumb enough to put their added assets at risk? (The very rich usually add big "umbrella" policies on top of what I mentioned above to keep the lawyers at bay...)

So yes, you can total the 60K van, or maim loads of people with only $20K of coverage... (See note on underinsured coverage above...) Don't know how it works in the UK, but in the US pretty much all insurance has strict limits on how much it will pay, regardless of how big the claim is... While in theory the insured guy does NOT get off the hook for the total, reality is that if the coverage isn't there, you are probably screwed.

The US requirements were basically set back in the early 1900's when the whole business of automobiles and driving were first invented, and the amounts seemed pretty huge, as hospital was more like $100 / day, and a new car was a couple K... Since then efforts to raise the limits have always been fought on the grounds that it would increase the premiums and keep "the poor" (and bad drivers) from being able to get on the road...

ex-Gooserider