Buying a Car in finland crazy or what???

How to? Read other's experiences. Find useful advice on shipping, immigration, residence permits, visas and more.

Average Price of a vehicle in FINALND?

30,000+
4
21%
20,000+
11
58%
10,000+
4
21%
 
Total votes: 19

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Helmi
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Post by Helmi » Thu Nov 20, 2003 3:05 pm

Do they have Trabants in Finland? :twisted:


Helvete också, nu regnar det igen!

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Tom and Jerry

Post by Tom and Jerry » Thu Nov 20, 2003 3:17 pm

Hi,
In Brandenburg you still may find a Trabant, but not in Finland. The last one I saw here was in 1991. So, you have to look in Germany. The East-German republic never wanted to export these Trabants so much to Finland.

gavin

Post by gavin » Thu Nov 20, 2003 3:19 pm

Helmi wrote:Do they have Trabants in Finland? :twisted:
Yeah.

This is Hank's car last tuesday :twisted:
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:D

Tom and Jerry

Post by Tom and Jerry » Thu Nov 20, 2003 3:48 pm

You forgot Hank on it. That's his way of life

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Dara
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Post by Dara » Thu Nov 20, 2003 4:43 pm

LOL boys! :lol: This is hilarious! :lol:

[email protected]
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Location: New Jersey, USA

rust restrictions

Post by [email protected] » Thu Nov 20, 2003 11:33 pm

I recall there is a law which limits the amount of rust on your vehicle in Finland. Does anyone know the details on this?

I have a great reliable car I want to bring over. Except for a little (big) body rust problem.

thx

gavin

Re: rust restrictions

Post by gavin » Fri Nov 21, 2003 12:26 am

[email protected] wrote:I recall there is a law which limits the amount of rust on your vehicle in Finland. Does anyone know the details on this?

I have a great reliable car I want to bring over. Except for a little (big) body rust problem.

thx
Hi

Welcome to the group!

There is an annual inspection for cars over 3 years old.

http://www.ake.fi/index_e.asp I'm not as clued up as many othere here about car importation, but as far as I know, you should look into the import taxes first...

It could cost you much, much more than your favourite 'rust bucket' is worth...

I'm sure others will comment below.

Good luck!

Cheers
Gavin

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No.6
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Post by No.6 » Fri Nov 21, 2003 11:25 am

If you have planned that far ahead *definitely* buy a car at home - a new one if you can afford it, and in plenty of time (6 or 12 months - not sure which for a non-EU country). Then you get to import it as "personal effects" without paying any taxes. And can sell it after 1 year IIRC, or is it 3 years. Obviously if you make a profit (after all costs) you'll pay gains tax... won't you? ;-)
If you prefer a real "yankee" go for a Chrysler as there is a proper sales network and thus a demand for these. They are also good sellers cos you don't need to pay extra to get an automatic like you do with most Euro and Jap makes.
There are some GM cars but not many me thinks.
BTW, check the insurance costs here as well, otherwise you could get stunng - what's cheap in your home country is not necessarily cheap to insure in Finland.
Good luck!
I am not a number!

funnyman
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Joined: Mon May 05, 2003 12:16 am

Post by funnyman » Sat Nov 22, 2003 5:09 pm

If you are in usa( which you are), i would suggest Honda Accord or Toyato Camry, they give a real value for money and also have a high resale value compared to other cars of the same category, they also are very stable. I drive Toyato and havent faced problems till now.

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Deman
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Post by Deman » Sun Nov 23, 2003 11:03 am

Here's a useful site if you're shopping for used cars in the Turku area.

http://www.turunvaihtoautot.net/index.htm

OK it's in Finnish but common sense realöly tells you what's what.

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Hank W.
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Re: rust restrictions

Post by Hank W. » Sun Nov 23, 2003 12:00 pm

[email protected] wrote:I have a great reliable car I want to bring over. Except for a little (big) body rust problem.
You can find rustbuckets here too, you know. Apart from the *cost* of repairs in Finland, the salty roads will sort of chew it up within one winter. Now as getting an US car into Finnish specs will cost you also some, I think in this case I ought to be nice putting this because my initial reaction to this idea of yours is to question your sanity. Well, moving to Finland explains half, but just lets put it this way, nicely: "Follow another path of thought and forget about it."
Cheers, Hank W.
sitting here like a lemon looking for a gin.

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kwallette
Posts: 115
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Location: Helsinki, Finland

Costs

Post by kwallette » Mon Nov 24, 2003 6:14 am

Has anyone shipped a car from the US? If so, may I ask the cost for the shipping? I have e-mailed some companies to get a quote, but just looking for your experiences. Thanks!

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turbodank23
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Re: Costs

Post by turbodank23 » Mon Nov 24, 2003 7:38 am

kwallette wrote:Has anyone shipped a car from the US? If so, may I ask the cost for the shipping? I have e-mailed some companies to get a quote, but just looking for your experiences. Thanks!
Ihave found 975 straight to helsinki from baltimore plus 130 additional dollars so if that there u go
Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut.
-- Ernest Hemingway


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jwesthues
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Re: Costs

Post by jwesthues » Mon Nov 24, 2003 8:43 am

kwallette wrote:Has anyone shipped a car from the US? If so, may I ask the cost for the shipping? I have e-mailed some companies to get a quote, but just looking for your experiences. Thanks!
It depends on how you want it shipped: roll-on/roll-off or containerized.

Roll-on/roll-off will be cheaper, in the $1000 range if I remember right. However, than your car will get driven off of the boat in Rotterdam or Antwerp or someplace like that and driven onto another ship to Helsinki. The key word there is driven. I have heard stories (although nothing substantiated) of cars arriving in less than stellar condition (scratches and such).

We shipped our car over in a container, and I think it cost about $1500 plus insurance and unloading fees in Helsinki. We used a company called Marlo Cargo. I would not recommend using them though, as our car was held up in New Jersey for about a month while there was a dock workers strike against Evergreen on the eastern seaboard. Not that the strike was Marlo Cargo's fault, but they never let us know of the situation. The only way I ever found anything out was if I called. Occasionally they might respond to an e-mail, but usually not. The great thing about containerizing the car is that you can pack the car full of personal belongings. I think there mightbe some technical issues, like US customs does not favor that, but we had no problems. The biggest hassle was the fact that once in Finland, the Finnish law requires that they unload all of the stuff out of the car in the warehouse. Not a big deal, unless you are not expecting it.

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Phil
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Post by Phil » Mon Nov 24, 2003 8:59 am

Goto http://www.nettiauto.comand have a look for youself. Cars about 50% to 100% more expensive than in the states. It depends alot on the brand, if you buy a brand that's popular in Finland, it will cost you about 50% more. But obsure brands will cost you double.

The best value-for-your-euro is on new cars, the taxes recently dropped and prices have gone down. But used car prices haven't dropped as much.

Goto http://www.nettiauto.com and look up a car then look up that same car on http://www.kbb.com and see the difference. New car prices can be found: http://www.oikotie.fi then click on 'autot' and then 'uusi'

I just bought a '94 VW Golf 4-door 140km for 7,000e. That same car would have cost $3,200 according to kbb. :evil:


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