Car in Germany

With five kids is a car almost a necessity. I have many times thought about a life without a car, because we would save in total appr. 400-500€ per month. But a life with small kids, hobbies, shopping and commuting would become so hard, that after all it is needless to even imagine life without a car. The thing would be different, if I would live in Helsinki and if my whole life would circle around few metro stations.

Because of these reasons is a car in exchance oblicatory. In the middle of the challenges and feelings brought by the strange surroundings, we don't want any additional challenges. And addition to that, travelling around Germany and its neighbourhood is so much more flexible with own car, than by train or buses. My dream is e.g to go to the Alps to explore the valleys and mountain slopes.

But how to implement a car into Germany? In practice, the options are to take the own car to Germany, or to sell i and buy a car in Germany.

Transporting own car to Germany

Would I take my own car to Germany? The first option coming to my mind is to drive it into Germany. There are multiple route options. From Helsinki one can take a ferry direct to Travemünde Germany, which takes 31 hours of time and costs 280 € with own cabin. Second option is to take a ferry to Sweden, to drive to Southern Sweden and after that, either to take a ferry from Southern Sweden to Germany, or to drive through Denmark trough the Öresund Bridge (around 50 €) and the through the Great Belt Fixed Link (around 35 €). The last option is to take a ferry from Helsinki to Tallinn, Estland and to drive through the Baltic states and Poland. This option would have the most driving kilometers.

The disadvantage of driving the own car to Germany would be, that I should drive it into Germany beforehand, leave it there, and fly back to Finland to accompany my Family to Germany. This because of the reason, that it would be too burdensome for my wife to come alone with five kids by train and flying to Germany.

On the other hand I could as some friend or sibling to drive the car for us to Germany. In any case, based on my calculations it would cost at least 700 € to drive a car to Germany and then fly between Finland from Berlin by EasyJet (the cheapest flights between Finland and Germany) and this two times, here and back. Not so cheap.

The last option is to look for companies, that transport cars from a country to another. I contacted one of such companies, and their price was 1200 € from Helsinki to Regensburg.

Buying a car in Germany

Would I sell my own car in Finland and buy a new one in Germany? Germany, the land of cars, where you can drive with full throttle in Autobahns, if you dare. This option is very appealing. In Germany, depending on the car make and model, I would get for the same price a newer and less-driven car. When considering also the fact, that our family will most likely continue to grow, so a bigger car is going to be needed - and this need I could fulfill at the same time. So I would bring the car into Finland at the end of the exchange.

But the thing is not so easy. A good car can take time, and the residence during the first days without a car can feel hopeless. How do we do shopping? And all that time that I am looking for a new car, my wife has to take care of our kids alone in strange country and strange apartment. Additionally, I do not have too much money as a student, so the budget is very tight, and this limits the selection and makes it difficult to close a good deal.

And I have to sell my car first in Finland. Ford Galaxy, 2006, driven soon 390 000 km (244 000 miles), diesel, manual. There are risks on selling the car, how long does it take and for which price?

So, which kind of car would I buy in Germany? Maybe the easiest option would be to buy same model, but preferably from 2012 model year up and as less driven as possible. The similar size would be Volkswagen Sharan, but they are more expensive. The low-cost options are Opel Zafira and Volkswagen Touran. But when thinking the future, the best option would be Volkswagen Caravelle or similar 9-seater small bus. But they are very pricy!

Renting a car in Germany

I have also explored the long-term renting of car, but this would be so expensive, that frankly this won't be worth it. Every euro is thrown away, and because we need car also after the exchange, the money would be directly away from the next deal.

Choices

So, which option to choose? Provisionally we have thought, that we will sell our car here in Finland and buy a new one in Germany, which is the brought to Finland after the end of exchange. Most likely this is the choice, but it is not yet completely decided. The timing of selling the car in Finland before leaving and also finding a new one in Germany is challenging. And the budget brings its own challenges. Extra 20 000 € would simplify this issue oddly.

Thanks for your interest and until next time!