Norway Does NOT Like Powerful/Fast Cars!

[NordicCrankShaft]

I moved to Bergen in Norway last year and I've finally managed to save up enough cash to buy a second car/weekend toy. Now I'm not a smoker and booze is so expensive here that I'm not really much of a drinker either, don't really have any expensive hobbies so a nice motor has always been my go to in my spare time when living in the UK, but there's only one problem.....I live in Norway, Where the scenery and roads are some of the best in the world but the electric car is king!

I'm not expecting sympathy as I knew what I was getting myself into when I moved here over a year ago, but even still I can't help but feel annoyed at the relative cost of cars here compared to back home in the UK for example (and I will provide links from auto trader and a Norwegian classifieds site as a source, also £1 = 10NOK give or take a small amount either side)

2011 Audi S5 40,000 miles
Used UK price £24,995
Used Norwegian Price 739,000NOK (over £70,000)

http://www.finn.no/finn/car/used/object?finnkode=51353770&searchclickthrough=true

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/search/used/cars/audi/s5/postcode/se109ra/radius/1500/keywords/2011/onesearchad/used%2Cnearlynew%2Cnew/maximum-mileage/up_to_40000_miles/sort/default

2002 E39 BMW M5 132,000 miles
Used Uk price £8495
Used Norwegian price 306,535 (£30k)

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201407175899763/sort/default/postcode/se109ra/make/bmw/radius/1500/model/m5/page/1/keywords/2002/onesearchad/used%2Cnearlynew%2Cnew/usedcars?logcode=p

http://www.finn.no/finn/car/used/object?finnkode=51328410&searchclickthrough=true

These are two cars that I've been looking at in particular but as you can imagine the pattern is very similar for pretty much every performance car....A brand new Golf R from a dealer? £65k!!!

The only things that seem similar in price to the UK are Ford Escort Cosworths or Ford 69 Mustangs (which for some reason seem a lot cheaper here than the uk!!)

Like I said I'm not looking for sympathy but more of a rant to fellow petrol heads on my current situation in regards to performance car options

Edited by NordicCrankShaft on Sunday 21st September 11:37

[NordicCrankShaft]

Yes, Norway will charge you import tax at upto 100% of the Norwegian value of the car, so it works out more expensive as you've also paid for the car in the first place. Trust me I've tried figuring it out already, there is a duty calculator on the Norwegian customs website..............It makes me sad!

[NordicCrankShaft]

Caterham don't exist and there's only roughly 6 Lotus Elise for sale in the entire country and whilst a 2002 model with 63,000km would cost £19k, it would worry me at the lack of dealers and non specialist servicers.

[NordicCrankShaft]

mblade123 said:

Norways tax on cars goes on BHP on a sliding scale.
Yes, it is expensive to own a large car there. But on the other side the wages are higher than uk.
On the other side of the argument though, look at the price and amount of Teslers there are.
Cheap as chips compared to the uk.
Went through Bergan the other week and coudnt move for the buggers.

Yes, Tesla's everywhere. The electric car is king here because there are charge points, free parking and the ferry to other parts of the country are free for the "El-Bil". Not sure what a Tesla P85 retails for in the UK but new here is £80k and around £65k used.

Wages are higher than the UK yes, but general cost of living is much more expensive! Everyday things like going out for food can for me and the missus cost as much as £70 for standard Harvester type food!

[NordicCrankShaft]

mblade123 said:

And don't even mention the cost of a round of drinks.
94 nok in Bergan airport for a large beer.
That's nearly a tenner :-(

Me and the missus went out into Bergen centre last Saturday and we spent £220 on not many drinks, didn't go out until 10pm and came home sober

From what I understand if you have a car from outside Norway you are allowed to drive it in Norway but after 1 year it has to be registered in Norway, get the registration plates changed and the correct amount of duty paid, otherwise they will jail your ass!

Edited by NordicCrankShaft on Sunday 21st September 11:55

[NordicCrankShaft]

Wages are very good here as an example the minimum wage for a cleaner in Norway is 160NOK and hour.....£16 but then there isn't that much of a wage gap in the population. Obviously there are people out there earning a lot of money but with the general population there isn't too huge a salary gap. It's also quite a good quality of life out here and the main focus is on spending time with your family. a normal working week it 38.5 hours and in most cases less, my holiday package per annum is 7 weeks!!! Also new fathers can take a year of paternity leave and still get paid 80% of their salary. It's a beautiful country and the people are great people and to be fair the only gripe I have is the whole cost of cars thing!

[NordicCrankShaft]

Roastie ITR said:

Buy a new car every year

It's a difficult situation, as I can drive my own car here for upto a year without registering it with customs but I also have to prove that I am not going to be living here longer than a year which to be honest I am, you also risk the car being confiscated if you get caught.

[NordicCrankShaft]

Yeh, I've thought long and hard about buying a Mustang as I've always wanted one and I can buy a 1965 289 V8 Fastback for around £20k or a 78 Corvette Stingray for £12k but as much as I love my cars I'm not sure if I have the commitment for something as serious as that.

Fuel isn't too expensive when you compare wages. A litre of Shell 97RON is currently 14.6NOK a litre......£1.40.

[NordicCrankShaft]

I earn 3 times my UK wage in Norway. My quality of life is much better, I work less, see my family more and my life is more recreational. Everything in the country runs on time. Even down to things like crime rate and criminal re-offending rates are some of the lowest in Europe. This country is run a lot better than the UK, they have their st together.

That post about the underlying code of society is from a 1920's story book, which yes they used it as a basic set of social rules but then they woke up and struck oil and since then these social codes are far from adhered to nowadays.

But back on topic!!!

Been looking at and seriously considering an S2 Elise or 65 Mustang both completely different but I've always wanted a Stang!!

[NordicCrankShaft]

I don't see where this Soviet state on motorist's has come from, I hardly see any Police around Bergen and people regularly break the speed limit. It's no different to any other country on the continent. There are speed camera's dotted about but in the year I've been living here not had a single run in with the Popo!

It's really no where near as bad as people are making out

Just to add Jante Law as it's called doesn't apply in Norway. Denmark more so, but just because Norway is part of Scandinavia and have historical links to Sweden, Finladn and Denmark these 4 Scandinavian countries couldn't be anymore different aside from cultural differences, each country looks different the peoples attitudes are different and the societal rules different. Having lived in both Sweden and Denmark with my Norwegian wife I think I'm more than qualified to say this

Edited by NordicCrankShaft on Sunday 21st September 23:22

[NordicCrankShaft]

Look, I live here. I plan to live here for a very long time. My experience so far of Norway of which I've lived here for a year and have been visiting for the last ten is very very good, I would much rather live here in this culture than that of the UK that I have left behind. Not everything is perfect but my quality of life just by living here has increased ten fold, this country is well publicised as one where the people are among the happiest in the world......I know where I'd rather be!

Anyway this thread was not started to discuss the politics, social and cultural differences of another country whether you agree or not, so let's get back to talking cars! which is why this entire website exists