Beat: Buying a new car in Denmark

[fiskebent]

I need a new car. I have an old Citroën that there's just too many problems with and it's really expensive to get repaired.

So I've been out looking. I ride my bike a lot during the summer so I really only use my car during the winter. But it's still nice to have one.

So I went looking for a cheapish, reliable car that wouldn't lose too much value over the next 3 years. VW Rabbits (or Golfs as they're known over here) seem to fit the bill.

The car in itself isn't horribly expensive. It costs DKK 137,608 or $23,183 at the current exchange rate for a 1,4 liter TSi model with a few add-ons.
But I also have to pay DKK 34,299 ($5,778) in sales tax and a whopping DKK 201,194 ($33,895) to get license plates on it. So the grand total for the car is DKK 373,101 ($62,856).

When you then calculate how much I have to earn to actually pay for the car, the numbers just go crazy. We have a pretty high income tax rate here in Denmark. I pay a bit over 60% income tax on the last $ I make. So basically I have to earn DKK 932,752 or $157,143 to pay for a car that actually costs $23,183. The difference of over $130,000 goes to the state in the form of income tax, sales tax and the price of the license plates.

And when I finally get my car I get to fill it with gas that costs around $10 a gallon.

So my question is: If I lived in the US, how much would I pay in income tax on $157,143 and what kind of car could I get for what I had after income tax?

[durkahdurkah]

I don't know the exact answer to your question because I'm lazy, but I'd say you'd pay around a 32-35% marginal tax rate here, pay WAY WAY WAY less in Tax/Title/Registration, and get gas for around $2.50 a gallon (give or take).

OMG, thank you so much for pointing out one thing we don't suck at. At least we leave our citizens with most of their money when stripping their rights from them.

[TheMetetron]

You'd probably owe $50,000 or so, maybe a little bit less.

Just buy a cheaper car dude? I mean no one really has nice cars in Denmark, spend just a few thousand and get something to get you from point A to point B. Also, don't get a new car?

For $100,000 in the USA, you could get something like this:




Even better idea, just don't get a car? It's hardly necessary no matter where in Denmark you live.

[nowags]

your tax off that amount would be around 40 grand, leaving you with around 115 grand or so for a car. if you use all of that, you could snag a loaded Audi A8, a used Ferrari, or one of many other pimp options. 4 VW golfs?

Just don't buy a Hummer. Hummer's are incredibly gay.

[stinkypete]

you failed to consider that insurance is cheaper in denmark.

[fiskebent]

[ QUOTE ]
Even better idea, just don't get a car? It's hardly necessary no matter where in Denmark you live.

[/ QUOTE ]
It's true that I don't actually *need* a car. It's just damn nice to have one from november to march when it's dark, cold and rainy. Riding a bike in that weather sucks. Visiting my family is also a lot easier when it takes 35-40 minutes in a car as opposed to 2 hours by train/bus.

I'm depressed now... [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[pon]

yah for $10/gallon gas
THemeteron: have u been to denmark?
if yes: more than like one time on a quick visit?

[keikiwai]

[ QUOTE ]
yah for $10/gallon gas
THemeteron: have u been to denmark?
if yes: more than like one time on a quick visit?

[/ QUOTE ]

I think Metroid lives in Sweden, so it's even darker up there.

[TheMetetron]

[ QUOTE ]
yah for $10/gallon gas
THemeteron: have u been to denmark?
if yes: more than like one time on a quick visit?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, I've been to Denmark multiple times on long visits (not like a week). Both Copenhagen and up north more to Aarhus/Aalborg/Viborg. And yeah, Sweden is darker and colder, but cars are a hell of a lot cheaper [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Edit: Speaking of darkness that is what is [censored] depressing here. Sunset by 3:30 PM is such crap.

[fiskebent]

[ QUOTE ]
And yeah, Sweden is darker and colder, but cars are a hell of a lot cheaper [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]
I think a big factor is that Denmark doesn't have any car manufacturers. Both Sweden and Germany do and somehow I think that Denmark wouldn't tax cars so heavily if we had a danish company that manufactured cars. They would need to be able to sell cars locally to survive. As it is the tax only hurts foreign companies that get to sell fewer cars.

There is work being done in the EU to harmonize the price of registration but so far they haven't been able to get around the danish laws.