THE 10-POINT CHECK
Motor asks Norwegian car owners how they (possibly) manage to keep car expenses down. Experiences bought at high prices and good advice appear on Motor.no every week. This time: No Strümkeresearcher and author.
Read previous 10-point checks here
How much does car maintenance cost you per month – and what does the calculation look like?
– About “a thousand” in insurance, about the same in petrol and probably a 50 note for charging (hybrid). And then I have a new car warranty. There is little maintenance, so far. That is, I should definitely change the windshield wipers. Now I have a Volvo XC60 2021 model. If I can, I would like to take this opportunity to give the dealer and workshop, Nardo Bil Volvo, a shout out (praise) for completely wild cinnamon rolls. Yes, and service!
Inga Strümke (34)
- Last year received the Brage prize for the year’s best non-fiction book: “Machines that think – the secret of algorithms and the path to artificial intelligence”.
- Strümke was born in Germany. She came to Norway when she was four years old.
- Master’s degree in theoretical physics from NTNU and PhD in particle physics from the University of Bergen. Now a researcher at the Norwegian Open Artificial Intelligence Lab, NTNU.
- Known as a participant in NRK’s popular science radio program “Abel’s tower”.
How did the costs affect the car choices you actually made? What’s the smartest thing you’ve done to cut costs? What advice would you like to share about smart car maintenance?
– I have bought fairly cheap cars up until now and paid in the form of headaches (and ongoing expenses). Last winter I bought a newer car to avoid unexpected expenses. It feels quite smart, but in sum I probably paid a lot more than I would for a cheap car. The smartest thing in the past was probably being able to fix a car yourself. But modern cars are for computers on wheels, so now it’s probably smartest to just do as they say.
Famous people about the joys and sorrows of car ownership:
How do you do maintenance? Polishing? Hand wash or laundry hall? How often? Rust treatment?
– I heard a rumor that the water in washrooms is reused, but that the filters that remove sand and larger particles are unable to remove salt. The rumor is so far unconfirmed, but maybe Motor will dig into it? In any case, I wash by hand about twice a month.
Shift yourself
What do you do with tires, change and storage? How often do you change – and what kind of tires do you buy?
– So far I have changed the tires myself. Now I have a tire hotel, so I will probably fall for the temptation to let someone else do it when the spring change is due. I change tires when the tread depth is below the minimum requirement, or when it’s flat – heh, heh.
Meet these happy enthusiasts:
How do you check the history of the car when you buy a used car? And how long does your car have to last?
– In the hypothetical case where I buy a used car privately, I check the service booklet. But I don’t trust my own judgment and patience, so I always buy through a dealer. Lifetime depends on the car I buy. Last year I had a very fun, but excessively large SUV: SsangYong Rexton, model year 2021. I couldn’t bear to pay the diesel consumption for it for more than a year. Then it doesn’t really matter how long the car could live with me. Now it lives on without me.
… OG HAL I OG DRA! Inga og hennes siste diesel-SUV, SsangYong Rexton 2021-modell, på dårlig føre." alt="" />Outdoor parking
Where do you park your car? Inside – or outside all year round? Do you use drafts if it is outside?
– Outside. A car is still a utility item.
Is there one, or more, practical and useful features your car MUST have (à la heated steering wheel, trailer hitch…) if money were not a limitation?
– Four-wheel drive and differential lock.
What color is your car? Which ones are accepted? And what color can your car never be?
– It’s grey, but I didn’t notice that until after I bought it. Most colors work, but if the car had been yellow, I would have had a lot of pain in my shoulder. I will never stop playing “yellow car”.
Cool cats
What’s the worst car investment you’ve made – and why did it go wrong?
– I bought a RAV4 from a dealer in Bergen who turned out to be a scammer who emptied his shop a week after the deal had ended. I bought the cat in the bag and had to change the rear axle at my own expense, but according to Bergens Tidende, there were other customers who lost several hundred thousand, so all in all I got out of it cheaply. Besides, I strictly sold the cat in the bag to the dealer, too (a Peugeot 206 cc that hadn’t experienced a single service during my entire student life), so I think we’re screwed.
Which of your car dreams are stopped by your wallet? And what kind of car would you have chosen now if money were not a limitation?
– Il Tempo Gigante. Imagine having TWO speedometers!
HALLÓ ÞÁ: Selfie på tur i en Hilux på Island i 2017." alt="" />
