Until TÜV does us part ...

This is about cars. Yes, I am seriously writing about cars.
 

TÜV is one of many German abbrevations. It is short for "Technischer Überwachungs-Verein" which translates roughly to "Technical Surveillance Society". And it is very often a nightmare for German car owners. Why?

Well, TÜV does not only stress-test every masterpiece of (German) engineering that appears for sale on the market - no matter if bike helmets, car seats, or wheelchairs. No. It is mandatory for every car in Germany to pass an inspection by TÜV biannually. New cars have three years only their first inspection. But afterwards - every two years. No exemption. And a hefty fee of at least 100 Euro (about $130) is charged for the main inspection and an exhaust emission test.

Of course, this fee increases when the inspector thinks that your car needs repairs because it is a "danger for the road" in its current condition: Relining the brakes, remove rust from critical parts of the underbody, new tires as the tread pattern is no longer existing ... Whatever they say, it needs to be done. And a second inspection within a month needs to be passed, too.

Sometimes they would even declare a car a complete loss or economical wreck. Therefore, a very popular saying in Germany among owners of those mainly older cars is "I am driving my car until TÜV does us part." You got the reference?! - Well, my first car nearly went that way, but in the end was sacrificed for the Abwrackprämie, Merkels answer to the economical crisis of 2008. (Everybody received €2,500 bonus for purchasing a brand new car. For my little Fiesta with a value of about 10% of that, that was an offer not to be declined. My parents got a new car, I got their old one.)

Why I am writing this? Well, you have to understand why some vehicles that are driven on streets here in the US are simply ridiculous through our eyes.  TÜV would have parted owner and car long ago under German laws. Need examples? Here we are!

Happened to be parked in front of a walmart. No surprise here.

 Well, in this case the visible tires obviously don't match. The back left one was a significantly smaller spare tire. Unfortunately, you can barely see that the trunk and bumper were connected with a lot of transparent duct tape. And yes, there is a large rust hole.

But that is nothing compared to this one ...
Yes, Minnesota winters are harsh and not very car friendly - because of the cold, the salt, whatever. And not everybody owns a garage to keep the car safe from weather hazards. 
I wonder if this one has the Fred Flintstone brake system ...

Seen in St. Paul, MN.

And our latest discovery, on the parking lot of the movies. Toyota advertises that "90% of our Corollas are still on the roads after ten years" - but doesn't mention the shape they are in for a reason. This must be the Home Depot SE.

On our weekly phone call, I showed this picture to my parents. Their faces were priceless!


After living in the US for more than 20 months now, we got used to the amount of cars with bumps and dents. We also know why - car owners did not insure self-inflicted damages. Or somebody hit their car and left - they have no one to blame and their insurance won't pay. 


By the way, we took self-inflicted damages out of our insurance policy, too. Our rate is still ridiculously high, but went down by about 40% after this reduction. Since our driving history in Germany (both Alex and I have been driving for 12 years!) was not taken into account by our insurance, we carry the risk factors of young, unexperienced drivers. Yeah. Then why is our mechanic full of praise for the extraordinary shape our 10 year old car is in?