Help about cars in Belgium.

[Gast]

So, I don't know whether English is forbidden in the forum, but I have no other choice to find the answers to my questions. I hope it will be tolerated.

I am going to study in Belgium next year, and I feel like I will need a car while I'm living in Belgium. I searched through a second-hand car selling website and I saw that there are cars for as cheap as €500. Is this true? Those cars are of about 200.000 km mileage and they are around 2000 model. So are they really so cheap, or are people who sell them some kind of fraud?

I don't know about Belgium but in my country, using diesel is more economic than oil. Which one is cheaper in Belgium, gas or oil? And can you please state prices for both of them?

I don't really have much information about cars. What kind of features should it consist of? Of course, for such a cheap car I don't expect a great performance, but the economy is the first thing that concerns me here. For example if a car uses up 7.0/100 km in city is that considered good?

I know that it's a pain in the butt to read all this in a foreign language. But if anyone has any information about my questions, please let me know. Also I can make my questions shorter and simpler, I can even talk to a Dutch-speaking friend of mine to translate these into your language. I just hope someone will step up to answer my questions.

Groeten, vrienden!

[Gast]

If you want to search cars you can typ in www.google.be : tweedehands auto !

Goods sites are : www.autoscout24.be - www.autotrack.nl - www.marktplaats.nl - www.mercado.be

You can also look at dutch website cause the distance isn't far!

The Oil in Belgium is so far i know cheaper, but if you need too drive a long distance on the highway. You better drive a Diesel!

Succes!

[Bunecarera]

Do you feel like you are going to need a car or do you actually need one?

Where are you going to study and where are you going to stay?

For which car you should buy: Let's say you would buy a car in Izmir, which one would it be? Chances are pretty big that this car would also suffice here in Belgium...

[Gast]

The majority of Belgian students with a car have that car for one reason only: the distance between their parents' house and college / university. However, since you're coming from abroad, chances are that you will be living in the same city as where you will be studying. If that is the case, you will be better of with public transportation and a decent bike. It will be both cheaper and easier, since students profit from lower fare rates and since you won't have trouble parking your car in our crowded cities.

So in order to help you we will need more information, not a different language

[Tommie1]

Most universities are inside cities, which makes parking the car much more expensive then driving it.

But if you really need one, be aware that most of the cars sold by private persons below 1500€ do not come with a technical verification, which you will need when getting the registration of the car.
If you buy, be sure to buy one that has passed this technical control, or buy from a second hand car dealer. You will even find several of them in Brussels that can talk Turkish to you.

But, as mentioned before, as a student, you do not need a car in 90% of the cases.

[Gast]

Thank you, Snieske, for all the links you've shared. I will have a look at them for sure. That's very helpful, thanks again.

Bunecarera, I don't "actually" need it... I want it for more like my own comfort 😁 I'll be studying and staying inside Gent. In Izmir I never thought which car I would go for, but indeed it would be something economic but it requires some research I guess. Thank you for the reply.

brammelo, yes of course I will be staying in the same city as where I study. But my girl friend lives in Antwerpen and I am going to need to visit her often. I was told that trains across cities are rather expensive and car would cost just a little bit more expensive than that, maybe even same... Is that wrong? I never thought your cities would have a problem about crowd or parking lots, to be honest. I myself live in a huge city with 4m+ population and I really wish I had a car of my own here. By car I could go to school in half an hour, by metro it takes more than an hour... Do you have any idea what it would be like in Gent? I am forever grateful for your kind respond! I hope mine is informative enough.

Tommie1, do I need to pay to park my car regardless of the street/area? In Izmir we don't have to pay, mostly, and I thought that would be the case in Belgium too. I will certainly look into paperwork stuff as soon as I decide whether I should buy a car or not. After what you all have written, I am not sure if it is worth buying the car and paying for it constantly. A bicycle sounds a lot smarter, or course, but wouldn't it be a problem in winter? In where I live, we consider it cold when it becomes 10 degrees 😄 So I am not really accustomed or ready to the cold weather of Belgium... And frankly this is one of the biggest reasons I want it. Thank you very much for the helpful answer.

[Tommie1]

Gent is a fairly small city. Of course, you need a decent coat when driving your bike in wintertime.
Parking in the center of Gent is really expensive (20€ per day +), in the outer area's you might find free parking space, but that you can check when you are in Belgium.

For students there are excellent possibilities for cheap trains to Antwerp, and also the connection is really good. If she lives in the center, then the train is perfect.
Just ask your fellow students, they will for sure help you. Students are creative in finding good deals, as they are all on a budget.

[Elwood]

We forgot to mention : Driving a car in Gent is a real PITA !

[Gast]

Tommie1, what, 20€ per day?? That's crazy. I will have to finance myself through scholarships and part-time working, and I am definitely not going to give half of it for parking the car which I already pay a lot of money to drive. I guess I'm going to have to wait a few more years to own my car. 😕

Elwood, my friend, have you been to Istanbul? 😄 It's the worst city ever when it comes to traffic. Gent certainly can't be worse than that, but I would like to know why you think so.

Thanks for all the answers, mates.

[Gast]

Tommie1, what, 20€ per day?? That's crazy. I will have to finance myself through scholarships and part-time working, and I am definitely not going to give half of it for parking the car which I already pay a lot of money to drive. I guess I'm going to have to wait a few more years to own my car. 

Elwood, my friend, have you been to Istanbul?  It's the worst city ever when it comes to traffic. Gent certainly can't be worse than that, but I would like to know why you think so.

Thanks for all the answers, mates.

I think the most college / university has his own parkingspots, so if i was you i shall look at them website ?!

[Den Paarse Capri]

Merhaba, btunahatay, don't buy a car. You can always reconsider later. It can be cheap to buy but it's expensive to own and use.

The maximum cost of a single one-time trip Gent-Antwerp is 9.40 euro but there are many reductions.
Tariffs are here.

[Gast]

First, Ghent is quite small-scale and you can easily get around on foot or by bicycle.
In fact, for in-town transport there is nothing faster than a bicycle, as Ghent had some areas where you can't come by car, and a lot of one-way streets. You will see when you get here that all students use a bicycle.
I used to live in Ghent and I only used my car when I had to be somewhere out of town, or when I needed a lot of things from the supermarket.
Parking in the town center is expensive, and it can be really hard to find a parking spot.

It is true that train tickets aren't cheap if you compare them to the gas you need to cover the same distance by car, but a train ticket will cost you € 10 each time, while buying a car will set you back €1000 + insurance + taxes...

I also wonder whether it is possible for foreigners to register a car on their name and have a legal insurance, but I suppose there are ways to do this.

[Elwood]

Elwood, my friend, have you been to Istanbul?  It's the worst city ever when it comes to traffic. Gent certainly can't be worse than that, but I would like to know why you think so.

Thanks for all the answers, mates.

Istanbul is busy indeed but in Ghent you're considered the enemy if you're driving a car. We have a thing here called "political correctness" and Ghent is probably the best example in Flanders. Drive a bike or walk and blend in the crowd...

[Gast]

Do not come to Belgium .

[Namaz]

Do not come to Belgium .

Waar slaat dit op??

Verstuurd vanaf mijn A0001 met Tapatalk

[Gast]

I think the most college / university has his own parkingspots, so if i was you i shall look at them website ?!

Unfortunately there is no such information on the website. If there were such a thing I guess other people would have said so...

Merhaba, btunahatay, don't buy a car. You can always reconsider later. It can be cheap to buy but it's expensive to own and use.

The maximum cost of a single one-time trip Gent-Antwerp is 9.40 euro but there are many reductions.
Tariffs are here.

That first sentence speaks for itself indeed... Thank you very much for the link! I guess when I consider pros and cons the result is very obvious.

First, Ghent is quite small-scale and you can easily get around on foot or by bicycle.
In fact, for in-town transport there is nothing faster than a bicycle, as Ghent had some areas where you can't come by car, and a lot of one-way streets. You will see when you get here that all students use a bicycle.
I used to live in Ghent and I only used my car when I had to be somewhere out of town, or when I needed a lot of things from the supermarket.
Parking in the town center is expensive, and it can be really hard to find a parking spot.

It is true that train tickets aren't cheap if you compare them to the gas you need to cover the same distance by car, but a train ticket will cost you € 10 each time, while buying a car will set you back €1000 + insurance + taxes...

I also wonder whether it is possible for foreigners to register a car on their name and have a legal insurance, but I suppose there are ways to do this.

I haven't really lived in such a small city, so I can't even imagine what it's like to cycle around and get to where you want to go. For me that's like the ultimate dream I always have to take at least two vehicles in order to go somewhere. We can only use bicycle in our own neighborhood so people don't even buy bicycles anymore. Except those who do for sport, bikes along the seaside on the weekends or kids use it outside and that's pretty much all.

I guess I've been convinced that a car wouldn't be worth giving all the money away... I thought about whether I will be able to register for a car but since I will have residence permit and everything, I guess they would allow me to do that. Like you said there are always ways to do that but I don't think I would go for illegal or "tricky" ways. I want to stay decent.

Istanbul is busy indeed but in Ghent you're considered the enemy if you're driving a car. We have a thing here called "political correctness" and Ghent is probably the best example in Flanders. Drive a bike or walk and blend in the crowd...

Enemy I guess I'm going to be bike driver type, I don't even remember the last time I used a bike, I better start cycling.

Do not come to Belgium .

Although I am not sure if I want to know why you said this, I hope you don't say it only because of my nationality... And you know, everybody have their reasons to go abroad. It's not easy to leave a whole life, family, friends behind you to build a whole new one, in a whole new country... It's all for an ultimate aim. So, why did you say I shouldn't come to Belgium?

Thanks very much for all the answers ☺

[Gast]

Waar slaat dit op??

Verstuurd vanaf mijn A0001 met Tapatalk

I'm not quite sure whether you're Turkish but judging by your nickname you probably are. I don't think he said that the way you thought, so there's no need to start a fight here. Even so, that would be his own opinion and doesn't change anything...

[fcapri]

keep in mind that older cars are getting banned from cities in belgium. antwerpen is starting refusing diesels from around 2000-2003 and gent will probably be the second city starting this.
i also went to school in gent, and all you need is an old bicycle with a good lock. public transport in gent is also very good (tram/bus)

[Namaz]

I'm not quite sure whether you're Turkish but judging by your nickname you probably are. I don't think he said that the way you thought, so there's no need to start a fight here. Even so, that would be his own opinion and doesn't change anything...

No I'm not Turkish, however my last name is a Turkish word

[Gast]

keep in mind that older cars are getting banned from cities in belgium. antwerpen is starting refusing diesels from around 2000-2003 and gent will probably be the second city starting this.
i also went to school in gent, and all you need is an old bicycle with a good lock. public transport in gent is also very good (tram/bus)

Are they really banning them? Then what will the owners of those cars do? And you said "with a good lock" is theft common in Gent? Can you inform me about prices in public transportation?