I read the article at [https://expatrist.com/what-are-the-costs-of-owning-a-car-in-norway/](https://expatrist.com/what-are-the-costs-of-owning-a-car-in-norway/) where it’s mentioned that owning a car in Norway is considered a luxury. I’ve looked up some car prices at [finn.no](https://finn.no), and I didn’t see that cars were more expensive in Norway than, for example, in France. For instance, a car similar to what I own in France is, on average, more expensive in France than in Norway. Other costs I think are more or less similar to what people pay in France (maybe with a slight shift to the cost of living side), yet most people here in France own a car, from what I can see.
So did the author of that article exaggerate about the “luxury” part? To me, it would seem not a luxury, but quite a needed tool for living in a country like Norway: for going outside of a big city or for living outside of a big city. And Norway, in my understanding, is not a very densely populated country, with a lot of scenery to see and natural attractions to discover and enjoy, so a car would be more like a necessity than a luxury.
31 comments
Nope it’s not considered a luxury. It’s actually a necessity outside of perhaps the 5 biggest cities.
Public transport is bad outside the cities of you don’t live within a few kilometers from a railroad or main road. I live rural, but can actually take the bus to work, but I live 200 meters from a highway so have hourly service in two directions during the day. Though evenings or weekends I don’t get anywhere without a car.
Not at all, not even close. I bought mine for 630k NOK and it is just normal.
I think being a norwegian is a luxury in itself, with high salary for the regular person etc, but high taxes give the same feeling of living in another country.
When we go outside the country though, thats when we feel like kings
Absolutely not a luxury. I’m single with a below average income and I bought a brand new EV 2 years ago
It says ‘Traditionally, owning a car WAS’ considered a luxury and she is right if she is referring to the first 15 years after WWII.
Because Norway was so damaged by the war (Germans using scorched earth tactics in Northern Norway when retreating), private cars were rationed until 1960. We needed all available resources to rebuild the country, so cars were at that time considered a luxury. But that is more than 60 years ago, so not really relevant today.
I guess it could be considered a luxury for someone living in Oslo, in the sense that it’s completely useless if you also work in the city. It’ll just stay parked at the same spot the street 29 out of 30 days per month, making that one trip per month costing you 2500 NOK.
That website is bogus at best. Buy an older (10-ish years maybe?) car and your costs will drop like a rock. Sure, your repair costs will go up a bit, but you will have nearly no depreciation, and you don’t lose that much fuel efficiency. I pay 200 a month for full coverage on an older car with 70% bonus and 12k km a year (i only have full because partial coverage just saves me like 20 a month).
Fuel and tire costs are going to be close to the same as elsewhere in Europe, and cheaper than many of them relative to income. The maintenance costs they’re listing alongside a “reasonably new car” are as high as they are on my now almost 20 year old car, which is also an Audi, not known for their cheap maintenance.
nop
If you move to Oslo city center, owning a car would be more of a pain. Besides, if you import your car, you will have to pay taxes, quite a bit actually…
Where I live everyone has a car. Fewer people in the cities own one, but thats more because of practicality than finances.
it depends on how you define luxury. If you are trying to get money from NAV then a car is considered a luxury
It’s not a luxury, but you can often get by just fine without one. I will say it’s a luxury for those with tight incomes, such as students and people who live on benefits
Yeah, such a luxury that I once left a car parked in Norway for three years while working abroad. Then, I repeated the exercise with two cars parked for three years during my next expat adventure.
If you believe anything which is commonplace in the US is considered a luxury in Norway, you are horribly misinformed. However, there is much which is within reach of more or less all Norwegians which is for the few in the US. I used to live stateside back in the days and wasn’t very impressed.
Car ownership is absolutely not considered a luxury, even though some of the leftist politicians seem to think so. Not even owning luxury cars like Tesla, Audi or BWM is considered luxury anymore. Those are quite normal cars over here. Even Porsche is becoming mainstream after the introduction of Taycan.
Most families own _at least_ one car. Unless you are single or childless, and live in the city centre, you’ll most likely _need_ a car. Also, there are tons of nice road trip opportunities in Norway; it might be worth owning a car just for that.
I would call it a moderate luxury. I work in a low income occupation, live in Oslo and am single. I can in no way, shape or form afford a car.
No, it is not really a luxury item.
But unlike France, Norway does not have a car industry, and it has been a long honored tradition of taxing cars like they are a luxury item. Since men are more interested in cars than women, its basically an extra tax for men.
Countries with a car industry make sure that cars are reasonably priced, to make sure there is an internal market for it.
What? everybody and their grandma I know have cars. Not rich people, just country people. Some city person must’ve written this.
I mean with the cost of fuel and workshops it’s by no means cheap to own a car, and a new electric car is easily 500k NOK. (No idea what the used electric car scene is like)
Even though I make well above average I drive an old Ford Focus that I maintain myself.
So for a lot of people in Norway it’s a necessity that takes a good chunk out of their budget that could have been spent on a higher living standard in other areas. By definition that makes it a luxury in a lot of ways.
Only in Oslo.
In most of Norway it’s a must have.
Norwegians who are actually alive today do not consider a car a luxury, no. The people who wrote the applicable tax system immediately after the war very much did, and it has not been updated.
No
I can’t afford one… so yes. A luxury for poor/low income folks like me.
In some of the big towns perhaps. Elsewhere most people have cars
No
As a Oslo man I’d say yes.. 36 years and I’ve never owned or even driven a car.. Cars are for family men and gearheads who prioritize the car over anything else.. There’s in general no need, anything can be delivered and travel is usally cheaper without it..
No it’s not it’s a necessity in a lot of places, in the districts people are very car dependant as public transport is pretty garbage outside of the cities
The prices for cars, upkeep, insurance, whatever fuels it and how it depreciates immediately
It’s the biggest scam out there
Sure it’s a luxury though out in the districts it’s more practical to have one if you have the money
No, owning a car is not at all considered a luxury in Norway.
Im not sure what used cars you looked at at Finn, but going to Peugeot.no and .fr and comparing prices a new Peugeot 308 i Norway costs 384000NOK and €27740 in France that’s around 10000€ and more expensive cars have bigger differences, a Porsche 911 in Norway starts at 1617000NOK vs €116000 in France. On top of that I’m pretty sure every other car expense is going to be more expensive here as well except for maybe parking in the center of Oslo vs Paris, though I’m pretty sure that’s going to be more expensive here as well.
I guess it depends on how you define “luxury”.
Like; owning a dishwasher and not having to wash plates by hand is definitely a luxury, but it’s not a luxury in the sense that it’s somehow unobtainable for the average person, and neither is a car.
Its not a luxury. I m not going to walk 12km each way to the store or take the one buss that goes to the store at 07:00 and back at 15:00. My cars have over the last 10years cost me an average og 150 euro a month everything included exept fuel. The fuel prices at the moment means i pay more in fuel than in insurance, road tax and parts/tires a month. buss tickets would also cost me more than owning a car does each month.