What TIPS to be kept in mind while renting?

Hidden charges, get everything in writing and know what your signing.
Some flats have their own meters and some don't.
Judging by some of the horror tales on this site, it is probably best to use a agent if you don't speak Hungarian.
Sometimes local landlords don't want to rent to foreigners because of language issues etc. They don't want to extra hassle of dealing with a non HU speaker. All depends of course.
There are common costs for every apt., it all depends on the landlords, usually I would think they would include that cost in the rental price just to make it simple, those costs go up every year.
These can vary on each apt. If they are saving up for say a new roof or other pricey fix ups on the house, these will be in the common costs. If they have a doorman, that costs more, larger buildings might be more costly because of higher costs on cleaning staff for daily mantainance of the house, someone has to sweep, and take the trash out, larger building, more work.
Our friends have a flat the same size as ours but pay a good $60. per month more because they have 24 hour door men and the house is allot larger then ours is. We have about 40 units in our building and they have over 100. They also are paying more because the house has a lift. Our building isn't as high as theirs, we only go up to the 3rd floor so a lift is not needed.
Sometimes you can't pick and chose everything such as what sort of heating the flat has, overall though electric costs more then gas.
I personally would use a agent if I couldn't speak Hungarian or read my contract, might cost a bit more but in the long run probably less hassles.

Bear in mind how sound proof the windows are also.

We rented once in a really nice house in the 5th with windows to the st. On a large Blvd. downtown. With the windows closed it was very quiet but if the windows were open, it was loud from traffic.
It was very short term so not a huge issue.
If you live facing the yard of a building people might pass by your windows at all hours if you are located in the  middle of the row. If children play or there is sitting area in the yard, people could be chatting at all hours and these buildings become echo chambers sometimes.
It's not easy to find the perfect apt. Might have good neighbors who move away and then get lousy ones that you never counted on.
Our next door neighbors have lived in the same flat since the 73 year old granny was born.
All good for ages with them then a loud family of musical people moved in, they gave violin lessons most weekdays and had parties often on the weekends, dancing etc.
They moved out and all was peaceful until the new owner turned it into a Air B&B. The old women says she can no longer sleep when the flat is rented out to tourists. They come in at all late hours and wake her up,.
We are having a house meeting very soon and I suspect the owner will be getting info that she can no longer do the B&B. This next door neighbor and her heavy hitting SIL  are sort of on site apt. managers, our manager lives off property. Our house manager runs many houses and using this family as his mouth piece, they give out the checks for common costs and know who lives where and what is what in the house. They always get their way in the end so goodbye B&B very soon.
No building every has all perfect neighbors though so good  luck.

@ Marilyn which district do You recommend or suggest for a family with kids? as you have lived in Hungary for so long, so might have a good idea about districts!

like so far some of my friends are suggesting me to check in districts 13, 11 or 2.... though 2 is 100 Euro more then other districts!

Om Muhammad wrote:

Hello Everyone,
Regarding getting an apartment on rent in Hungary/ Budapest, I need some advises...

1.. while getting an apartment, what important tips or points should I keep in mind?
2... will there be any hidden charges after the agreement?
3... Also regarding the electric meter, will there be separate electric meter for each apartment?
4... should I get an apartment through real estate agent OR can I get it direct from Landlord?
5... What will there be common cost for each apartment like bin collection etc.?? Is it mandatory?
6.. should I get an apartment with fitted electric heater and stoves or no?

If there is any other question that I should know, Plzzzz advise me as I will be TOTALLY new in Hungary!

I echo what Marilyn says. Common costs are going to surprise you. I've lived in a few places both older and newer designs and we've found the common costs per month in an apartment are higher than a house.  Our common costs included cleaning of the common parts like the stairwell and basic maintenance. We had individual meters for gas and electricity but not for water. 

Our landlords were basically useless as they lived abroad in Austria so I did the small repairs but I did almost nothing to fix things in the place as it wasn't my problem but as it was for my convenience,  I replaced taps, repaired pipes and sometimes fiddled with this and that and we organised ourselves window repairs, chimney and gas heating safety inspections  etc. We were very cooperative with the landlords and we was always paid on time and as they wanted

Now comes the parting of ways and not a happy story....

The apartment was owned by a couple.  She was Hungarian, him Austrian (but German and Hungarian speaker).  Anyway, they broke up and then their relationship turned into a guerrilla divorce war with us in the middle, both of them fighting over the rent and worse, him lobbying Mrs Fluffy all the time while his MIL was sniping from the rooftops and ambushing him here and there. 

So we ended with each side lobbying us for the cash.  In the end we had enough.  Our rental contract had 2 months rent as a deposit (for breakages etc). 

I took this as just  a necessary loss so we could walk away from it.  He wanted us to redecorate so it was in the same condition as 8 years before because he wanted to sell it for his divorce.  It didn't say in the contract I had to do that although it did say I couldn't (obviously) remodel by knocking down walls etc.  Generally and obviously not my problem that I should redecorate.  It would have taken me months to renovate at a cost a lot more than the deposit. 

So after trying to get to a peaceful situation between them and us, I'd had enough.  I just said "No" to redecorating as it was just very unhappy. I told him to use the deposit to sort it out.  We said we would only give it a good clean.   

He really went bonkers and was shouting and generally having a meltdown threatening me with lawyers.  I just said, "Nope, do your worse, we've got other stuff to do, and we're not in the middle of your personal issues,  so sorry, just take the deposit and use that to fix the place and we walked away".  We had good relations until that point but he was pushing his luck.  I realise he was under stress but he wasn't nice at that point in time so we just walked.   

As for neighbours, you just don't know.  We're pretty sure one of our neighbours was running some sort of vice business.  Having the windows open and hearing what was going on was rather entertaining. She didn't last long there before she went.   

Another one was complaining all the time about our kids being noisy and me repairing my car in the underground garage.  He was a bit funny and upset Mrs Fluffy a couple of times.  But he's become more friendly since we've left.

Other ones were OK and we got on with them fine.  They had kids too and our kids used to play together.  Our kids are still friends with the neighbours' kids but we're in the same area. Our place and the previous apartment building is only about 400m away from each other.   

This is one of the top ranking things - get a place where people have kids so your kids have potentially built in playmates for the courtyard or the garden. People with younger kids are going to be more accepting of the additional noise.  It also gives you an avenue/icebreaker to socialise with the neighbours if they are all sitting out watching their kids in the same place.

To be honest I really only hang much in my own district, the 7th.
I do think many areas of the 13th are rather nice.
Our friends live in the 2nd. it's alright with the hills near by, was great when they had a dog, it had allot of free space to run around. It's called the Taban.
I have not really noticed allot of food shopping markets in the 2nd, but then again I usually don't go around the side sts there.
Our friends have to take a tram to Auhsen and other markets. They have a car but hardly use it, afraid to lose their parking space. Their house has private parking but not enough for everyone. Some buildings have assigned parking but that's extra in cost. Some are underground spaces.
I like being able to just walk around the corner and pick up small items, lots of markets in the 7th.
My SIL lives in the 11th, it's ok but to me it feels a bit like I am outside the city even though it's in the city. We now live in basically the heart of  the "action" not close enough to the party  sts. to bother us, not too touristy unless we go on the Grand Blvd which is walking distance away, we are located not far from the NY cafe which is very tourtisy.
Maybe we just got used to our area, not bad, not great either.
I used to long to live in the 5th but not any longer, way too busy these days and no where to park your car.
We almost bought a flat in the 2nd district 11 years back, think the value of our property would of gone up faster there but last week I walked past the place and decided it was too busy a area to enjoy, lots of traffic and again not many local markets that I could see.
Mostly just shops that had ready made meals .
I do like the 13th near the river, not sure but think it isn't too cheap there now days. Nice though to be close to the Margret Island.
I walk allot in the city mostly the Pest side. Parts of just about every district have there nice areas and there not so great ones, so hard to say.
The 2nd is pricier but the green hills are really nice.
Have to check out each apt. building.
Our friends bought over there about 15 years ago, just  a small 50 sq. meter place, they fixed up up really cute though,redid walls inside and put in built in washer and dryer, very modern inside but still a bit crowded for what they wanted. Hard back then to find a flat for sale in that area within their budget.
Dang though, they only paid 5 million for it! Spent about another 5 million fixing it up.
They live in a huge house which is along on the block near the tennis courts. They had big plans on playing tennis at the club.
Found out later the club was so exclusive and costly that they never could join, also in the summertime all day long even though they live on the 4th floor, with their windows open all they hear all day long into the early evening is-ping-pong of the balls.
Just bugs the heck out of them since they never got to play tennis there.
Best to live within your budget even if it means not living in your fave hood, renting is easier I suppose because you can just pick up and move once your contract is up.
Good luck, we have no little kids so hard to say how the playgrounds are here.
We bought on a whim sort of here, were here living on our savings for over 18 months. Paying for upkeep on a big 2 lots of land and house after my MIL passed away.
We sold the place finally and after being in HU so long we thought it would be good to have a place here for vacations or if we ever wanted to run away from home. We bought with the cash we had on hand left over from not working for almost 2 years plus a tiny bit we got after the home sale. We bought quickly and returned to the US for nearly 2 years time. If I could redo it, I would of looked around longer , then again we were in  a rush.
Not my dream apt. but not terrible either.
At least it's paid off and has at least doubled in value.... Might of been able to of made what we gained in profit by just working another 2 years in the states but it is what it is.
Even now we live below our income, just got used to doing things this way, if we had children it would really cost allot more to live here, not sure I would want to raise our son in a small flat . Many people do though, important then to make sure they have a safe area to play outdoors like being near a park.

Wow, The Fluffy family has been through it all.
Great advice about  a child having friends in the building.
Guess it is a great idea after all to use a rental agent to save yourself from mental owners, wow what a story and a half!
I was thinking over some of my comments, really at a different stage in life now and don't exactly enjoy much noise with kids or loud people.
We are basically very quiet people, we sleep early and use headphones to watch tv, don't play loud music , at least not very often and even then we keep it a normal noise level.
You should try to find senior aged neighbors... well not all are good neighbors, some are going deaf or just plain old grouchy people.

My husband grew up in a tiny one room flat with his parents and 2 sibs. in the 5th. Both his parents worked all day long so he was always in daycare.
Later he was going to school and working as a teenager, different times in HU, people were busy working and not home as often so smaller flats worked out alright.
He used to play very dangerously though with his many friends, if his mom knew the half of it should would of locked him up in chains.
Everything from falling into the Frozen Danube at age 9 to almost drowning in the Danube at age 8. Climbing the bridge scaffolding with friends after school at age 11-12 to getting into drunken fights as a MOD without even knowing which side was which, being so drunk and out of it he didn't even know who punched him in the face.
Sort of a wild upbringing in the city, not sure a city life is great for kids after his tall tales.
I always lived in a house with a big yard and lots of sibs to play with or just a couple of close friends. Very sheltered life really in S. Ca. Total Girl Scout in my youth until teen years hit.
Most dangerous thing I did was ride my bike without a helmet or fall off a horse.
I am not 100% sure about the 14th district but I have seen a few nice areas there also which seem like regular semi- detached homes.
There are some nice parts of Buda which are a mix of homes and apts. where my ex DIL grew up, just a bit outside the "action areas" of downtown Budapest. Kondorosi area. That's sort of peaceful over there.
At this stage in life I am between going old folks condo in FL. with pool and all services, just a bike ride from a beach to moving in the countryside here in Hungary and only coming into the city once in awhile.
My husband is the real city boy, I am allot more from the sub's. Even a ranch would be fun for me, love being around nature but hate getting dirty as well.

We lived for 9 years in different apts. in Hawaii and S.Ca. before buying our first house. Our son was 9 yeas old and we felt we needed to buy a house for him and to get him a dog, the old American Dream thing.
He was starting to get into trouble in our apt. complex with his friends. Had his "crew" of about 6 kids with a few fringe members. Bobbie the boy from Iran was his no. one and Another few were Andras from  Chilie, another Bobby the red headed kid, the boy from Russia and the two bros. Jeremy and Tate.  I knew all these kids mothers so we did try to keep our eyes on their play.We had a very serious guard on site in our complex, a big gay women who took her job as caretaker way too seriously. I was always getting a note or knock on the door from their antics.
Climbing on the roofs of a 2 story house, digging into the trash bins to make extra money, my son's idea. The found a stash of old Playboy mags and cut out the ,
juicy bits" to sell to older kids in the complex! I remember that, 50 cents for a top shot and 75 for the lower region!! God help me, I was both proud that he was a businessman at 9 and also freaking out that he was going bonkers. Moved to a house where he only saw his gang of kids on holidays or BD's and put him into a Christian private school.
Really don't think it would of turned out good if we had stayed in a apt. house with him, so my advice is not really current.

Growing up in Budapest in the 50's and 60's was different then now for a small kid.
I am not even sure how much one should be watching their children these days in the city, how much freedom they should have how close they should be watched.
My husband used to take public transportation alone even as a 7 or 8 year old but in those times all adults would tell a child to be careful, how to act and help them if they were in trouble.
Budapest still has allot of helpful trust worthy adults but there are so many homeless now who don't seem 100% in their right minds.
I probably would really consider those neighborhoods on the fringe of the city where they have both homes and apts.
What's good for adults as far as living space isn't always a good fit for kids, they need allot of room and safe places to play outside.
It might be more hassle for you to get into the downtown for work but might be better for your kids to live in a quieter area with free spaces.
In the old days in the downtown kids had allot of free space, lots of old bombed out buildings to play in and fields were apt.s used to be.
It's getting so built up now there is only the parks and a few small playgrounds here and there.
Most kids go to some sort of day camp in the summer where they get to do outdoor things in a safer space.
Honestly as far a a good place to raise kids in the city, I couldn't say really.
I would look at places like Kondorosi , just on the outskirts of the city closer to Budaors.
Many people move to Erd , about 30 mins out of town.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

.....
It's getting so built up now there is only the parks and a few small playgrounds here and there.
Most kids go to some sort of day camp in the summer where they get to do outdoor things in a safer space.
Honestly as far a a good place to raise kids in the city, I couldn't say really.
I would look at places like Kondorosi , just on the outskirts of the city closer to Budaors.
Many people move to Erd , about 30 mins out of town.

As people will know from my profile, we live in the village of Budakeszi, which is really just an extension of District II. We're on the other side of the hill from District II but even from here, it's less than probably 500m to the "border".  People mainly come here for all the reasons Marilyn says - getting a garden and getting a dog and avoiding the city hassle.  We're on Budapest buses as well (2 tickets unless you walk a bit more up to the "border" whereupon it's 1 ticket.   

Anyone who cannot find a place here - there are only a few apartments and mainly $$$ houses - moves out to Biatorbagy or to Telki, possibly Diosd or even Erd (as noted) where prices are lower ($$ houses) 

Budaors is likely to be too expensive  ($$$$) - it was too expensive for us. This is rumoured to be the richest "community" in Hungary with Torokbalint ($$$$) not far behind - lots of HU "celebrities" live there - the ones I know of would be Omega - the HU equivalent of the Rolling Stones.  Not that anyone who is an expat cares about that sort of thing.

The main issue out in these places is you need a car and to be able to drive to get to the larger supermarkets even within the same town.  I would find it impossible here without a car and this is just a village. Our criteria was always  a local shop, walking distance to services like the doctor, schools and post office, quick to the airport and access to Budapest public transport.  Budakeszi fits that, so does Budaors and Torokbalint but I guess not Erd, Diosd, Biatorbagy or Telki (bit of guessing here - willing to be corrected).

I find Hungarian towns very odd as they mostly have no real centre. It's usually a main street (always called Fo utca!) with houses in a long strip either side with no real central area (ok, there are some exceptions).  In my own country UK) and many others, there's always a market square, usually the main buildings with banks, post office, shops and services surrounding it and the bus or train station very close or a short walk away.  If a town is bigger, there's a group of streets, again, usually surrounding the market square.   But nearly everything is one place. Here, especially where there are many new build places, everything is much more spread out and not very easy to walk places.

My MIL and FIL were some of the first Budapest people to buy land and build out in Erd in the 1950's.
There was nothing out there back then, my husband hated being dragged out there on weekends as a child, all his friends were in the city.
Now as our friends said it is still a bit "red neck"but they have allot of services out there now.
They have a small mall and movie house and they had just built a huge swimming complex out there.
Not sure though, so dumb, for a couple of years the complex was finished but they never opened it up, some dispute about who was going to run it, the city or a private party.
One thing i did enjoy out there was the many little gyms out there.
Sort of a big bore to live out there so many ladies would go to gyms . They were all walking distance from my MIL home and all were run by the owners who taught classes and really put their heart and souls into their businesses.
Had a great and fun time there, spin classes, weight training, running, they were open to whatever suggestions anyone had for group classes.
One owner did have a nervous breakdown at one point, sad, she was really funny and really sweet. She and her husband had borrowed against their house to extend the gym, it looked great but then she crashed and burnt for about 9 months time. She broke down mentally just when she should of been building her gym to pay back the loans.
Finally she got herself together but I soon left Erd. She had expensive spin bikes about 20 of them , it was a really peaceful and nice little business she had going on.
I went to 3 different gyms there and they all were great.
There is always something to do anywhere if you seek things out.
I know Diosd at least when we lived in Erd was full of western Missionaries and their families.
Our neighbor in Erd had a daughter who lived in Budakezi, she had no car so we drove her and her family there once, nice and peaceful area.
Torokbalint is very nice too, spent some time out there visiting our 86  year old neighbors best gf. She had a sweet house out there and the neighborhood was really great, winding roads and large yards all kept up nicely. Bus line was close by too.

Funny  to hear about Omega, we knew the original lead guitarist from the pre Omega group called, Locomotive GT.
Knew him in S. Ca. mentioned his sad story....
Also was friends with the original drummer from the HU group who is still together, Mini. Another really sad tale, we went to the service in Buda where they placed his ashed in a tomb with his parents. Knew him rather well, nice guy, took life too seriously, how can anyone drink themselves to death in Hawaii you might ask? Sad stuff.
Having a wild home life seems interesting but it did him in, he should of stayed with our friend Magdie and not married a wild porn star.

Erd also has a health spa inside a hotel, the public can use the spa. It has  a large outdoor swimming pool and  a medical type pool indoors.
Not a huge place but nice enough for a day trip.
Some of the roads in neighborhood streets are still unpaved which is a pain in the rain or snow but many are paved in Newer areas of homes.
Some homes are owned by wealthy people out there too, some come up from the countryside, wealthy landowners who like that sort of country setting more then moving into Budapest. Hench the Red neck term used by some people.
My husbands family still lives out there,guess there are at least  4 homes out there owned by our relations.
I've never visited our one nieces house but i have heard it is really nice with a indoor swimming pool built , custom house. They made a killing in 1989 by starting one of the first cell phone shops then her husband started his own heating and A/C contracting business. He does big jobs for offices and such, not small jobs like in private homes, let's just say they got too big for their britches so we can't stand seeing them any more... In fact their own parents don't see them any more so yes, they changed a bit by hitting the jackpot so to speak.

Thinking it over, the fam has 5 homes in Erd.
So odd.
My husband disliked that place so much and lived all over the world yet his family moved within blocks of each other or next door to each other and are happy as can be.
Either they are nuts or he is the black sheep.
People go through different stages in life and things that were once great no longer fit the new lifestyle.
Erd is very family and quiet. They also have a weekend, boot sale- swapmeet out there, farmers market and new goods for sale out in the old paved field.
Many children out that way football clubs for kids etc.
Erd also has a large bus station and train station.
By car and using the back road the old Balaton Rd. you can get to lake Velence in about 30 or so mins.
Maybe we should check it our ourselves once more... It is the real burbs but not too far from Budapest and they have a highway access to Budapest, think you may need a matritca from Erd to Budapest but not 100% sure, they also have back roads to get between the two places.
Mostly just homes out there but they do have a few apt. building, panels, we looked inside one for sale years ago and it wasn't too bad, right across from the new mall.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

.... they have a highway access to Budapest, think you may need a matritca from Erd to Budapest but not 100% sure, they also have back roads to get between the two places.
Mostly just homes out there but they do have a few apt. building, panels, we looked inside one for sale years ago and it wasn't too bad, right across from the new mall.

Yes, you do need a motorway permit now for everywhere.  There used to be some places which do not have permits because they were financed by the EU but not entirely sure if that restriction has disappeared.   

But you can get a yearly "county" permit now which say covers Pest only (I think it's 5000 HUF per county).  We don't really go anywhere except Pest and a few times a year down to Balaton passing a couple of other counties.  It's cheaper to buy a permit for each county on your route rather than a country wide one.   

If we want to go someone off the route, then we just buy a permit for a few days.

I think the system is a nonsense really (and it's worse in Austria and Switzerland). 

If they put 1 HUF levy for highways on fuel, then they could abolish all of that infrastructure and messing about scanning cars on the roads.   

You can of course drive to Erd via Diosd on the back roads but it's further than one thinks.  We do it all the time. Usually we go via Torokbalint but there's also a way around the back from Budapest past the Szoba park.  Takes at least 30 minutes.

fluffy2560 wrote:

I think the system is a nonsense really (and it's worse in Austria and Switzerland).

When I lived in Switzerland there was only one option: 50 CHF a year for a highway sticker. There were no 3 day/weekly/monthly or canton only options at all. That was okay when I lived there. 50 CHF is really not that much. But then I went back for 2 days shortly after moving here to empty our storage container, and that was annoying having to pay 50 CHF.

fluffy2560 wrote:

If they put 1 HUF levy for highways on fuel, then they could abolish all of that infrastructure and messing about scanning cars on the roads.

Yes, that would be far more efficient. But that would also mean some best friend of those higher up in the government would not be getting the lucrative contract to print the stickers.

klsallee wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

I think the system is a nonsense really (and it's worse in Austria and Switzerland).

When I lived in Switzerland there was only one option: 50 CHF a year for a highway sticker. There were no 3 day/weekly/monthly or canton only options at all. That was okay when I lived there. 50 CHF is really not that much. But then I went back for 2 days shortly after moving here to empty our storage container, and that was annoying having to pay 50 CHF.

fluffy2560 wrote:

If they put 1 HUF levy for highways on fuel, then they could abolish all of that infrastructure and messing about scanning cars on the roads.

Yes, that would be far more efficient. But that would also mean some best friend of those higher up in the government would not be getting the lucrative contract to print the stickers.

I reckon that 50 CHF is a  rip off.  I remember arguing with a Swiss or something guard on the border there who was insisting I should have one even though I really was just driving to the next town on normal roads. I think it might have been Lichtenstein which we just popped to from Austria, just to have a look at it.  I don't think we were there more than an hour as there's not much to see except a castle that you cannot visit.   We managed not to pay the 50 CHF.

Of course it's worse in Austria where one needs a physical sticker unlike here.  Many people claim they are adept at avoiding actually sticking them on - rub it with candle wax - and it comes off easier apparently.  Then they can use it on multiple vehicles. 

It's worse if you've got a truck and have to pay per km charges.

I am grateful this doesn't exist in Germany or Belgium which is a significant part of my transit route to the UK.

fluffy2560 wrote:

Of course it's worse in Austria where one needs a physical sticker unlike here.  Many people claim they are adept at avoiding actually sticking them on - rub it with candle wax - and it comes off easier apparently.  Then they can use it on multiple vehicles.

They are going digital in Austria, at the moment you can have both the sticker or the registered car etc... but to do it digitally it takes a few days for it to register. This is going to confuse a lot of people.

SimCityAT wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

Of course it's worse in Austria where one needs a physical sticker unlike here.  Many people claim they are adept at avoiding actually sticking them on - rub it with candle wax - and it comes off easier apparently.  Then they can use it on multiple vehicles.

They are going digital in Austria, at the moment you can have both the sticker or the registered car etc... but to do it digitally it takes a few days for it to register. This is going to confuse a lot of people.

Good to know.  I don't know why they are slower with this stuff over there.  If you look at the infrastructure needed to do all this, it's already there in the form of credit/debit card terminals,  ATMs and mobile phones etc.  So really, there's no excuse for it not to work instantly and countrywide.

Sorry to always know a fact that is negative but this is what I heard just last week.
My husband reads allot of local HU news and sometimes passes the info on to me.
Not always because I just get mad and he knows it doesn't do anything to get upset.
Anyways, the news is this:
People with older cars and HU plates going into Austria are being pulled over by the police and being forced to get a Austrian safety check on their cars.
Doesn't matter that they passed all the HU tests or not.
Just a way to get money from people entering Austria.
I hope this is only fear porn and not really going on.
Back in the early 90's we wanted to ship back a car from HU to Ca.
It was sent to HU to resale but long story, we didn't sell it and since it was such a great car I wanted to use it in the states. It still had NV plates on the car.
Husband was alone in HU and waited until last min to drive the car from HU to a port in Germany.
The car was all good to use in HU.
He planned on dropping the car off really quickly catching a train back to HU and flying out to Ca the next day.
Got to the ship yard and all heck broke out. They pressured him to buy German auto insurance for the day at something like $100. for the day and they were messing here and there with paperwork for so long for hours that he was going to miss the last train back to HU.
He got pissed off, told them where to shove it after paying that $100. fine for being in Germany and drove like a madman back to HU and parked the car in his mom's garage for the next few years.
After these experiences, I have no interest at all in really seeing western Europe, seen it, done it and no big deal more trouble then fun.
Exception would be Italy, at least there it is pretty and interesting.
In the "old days" in Hungary all taxes for road fees were included in the price of petrol/gasoline. The more you drove the more you paid overall, that was a good system.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

Sorry to always know a fact that is negative but this is what I heard just last week.
My husband reads allot of local HU news and sometimes passes the info on to me.
Not always because I just get mad and he knows it doesn't do anything to get upset.
Anyways, the news is this:
People with older cars and HU plates going into Austria are being pulled over by the police and being forced to get a Austrian safety check on their cars.
Doesn't matter that they passed all the HU tests or not.
....

Tricky one. 

I was at the Sopron border a month or so ago and no problems there although they've sort of half taken away the Schengen thing where you can drive through.  There's now a chicane and they can wake up from their slumbers to jump out and annoy people. I think it's worse at Heygyeshalom.   It's just security theatre.

But this kind of harassment is quite common in passing the border with Austria.  When they joined the EU, they tried to stop people buying cigarettes in Hungary.  That was soon stopped.  Now they've clearly got another wheeze to cheer themselves up.   It'll probably fizzle out by the summer as the volume of cars will be so large, they only work 09-17h  and definitely do not work when it's raining or cold outside.

Strangely enough, I've just been reading about this stuff.  The EU directives are pretty clear on vehicle inspections.  If the car has passed its tests in Hungary, it's also passed its tests everywhere else in the EU (exception: those driving on the left due to the headlight alignment).  There are no need for any further tests as there's mutual recognition between countries.  The paperwork should be more than sufficient.

Mrs Fluffy thinks it's probably actually in response to that silly video Lazar Janos put up on how dangerous it is in Favoriten (district of Vienna).

fluffy2560 wrote:

SimCityAT wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

Of course it's worse in Austria where one needs a physical sticker unlike here.  Many people claim they are adept at avoiding actually sticking them on - rub it with candle wax - and it comes off easier apparently.  Then they can use it on multiple vehicles.

They are going digital in Austria, at the moment you can have both the sticker or the registered car etc... but to do it digitally it takes a few days for it to register. This is going to confuse a lot of people.

Good to know.  I don't know why they are slower with this stuff over there.  If you look at the infrastructure needed to do all this, it's already there in the form of credit/debit card terminals,  ATMs and mobile phones etc.  So really, there's no excuse for it not to work instantly and countrywide.

But they have number plate recognition in place, for cars without the sticker and speeding 

So lame they way big bro treats the general public.
We have odd things go in the the US too , a N.Vs S. sort of family feud.
My BIL was drafted into the US Marines during the Vietnam thing.
He was seriously considering going up to Canada but his dad was a officer in the Marines and he knew that would be total no contact with his family forever if he left.
Ok so he was sent to S. Carolina around 1968 for more training.
My sister went with him just before they married.
They were driving around looking for a town, it was obvious by his clothing he was both a "Hippie" at heart but as a Northern person with a shaved military haircut everyone knew he was in the service and most likely at the Marine base.
They asked a local policeman for directions to the town they were looking for.
He sent them on a wild goose chase, everyone they asked for aid kept sending them all over the place on purpose, yes, really funny...
We went to N. Fl. to think about buying a business with a HU friend of ours who lived there.This guy did everything to fit in, wore cowboy boots and a "big ol' silver belt buckle on his jeans. Only thing missing was a Stetson .
It was a business that redid parts of racing car engines.
Both my husband and this guy were trained in machining  and this was a perfect fit for them to open up this shop.
I went with them to meet the sellers. WOW a page out of the Dukes of Hazzard!
The boss had on his bib overalls and his two boyz had on garage jumpsuits.
They had a odd attitude the second my husband and his friend opened up their mouths, heard 'That there foreign accent" and all of a sudden the business was no longer for sale! Idiots, not like it was going for free or anything either.
While there we had some nice BBQ, they can do that right anyways.
At the restaurant the server told us to, "Have a good day, ya all" but the way she said it made my stomach turn, she didn't mean it all all.
I hate this sort of attitude some people give, happens here in Hungary a bit at times too.
My bro and SIl now live in S. Carolina and I wonder how he can stand it.