Thu 24 Feb 2005
I just got a call from my mechanic. He said he needs another 10,000 Forint ($50) to bribe the mechanical inspection official to pass my car. The alternative is buying a new door (>$1000 and a one-month shipping delay) to replace the one I smashed last July – and getting the van re-fitted for European headlight standards, something the previous owner of the car just told me could cost “thousands.”
My certificate of inspection expires in 2 weeks. Hungarian police regularly inspect car papers. Just last Sunday night I was pulled over (and given a alcohol breath test which I passed of course!) The Seelys avoided having their car being impounded for an expired mechanical inspection only by the good graces of the police officer who caught them and Valerie’s tears. Our other friends, the Olsons, weren’t so fortunate. Last week they lost their car due to an expired mechanical inspection. It will be at least a month before they get their car back. (Yes, someone here needs to start telling the new families about this when they arrive!)
Do I:
a. get really angry. Well, this already happened.
b. bribe the inspection official. I am quite certain this is illegal in the EU.
c. spend $2000 to get the car into compliance and take public transportation while we wait for parts
d. buy a new car
e. ride public transportation for the next 18 months.
f. none of the above
g. pray and expect God to provide some unseen solution.
February 24th, 2005 at 5:20 pm
By all means pray for a solution not on the list but God also expects us to use the sanctified wisdom he has given us.
I would say that b. is not an option.
Philosophically, item e. is real appealing on a number of fronts though I imagine that it may not be practical for your transportation needs as a family outside of your trips to and from work.
How much would a vehicle cost that meets the mechanical inspection requirements and would not lose too much value in 18 months?
February 24th, 2005 at 8:44 pm
See my last comment on mid-life crisis page. Pray then go get a hummer.
February 24th, 2005 at 9:09 pm
I gotta start connecting the dots like you, Grant!
So far I chose a, f, and g.
B is not an option, as I will never personally do that. At this point I’m exploring the differences between knowledge of an act and the doing of it personally……
What makes this situation even more aggravating is that this vehicle should ALREADY be in compliance with European headlight standards. But someone obviously bribed some other official in the past to get the car past the import restrictions. I’m left holding the bag.
February 24th, 2005 at 11:32 pm
You can look at it as suffering for righteousness sake. Tell your mechanic that as a Christian, you cannot have him bribe the official.
Is it common in Hungary for officials to be bribed?
What about one of those small 4-door hatchback economy cars like an Opel Corsa or VW Polo? I would guess that they are easily resold, since that seems to be what most people are driving. Less is More. Doesn’t exactly meet the felt needs of mid-life crisis, though.
February 25th, 2005 at 3:55 am
from UncLar: B. the key word is more. fifty dollars more. you are already bribing the mechanic. get the certificate and sell the car…and buy another vehicle.
November 3rd, 2005 at 2:05 am
…. I ended up letting the process continue with no further intervention from me. That meant my mechanic used the extra money I gave him to ensure my car passed inspection, and I got my mechanical inspection papers at the end of the day. If he bribed someone to do this, he did it without my explicit consent.
After thinking about this for a couple days I concluded two things. 1. I wasn’t ready to make a quick decision that would train wreck my family, even if I should have. 2. I need to make some stronger “pre-decisions” so when quick decision making times like this arise again I will have already decided what to do.
Getting cars past inspection in this manner was something that had never entered my world prior to this event!