[aved]

Hello all,

As promised in my introduction, this thread will cover my motivation and journey to obtain a driving license in Sweden and a brief ownership review of my first car Kia Niro PHEV. I intend to document my upcoming Tesla model 3 ownership in a separate thread.

Just one note before I proceed further, the Team-BHP member Anekho has described his experience of obtaining a Swedish driving license in great detail and is still quite relevant. I will try and provide my perspective as a person who has driven for a long time in India. I will break the whole write-up into multiple posts for easy reading. The outline will broadly be

• Introduction
• The pursuit of a driving license – Part 1
• The pursuit of a driving license – Part 2
• The car buying experience
• Car ownership experience – Kia Niro PHEV and decision to Switch to Tesla M3

I hope you will like it and have few questions for me. I look forward to an engaging discussion.

Introduction

Along with my family(wife and 2,5-year-old son), I moved to Stockholm, Sweden, in 2013 on a long-term assignment. We settled down well in the first few months, and life started to run as usual. As any newcomer in the city, we started using public transport, and we were impressed.
Stockholm Public transportation system is modern, extensive, reliable, and safe. The Stockholm public transport system consists of various modes of transportation.

• Tunnelbana (Metro)
• Pendeltåg (Commuter trains)
• Spårvagnen (Trams)
• lokaltåg (Light trains)
• Bus
• Boats (Yes, there are regular public boat services, a must-do if you are visiting during summer)

The entire system is integrated, and it requires only one ticket (Current monthly ticket cost 950 SEK or INR 8000) to travel on all modes of transport. It connects all parts of the Stockholm region, as shown in the image below (The longest train route is 110 KM long)





Some interesting facts about Stockholm Public Transport

1. It is one of the most modern public transport systems in Europe. All stations have disabled-friendly and child-friendly access.
2. Stockholm Tunnelbana or Metro system is dubbed as "the world's longest art gallery." Each station is decorated with different murals, sculptures, and commissioned artworks.
3. As a parent carrying the kid in the pram and using the bus, you don't need the ticket. The reason is the children's safety in the pram, as ticket validation machines are mounted near the driver seat, and pram access is through the middle door.
4. The public transport system is very punctual. Suppose the mode of public transport is delayed by 20 mins and you have to use an alternate transportation method (i.e., taxi) despite having the ticket. In that case, the Public transport agency pays for your taxi. I have used this facility a few times.
5. It is very silent on public transport. People don't talk. It was weird initially for me, but now I appreciate the calm journey.

For the initial three years, we lived in the inner city, so owning and keeping the car never came to our mind, as public transport is always faster and cheaper for most of the time. We were also able to travel to far-off places using public transport occasionally.

We bought our apartment in 2016 and moved to a suburb, which is still quite close to the city and has direct access through the metro. I then started thinking about the possibility of having the car for a few reasons. The primary reason was the flexibility and the time saving as we now need to factor in additional time for our travel and have to plan meticulously for each outing. Another reason was that it is very tiring to use public transport in winter month due to long spell of rain and snow.

With all these reasons in mind, I started to think about getting the car. However, I quickly realized that Sweden does allow you to drive on the Indian License for an initial one year, and then you have to obtain a Swedish driving license. Unfortunately, Sweden does not allow the exchange of Indian DL with Swedish DL as prevalent in some EU countries.

So I had to get a driving license to drive in Sweden. Now driver within me was ready to conquer the world (or the driving license), and I made a very optimistic plan. Boy, I have never been so wrong. More to come in the next part of my write-up.

Aved

[aved]

The pursuit of a driving license – Part 1

I started gathering information and first-hand experiences from my friends and colleagues. One feedback was unanimous; it is tough to pass the driving test in the first go. Then I met few courageous people who had taken 7 or 8 driving tests and could not clear the driving test. They have spent enough money which could buy them an entry-level German car. I realized one thing: if I need to get the license, I have to commit myself to complete it in a time-bound manner and total dedication. With this resolution in mind, I plan to finish the process in 5 months, starting from August 2018.

To obtain the DL, There were few things that I needed to complete

1. Getting the learning permit
2. Completion of two trainings ( Risk 1 and Risk 2)
3. Theory test – Minimum Passing marks 52 out of 65
4. Driving test – 30 to 45 min of driving in different conditions

Now the fun begins.

With immense enthusiasm and abundant energy, I started my quest for the DL. I first did my learning permit registration. I was surprised to see the simplicity of the process. I registered online on transportstyrelsen (Swedish Transport Agency) by digitally authenticating myself. Then I visited an Optician, who conducted the eye test and digitally sent the information to transportstyrelsen. Within 24 hours, I received the learning permit. The total cost for obtaining the Learning Permit was 150 SEK for the eye test.
Then I started searching for the right and cost-effective traffic school. I spoke to 8 to 10 traffic schools. They provided me with a range of 15,000 SEK to 30,000 SEK for their package covering the Theory books, practice tests, a number of driving lessons, risk training, and car for the driving test. On top of it, I had to pay for the theory and driving test separately. So best-case scenario, I was looking at close to 21000 SEK.

The major cost component of these driving schools is the driving lessons. Each driving lesson can cost between 800 to 1400 SEK depending on the traffic school. Most of the Traffic Schools recommended booking at least 15 lessons and then increase the number of classes based on my performance during driving lessons.

This is where some of the Traffic schools try to milk the money. In Sweden, the driving test could be booked by an individual or by a traffic school. An individual gets only a certain number of prioritized slots for both theory and driving tests together. If the tests are not cleared for some reason, the individual gets the lowest priority in the slot allocation, and it can take months to get the next slot.

If The traffic schools have a different queue and can secure early slots. There is an implicit agreement between the Traffic school association and Swedish Transport authority that Traffic school will book a candidate for the test when the Instructor is confident that the candidate can drive safely and respond to the road and traffic situation maturely. Some schools try to increase the number of lessons in the middle of the training stating that a candidate needs more practice, even if it may not be required. Now the candidate will either have to accept it so that S/he can get the test booked by the driving school. I have seen cases within my friend circle where their instructors have told them to book an additional 10 to 15 driving classes. Some of them complied with it, and some of them secured the test individually and cleared the driving tests without any extra lessons.

There is another option to get the driving lessons through a private instructor. Anyone who has a license for five years and has undergone a private instructor course at one of the approved Traffic schools can provide driving lessons using private cars. A few private instructors provide the driving lessons at a slightly lower price, but they cannot book a driving test for the candidates, unlike the traffic school. However, most of the Swedish kids who are turning 18 are trained through their parents.

So most of the foreigners go with the Driving School route to simplify the process. I did the same. I booked a 15 session package with the traffic school, which was right across the street and had good reviews. I asked them to book me for a DL on a manual car. By the end of the 6th or 7th lesson, my Instructor would decide whether I need more lessons and when I can be booked for the theory and driving tests. I wanted to do this to ensure that I can take to driving test before snow season arrives, so I asked them to plan all seven lessons in the calendar right away and book me for the Risk 1 training and Risk 2 training (more on it later). With this, I felt confident that at the beginning of 2019, I would be driving on my own. I collected my theory books and walked happily back home.

Since I had a few days to my first driving lesson, I started reading the theory book. It is close to 400 pages book, filled with lots of insights and information. If you love cars and driving, then this instruction book is a gold mine. I still read it regularly to reflect on my driving experience and correlate it with the theory). I was able to speed read the book in four days.
My first driving lesson was a revelation. My Instructor corrected me on many shortcomings, like the car's placement in the lane, observing blindspots when moving the vehicle horizontally or turning. On the roundabouts, eco-driving (valid only for manual cars) and, of course, the 'right-hand rule.' He also asked me to pay special attention to pedestrians while driving in 30 zones. It suddenly struck me that if I need to pass the test successfully, I need to unlearn a lot and re-learn it in the way my Instructor was teaching. I appreciated his patience and made detailed notes after the class on things that I need to improve on. The Instructor also logged everything in the log sheet for the session.

Following two sessions, I consciously focused on the feedback, and I was not making frequent mistakes. My Instructor also grew confident, and he took me to the country road in the fourth session. A country road is an undivided road with high-speed limits (70 or 90). It is pretty fun to drive on these roads as it goes through different terrains and quite curvy. My Instructor provided me some valuable feedback on how to interpret different situations on country roads and respond to them. We also practiced right turns during the session. Session 5 was dedicated to country roads, and the right turns. Making the right turn on a country road is a unique combination of driving ability, keen observation of your surroundings, and judgment as you need to cut a road with high-speed traffic and, at times, the blindspots. With some practice, I grew confident with my driving skills on country roads. My Instructor informed me at the end of session five that he will take me to the motorway (roads with secure access and speeds of up to 120 km), and if I drive well there, he will book me for the driving test. I felt terrific after the feedback.

At home, I was revising my theory book, and I started appearing for mock online tests. I was consistently scoring above passing marks. I now also started focusing on the Risk 1 and Risk 2 trainings as their dates were approaching. These trainings are part of the Government's 'Zero Vision' initiative, aiming to eliminate traffic-related fatalities. Between sessions 5 and 6, I attended the Risk 1 training at my Traffic school, which focuses on the risks arising from driver's behavior. Risk 2 training aims to provide practical experience in handling risky situations, primarily maneuvering on a slippery surface, which is quite a common driving scenario during the wintertime. It was the most fun part of my entire driving license journey where you drive the car in a different situation and see the impact of different actions over 3 hours. The following video provides a glimpse of the Risk 2 training

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AJ1...aldelenSverige

Both Risk 1 and Risk 2 trainings are valid for five years, which provides ample time to clear both theory and driving tests.

Now I went back to my driving lesson schedule and continued with my 6th session, which was to be conducted on the motorway. Before the session, my Instructor gave me precise inputs like accelerate to the maximum permitted speed in the acceleration lane without thinking of Eco-driving and merge in the motorway. Don't break when you are about to exit from the motorway. Keep looking for all traffic around you and ensure that you are ready to respond to any traffic condition change. These instructions were critical, the average speed on these roads are normally 90 KM+ and there is no room for error. I did reasonably well during the session, and my Instructor was quite happy with my performance. He told me that he could book me after my 10th lesson itself and I should get the license without much hassle. He immediately looked at the earliest dates for both theory and driving tests and booked them for me on consecutive days. He also scheduled the remaining three sessions. He also told me that he would reimburse the remaining five unused lessons.

I was excited and looking forward to the tests. I was reasonably confident of clearing both the tests.

On the day of the theory test, I reached the exam center 30 mins before the exam. I did all the formalities and entered the examination room. I started my exams, and I answered all the questions with a few mins to spare. I clicked submit test and eagerly waited for the result to display on the screen.

Your score is 51. You did not pass the exam

I went blank for a moment. How could I fail that too with only one mark? I was highly disappointed for a couple of hours. I regained my focus and decided to give 100% to the upcoming driving test as if I clear the driving test; then, I will still have two months to clear the theory test.

The following day, the driving test was scheduled at 7:15 am. It was still very dark when My Instructor and I reached the Test center. The invigilator came right at 7:10 am. She validated my identification and asked me to take her to the car on which I will give the driving test. Once we reached the car, she told me to perform the parking brake, horn, and power steering check. I did those checks quickly and waited for her next instruction. She asked me to take the car out of the parking lot and take right turn. I was pretty nervous as this was the make or break time. If I stalled the car, I could kiss the DL goodbye then and there. However, I was able to do it well, and I started easing out. Then I drove according to her instruction for the next 30 minutes. I felt excellent and saw a glimmer of hope that I would pass the test.

She asked me to return to the test center. While returning. I made a mistake on merging from a 30 road to 70 road, which required another car coming from behind to change the lane. I understood its implication on my result. When we reached back, my invigilator told me that I drove quite well until the very end, and had I not made the mistake; she would have passed me. But because of that mistake, she had to fail me. She also provided me some feedback on my driving and how I could improve further.

I was devasted. A couple of days back, I was dreaming about clearing the tests and getting the DL, and now I have to do the whole exercise again. I decided to take a month break and restart the effort at the beginning of 2019.

To be continued in the next post.

Aved

[aved]

The pursuit of a driving license – Part 2


After the debacle in both the tests, I decided to take the break. My Driving school gracefully reimbursed the fees for the remaining five unused sessions. I took some time to reflect and noted few points

1. I was driving a bit too carefully and lost my natural driving behavior during the test.
2. During the test, driving a manual car is a bit more complicated due to the Eco-driving requirements, as it is one of the critical criteria for getting the DL on a manual car
3. I needed more practice in reading and understanding the road signs to plan better and position the car at the right spot. I could do it in an ok manner, but I thought there was room for improvement.

I had all the plans to kickstart my effort for the driving test by Mid Jan 2019. However, fate has some other plans. My work-related travel skyrocketed, and I spent 3 to 4 days a week traveling to Oslo and Helsinki for a significant part of 2019. My enthusiasm to get the DL withered away.

2019 just went by like a breeze, and we welcomed 2020 with great hope. Everything was working as routine, and obtaining the driving license was not on my priority list till summer. Suddenly the world turned upside down with Covid raging across. Sometime in Mid February, we decided to stop using public transport to avoid getting infected.

Within a couple of weeks, I realized that getting the DL and the car needs to be prioritized as the Covid situation may continue for a long time to come. With that in mind, I started looking for the dates for the Driving test. I was able to book the theory test by myself in Stockholm on 18th March, but there was no driving test date available for the next 5 to 6 months all across Sweden. It was because I had consumed two attempts already, so I went down in the priority for driving test date allocation.

The traffic schools in Stockholm, including the one I went to in 2018, told me that they could only confirm whether they can book me for the test once I have taken 5 or 6 classes with them. I was even ready to do that, but I was not getting the driving classes in successive weeks before the summer vacation when entire Sweden closes down for at least 4 to 6 weeks and the peak time for 18 years old to get their licenses. It would have pushed my driving test in September/October 2020 timeframe. I did not want to wait that long.

One of my Swedish colleagues suggested that I go to a nearby town and try the traffic school there. I called a few Traffic schools around 200 to 300 Km away from Stockholm, and one of them was ready to book me for the driving test even before driving a single session with them. They told me that I need to get my theory test clear to appear for the driving test. I immediately asked them to book me for six driving lessons on an automatic car with them and the driving test as well, as they could book me for Mid May in their town.

I started preparing for my theory in full force with both the tests booked as I had a couple of weeks to prepare for the theory exam. This time, I decided that I need to go deeper to understand the concepts and rules, and it should help me improve my driving. I started spending significant time going through the books, making notes, and taking mock tests. Before the actual test, I constantly scored more than 60 out of 65 in the mock tests. On the day of the test, I again reached 30 mins prior and went into the test room after completing the formalities. I was extra careful on the tricky situational questions. Instead of rushing through, I ensured that I spent enough time understanding the situation provided in the question and applied the theory to reach the correct answer. This time I completed answering the questions just before the end of the allocated time. I prayed and then hit the submit button.

Your score is 62. Congratulations, you have passed the test.

I was elated. It was half battle won for me. Now the next hurdle was the driving test, which was still two months away.

I did not want to lose the momentum, so I hired a private instructor and took a weekly driving class from him for six weeks. I think it was one of the best decisions for me. The instructor was a former bus driver (both long-distance and city buses). He provided me with practical nuggets of knowledge on how I could improve my driving. In my second session with him, he told me that he is surprised that I did not get the license in my last attempt. It was a confidence booster for me. I felt that I was getting into my natural driving style.

Time just flew, and it was time for my travel to a small town called Köping (pronounced as ‘Shopping’) for my driving sessions and test. I planned to have class on Thursday for 2 hours, Monday for 4 hours, stay overnight and then appear for the test on Tuesday morning on 19th May; I got a fantastic trainer from the Traffic school named Annika. During our first session, she told me that I need to practice specifically on country roads and city driving. Unlike in Stockholm, the roads are generally unmarked and slightly narrower. She made me drive extensively on these roads for the subsequent sessions and corrected some minor mistakes. On Monday afternoon, she told me that I have a high chance of passing the tests if I drive like this.

It was a restless night for me before the test. On the day of the test, it was bright and sunny. Annika was at my hotel right at 7 am. My test was starting at 7:40 am. I drove the car for 30 minutes to warm myself up, and then we reached the test center. The Invigilator showed up at 7.35 am. While walking towards the car, he told me what to expect in the test. As soon as we reached the car, he asked me to ensure that the tires are ok. I checked the tires for air pressure, irregular wear and tear, thread depth, and bolts. While I was doing the check, he asked me about the minimum thread depth during winter. I knew my theory well, and I answered it.

We started our test drive. My instructor told me to follow the direction towards Oslo. I started the car, and within 5 minutes, we were on the motorway at 110 KMPH. After driving for few minutes, the instructor asked me to exit and drive towards Köping through a country road. I was also asked to make a right turn during my drive on the country road. Luckily it was light traffic, and I could make a right turn onto a minor road. Then I drove for some time in town, and finally, Invigilator asked me to drive back to the test center after 40 minutes.

When we reached, and I parked the car, he announced that I could hire a car and drive back to Stockholm if I wanted. It was his way of saying that I passed the test. I was on cloud seven. Finally, I will be able to drive again. I will be back on the road.

I received the license in two days at my home address. In Sweden, all new license holders are on two year probation period, and so am I. I have spent close to 25000 SEK on the entire process, which I think is money well spent. Now it was time to start the search for the perfect ride. I knew it would be a difficult task knowing the options available here.

The next post will detail out the Swedish car market and the buying experience.

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The car buying experience

Now with my driving license secured, my mind quickly shifted to choosing the car. I utilized some time between my theory exam and driving test to research the different car ownership options and set up the car's selection criteria that we as a family would like to have.
Choice of ownership type
In Sweden, you can have a car under different types of ownerships, namely

1. Outright purchase – Good old way.
2. Purchase through a loan – There are different loan types available. You can get a car loan (interest rate from 1,9% to 5%), a personal loan (interest rate from 3% to 7%), or, if possible, extend the house mortgage (Interest rate from 1.1% to 3%). Car loans typically require a 20% down payment. There is a variant of car loan now available, allowing you to have a loan based on a residual value after a specific time (generally three years), which dramatically reduces the monthly EMI. At the end of the agreed period, you can either sell off the car and close the loan or extend it further at prevalent rates and T&C. You, as the car buyer, still have the risk of residual value (as against the leasing options).
3. Private leasing – Lease the car privately for 24 to 36 months. The road tax and Insurance are to be done by the lessee, while service cost is included in the lease
4. Staff car (Known as Personalbil) – It is financial leasing offered by most employers. Cars are leased for three years. This option is quite popular, as it is economical and covers everything (service, Insurance, taxes, etc.). My current employer provides this option to most of the employees.
5. Company car (Tjänstebil) – It is the most economical option. A few companies provide company cars, i.e., lease the car on company name and provide it to employees. The Swedish tax authority defines the car's benefit value to calculate the FBT. To provide you a quick comparison, one of my friends has booked Tesla Model 3 sr+ as a staff car, and it will cost him 4300 SEK/month for three years. My other friend has booked Tesla Model 3 LR AWD, and it will cost him close to 2000 SEK/month for three years.

So for me, it was either a Staff car (for a brand new car) or outright purchase (for a second-hand car). I checked the process at my company, and it may take anywhere between 1 to 4 months from initiating the process to getting a car, depending on the car model. My wife and I discussed this option, but we finally ruled it out since we wanted the car before the summer vacation. So I shifted my focus to the second-hand car market. The second-hand car market in Sweden is quite organized and reliable, especially if you are buying from reputed dealers. These dealers have stringent policies on 2nd hand car buying and selling. e.g., they will not sell a car with an accident history, or they will not sell a car with certain age or mileage.

My critical criteria were to have an SUV or a crossover less than 12 to 15 months old and less than 20,000 KM on the odometer with a budget of 250 to 300 KSEK. With this in mind, I started scanning the market for the car. We shortlisted Mazda CX5 and Kia Niro PHEV. We test drove the cars, and we liked both the cars. However, the Kia dealer gave me a great deal on a brown Kia Niro top-end PHEV with 16000 KM on the odometer, and 14 months old. After looking at our financials and the fact that PHEV will be cheaper to run as my parking garage has the charging ports and the electricity cost was included in the monthly fees. The Kia dealer went a step further and offered to lower the price further and include the winter wheels. I finalized the deal at 262000 SEK. Since it was an outright purchase, there was no financing process. I transferred the money to the dealer's account, and the car was ready to be picked up within two days. Here is the pic of the car on the day when we finalized it. ¨






The entire process took me roughly seven days, and we had our car on 29th may (on the 10th day after obtaining the license)

Now it's time to drive to some fabulous countrysides in Sweden.

[aved]

Car ownership experience – Kia Niro PHEV and decision to Switch to Tesla M3


It was a pretty quick purchase. We finalized and took the delivery of the car within nine days after obtaining the license. We liked the car because of its space, safety features, and ride quality in city conditions. It is a no-fuss reliable car which suited our conditions the best.

Delivery Experience: The delivery experience was pretty bland. We went to the showroom on a Saturday morning, and the sales guy handed over the key with some basic feature explanation. My wife performed a short pooja before I was allowed to drive. Most of the delivery documentation was online, so no physical paper was exchanged except for the service booklet and owner’s manual. The car came with a seven-year manufacturer’s warranty, which is quite good (Mazda provides an industry-leading ten-year manufacturer’s warranty in Sweden).

Driving experience: My significant use case for the car was the city drive with occasional road trips. I kept the car for ten months and drove it for 12,500 Km, out of which almost 9000 KM was city drive. I enjoyed driving the car in the city. Its compact dimension was a boon in the city. The ride quality was neither too soft nor too firm. The boot space was good enough for city use, and occasionally we could fit the Ikea furniture with the rear seat folded. When I used it in day-to-day city driving, I drove it on purely electric power and saved quite a bit on fuel as my parking has electric charging included in the fees.

When I drove on the motorway, the car performed well. I usually drive in hybrid mode than in pure electric mode. The 3rd party charging infrastructure is quite patchy in the countryside. The car was quite frugal in its fuel consumption. I got an average of 27 to 30 KM/ltr thanks to the electric motor. I am a sedate driver; however, I felt that it could do well with more power, especially when I needed to overtake on 2+1 road. I had to plan the overtaking maneuver well in advance, and occasionally I had to switch to sports mode for overtaking.

During the wintertime, the car, with its winter tire, was able to perform ok. However, when it was extreme winter with a snowstorm, I could feel the need for AWD.

Maintenance, service, and other costs: As mentioned, the car was no fuss and reliable. I did not encounter any mechanical or electrical trouble with the car in my ten months of ownership. The costs that I incurred on the car over ten months were

1. Fuel cost – around 3000 SEK
2. Annual Service – 5100 SEK
3. Winter tire change – 300 SEK
4. Tire storage – 600 SEK
5. Car wash (self-hand wash) – 500 SEK for 5 or 6 car wash
6. Parking garage – 500 SEK/month
7. Congestion charges – average 600 SEK/month

So, I incurred around 21,000 SEK on the car for ten months apart from the depreciation, which was quite economical in my view.

The decision to switch to Tesla M3: My 10-year-old son is a big fan of Tesla. He was asking me to go for a test drive for Tesla. So one day, I booked a test drive to give him a surprise. My wife and I picked him up from the school and went to the Tesla showroom for the test drive. I made it very clear to him that we will have the test drive and come back.

I also made it clear to the Salesperson that we are here on our son’s request and not looking to buy the car shortly. He generously increased our test drive time to 1 hour so that my son could enjoy the ride. I drove the car for one hour in the city, on the motorway and country roads, and I was pleasantly surprised with the car performance and started enjoying the ride. My wife loved the interior, ICE, and panoramic glass roof a lot.

When we reached the showroom after the test drive, I thanked the Salesperson and told him that I love the car, but financially it does not make sense to buy the car. He asked me about my concerns. I told him that I need to get a fair deal on my current car. Additionally, if I decide to get the car, I will buy it on private finance (as I was switching the company and the new company does not provide the company car). Thus the current interest rate of 2% makes it more expensive to buy a new car.

Then came the surprise, he told me that he would arrange for a fair price for my current car, close to my expectation. He also told me that he could offer me an interest rate of 0.25%.
I told him that I would take a couple of days to run the numbers, and if he could provide an offer to my current car from one of his dealers, we can discuss it further. I did a lot of number crunching over the next two days, and surprisingly the car was within my comfort zone financially, predominantly due to the government subsidy and low interest rate. As promised by the Salesperson, one of the dealers quoted 235 KSEK for my Kia Niro, which was 5000 SEK less than my expectation. The dealer told me that I could hand over the car to him on the day of Tesla delivery, which provided me an additional month of car ownership. He also promised me to provide a taxi from his showroom to the Tesla delivery center, a good 70 KM ride costing roughly 800 SEK. It made the deal reasonable for me.

I went to Tesla Showroom with everything in place, and my Salesperson helped me place the order and financing agreement at 0.25% interest for seven years.

I was ready to switch to pure electric power, and my inner child was as excited as was my son.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[nandrive]

Congratulations on getting your DL. The process seems so tedious and expensive that I feel it's very difficult to motivate non car lovers(better half, no offense, personal experience) to get the licence. I have got the licences from CA USA and NSW Australia, the process sounds similar, but I could pass all the tests in very first attempt and I felt they were so easy that I don't even remember exactly all the things I did.

[Adam]

First of all , thanks for the detailed write up and congratulation for getting your DL. I must say, the process of getting DL was kind of a tedious process. Waiting for your Tesla story.

[click]

We desperately need these kind of driving tests in India. And they need to be retaken every ten years. We have such terrible practice. Driving should be a privilege for those who learn and not a right if you turn 18.

[acestormtrooper]

@aved

Congratulations on getting your DL.

I must say this is such a good write up. Looks like there are no grey areas there. Just black and white in the entire process unlike India where there is "setting" and shady agents when you go to the RTO.

Also, I am totally impressed with the experience you had with the sales person a t the Tesla dealer. No nonsense, all clear, matched your expectations. Here as you know, for the old car they would increase the value and reduce some discounts or freebies on the new car. A total scam.

However, cant wait to hear more about your Tesla experience. Drive safe.

I hope you and your family are safe back there.

[refaircargo]

Reading and understanding the article called for a lot of patience. I am sure the writer has had tons of this in writing the article in detail. It is definitely an advance knowledge of after wisdom for anyone wanting to undergo the "torture" of owning a car in Sweden. Thanks for the "free" education. Regards

[pratyaksh]

Such elaborate practices, and proper procedures make these countries what they are. In fact, you make the UAE's driving license process feel like a breeze. I remember people struggling to get licenses even in 3-4 trials after receiving a minimum of 40 odd classes.
They need you to remember tire depth for winter months. That is just brilliant! In contrast, I was in the Himalayas last year and there was a 4x2 Sumo on black ice with absolute zero tyre depth - Obviously the Indian Jugaad worked, with couple of bricks laid on the road behind the tyres, and people manually pushing it up the incline . Oh, by the way, when it did move up, they just simply forgot to remove those bricks from the road

[shancz]

Enjoy your dream run man, good going.

Your experience reminded me about my own in Abu Dhabi(2015), especially the "I went blank for a moment" part.
I had failed the 90 degree parking test because I was too cautious, second guessed myself and ended up with the car's boot on the parking line as I had stopped short. Even worse was the mix of anger and desperation I saw on the examiner's face when he asked me to step out and see what had happened. He was the same guy who had praised me for scoring a 100% in the exams few weeks earlier and he had recognized me when I went for this test. That experience taught a more important life lesson. I made amends, re-appeared and completed the process.

They also followed the Swedish road systems, our learning slides had "SweRoads" inscribed and the seatbelt-rollover demo car was a Volvo C30 if anyone had any doubts
Process was similar to what you have mentioned but few of the hardcore tests aren't there and except for the external road training everything is in the driving school premises.

Deriving from your experience and mine I can say that the training is expensive but valuable.

Enjoy your ownership and drives, Good Luck

[sidharthg]

Holy Moly! That is intense mate! Big Congrats to you for A new car & the license.

I'm sure 99.9% folks here in India would flunk the test infinitely

Even in the current updated driving test in Delhi, more than half of the people don't make it, even though it is not even an iota of what Sweden has it. Gosh, we have some distance to go before road safety is even possible here.

Happy Driving and do post your ownership experience of Tesla!

[GT007]

Wow truly inspiring, really liked the way you were totally honest with the salesperson about the test drive reason and so nice for him to arrange the drive for an hour that you and family fell in love with the car and bought it after such detailed finance discussions. Such a feel good car buying experience, an enthusiast's delight!

In India if we get even 10 percent of this experience when buying new car it would be unimaginable.