Car Ownership

Getting Pulled Over in Portugal & Even More Updates

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So much has been going on the past few weeks and everything just feels like such a whirlwind. I’ll start with my favorite update- travel is back on! I guess I should take a few steps back first. So we heard back from the guy doing our taxes (he charged 185 to file the return) and it turns out I owe quite a bit less than I expected. This year work has been slow, so I have been trying to work as much as I can and save money because I thought we would owe way more in taxes. Work has been picking up the past few weeks and I even got a new contract that I’m really excited about. With that contract comes a lot of training, so I have been busy trying to get training in as well as learning the ropes of the things I will be doing in this role. So now that I’m not having to save so much money each month we can afford to travel again. I’ll talk more about that in a second.

The accountant we used charges 75 euro per month to do everything tax related. He will file all of my green receipts and social security. He will tell me how to pay my social security (and how much), and I can prepay some of next years taxes if I want to. We decided to go ahead and work with him because I still have not looked at how to file social security and clearly I need some help as far as taxes go. I signed a year long contract and that price will also include filing my tax return next year. I am relieved because the last 2 years that we have had to file taxes we scramble around in January/February tying to find someone who can help us file. It’s a huge weight off my shoulders to barely even have to think about taxes anymore.

I guess I should touch on the title as well! Kyle got pulled over a few days ago. We have had the car for a year so I am kind of surprised we hadn’t gotten pulled over until now. Two police officers were standing on the side of the road looking at cars and he said he knew he was going to get pulled over because they looked at his plate and then did a double take. They waved him over to the side of the road. They were pretty upset that he still has his US driver’s license, so we’re going to try to get started on the license exchange again soon. That’s going to be a huge headache. Kyle got pulled over because our inspection expired in December. We had thought we had more time but were wrong, so we got a 250 euro ticket. Ouch! Kyle schedule our inspection for next week.

The school closest to our house had a spot open for Leo. We went and got all of the paperwork and will have to bring it back to the school on May 6. We need Leo’s residency card so Kyle went back to the place I originally applied for it in Lisbon. The lady there said that they are really, really backed up and it will probably show up at some point. She gave us a paper and said to give it to the school. I didn’t translate it, but I’m assuming it says something about us paying and having to wait for them to send the card. I’m hoping that providing that letter as well as our receipt will be enough. I finally registered Sofia online today at the Portal de Matriculas, which is required from 1st grade on. It wasn’t too bad, though it did take me about 45 minutes or so because I had to Google a lot of things to understand them. Sometimes even when they were translated into English they still didn’t make sense. Once we (fingers crossed) get them officially registered I’ll make a post all about that.

We finally got the kids signed up for swim lessons, which is something we have been meaning to do for a long time now. They’ll stop going to school next week and won’t go again until September 1 at their new school. Hopefully they will have tons of fun this summer. They will go to swim lessons twice a week. Kyle just went to our local public pool and they had tons of options to choose from. I think it cost something like 128 for the both of them for 1.5 months of classes 2 times per week.

I have been busy getting back to vacation planning and have 3 booked for the year. In early June Sofia and I are going to Efteling. I have been wanting to go there ever since I heard about it. This will be our last trip together for a while. Leo and I will be going to Amsterdam in early July. There is a CenterParcs about a half hour outside of Amsterdam that we will stay at. He really loved CenterParcs and it makes things easier for me. For the Christmas holidays this year we are going to Disneyland Paris! We will be there the week before Christmas and we’re going to stay on site. I’m really excited because the kids are going to love it and it will be great to see Dinsey all lit up for Christmas. We haven’t gotten their school schedule yet, so fingers crossed they actually have the week before Christmas off. I have been trying to find out how many days of school kids can miss in Portugal but am not having much luck.

So that’s what we have been up to. And now I have to get back to my ever growing to-do list.

Getting into a car accident in Portugal part 2

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Well, everything moved a lot quicker than I expected. Within a few days of submitting the accident report to insurance they called us. I hate answering numbers I don’t know and I was also at work, so I got to use that as an excuse for not answering. Luckily the guy from the insurance company sent me a text through WhatsApp. I wish everyone would do that when I don’t answer! 😂

He had already scheduled an inspection for us two days later and the insurance adjuster was going to meet Kyle there. Luckily the date and time worked for us…I’m not sure what happens if it doesn’t. The paperwork was reviewed, the shop ordered some parts and that was that.

About a day later I got a text and email saying that we are approved for repairs and the claim is now closed. The estimate was for 1500 euro! That’s way more than I thought it would be. Luckily we won’t pay anything. We’re just waiting to hear back from the shop about the parts. They said it will take about a day to repair. If all goes as planned then this will have been extremely easy.

Our kids’ school is closed this week for summer break. They are going through a frustrating phase where they intentionally annoy each other and then hurt each other. Leo has been biting Sofia a lot and Sofia scratched him hard enough to draw blood on his face. There has been tons of screaming and crying. They’re both having a tough time with emotions right now. We’re getting through it but some days (like today) it feels like our heads are barely above water. I know we will all get through this, but this is probably one of the toughest times we’ve had and it definitely makes us miss having family nearby.

Anyway, I’ve been doing what I do whenever I get stressed- planning a trip! Kyle and Leo are a bit more traveled out than me and Sofia, so Kyle suggested I take Sofia on a trip somewhere. I was thinking Spain or Italy, but then I read a blog post about Center Parcs resorts. I have never been a resort kind of person, but these places look amazing! They remind me of the sleep away camps I loved when I was younger- but instead of sending Sofia away I get to go with her!

Fun at the mall

We’re going to one of the Center Parcs in Belgium in late November. I imagine they will have Christmas lights up by then. So Sofia and I will be freezing for 5 days this winter 🥶 I guess it’s good Leo and Kyle will be staying in warm Portugal. I’m really excited. I loved having an indoor playground and pool at the hotel when we went to Disneyland Paris and the Center Parcs resort will be like that but so much bigger. They also offer activities, like pony riding, face painting, and all kinds of other fun things.

I have been trying to stay home and save money but it just isn’t working out 😂 Next week we head to Northern Portugal and in November Sofia and I head to Belgium.

Getting into a car accident in Portugal

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Unfortunately we have been learning all about what to do when you get into an accident in Portugal. Kyle was leaving the mall and there is an awkward area where two lanes come together from different levels. There is a mirror so that they can (theoretically) see each other. Kyle left the parking garage and was waiting to turn onto the street when another driver came down the ramp. He didn’t see Kyle and side swiped him pretty good. Luckily there were no injuries and the cars are drivable. It looks worse in person because the bumper is coming off a bit.

We really should have looked into things more before we started driving. When you get into an accident in the EU you have to fill out some forms detailing what happened. Each driver signs it and then sends it to the insurance companies. From what I understand the police are not typically called in Portugal unless the drivers are in disagreement, although I’m not completely sure on that. The other driver was at fault and he admitted it.

He was driving a work van and Kyle didn’t have the paperwork, so the guy’s boss met with Kyle the next day to fill out the paperwork. It was a little scary for a while because the boss didn’t bring the paperwork and thought Kyle was at fault and the other driver should have called the police. For a second it seemed like he was trying to set Kyle up to take the fall. Kyle showed him where the accident took place and explained what happened. The other guy had a stop sign and Kyle didn’t, so it’s pretty obvious…So the guy admitted his driver was at fault and said so in the forms.

After Kyle and the guy each filled out identical forms and signed them, we then had to get them to our insurance company. From my understanding each person takes a copy of the incident report and sends it to their insurance company. Kyle just got off the phone with our insurance company and he is emailing them the forms. The next step will be for them to send an adjuster out to our house to inspect the damage. From there they will send us a list of authorized repair shops. We take it to get estimates and let our insurance company know. They approve the repairs and we go get them done. At least this is all according to Google, lol. I’ll update as we go, but for now we will wait to hear back from the insurance company.

Here’s a picture of the blank accident report. It’s easy to find online. I guess they also have copies of them in government buildings and those ones have carbon copies. We’re going to go on the hunt to find some later, but for now we just printed some online and will put them in the car. It looks like this is standard in all of the EU and you can easily find the forms translated into various languages.

In expat groups people always ask if they can get by in Portugal without knowing the language. Kyle and I can finally have basic conversations in Portuguese (super basic, lol) but we have gotten really luckily when it comes to bigger things. The two people involved in the accident spoke some English and the insurance agent Kyle talked to spoke great English. We have made it almost 2 year so far with English, google translator, and some basic Portuguese. We found a tutor we like on italki who does classes with the both of us together and we have been learning a ton from her. Maybe we will have to have a class that focuses on driving and words to know in accidents or when we get pulled over.

Road-trip to Nazare in our car!!

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Our car is here! We were approved for the loan and one night the dealer let us know the car was ready for pick up. They had given us an insurance quote and we decided to go with the company they used since it would be easier. They gave us 3 quotes. I don’t remember the exact amounts but the most expensive was 750+ per year and the cheapest was around 300. We decided to go with the expensive one for our first year because it’s similar to full coverage insurance.

Our car!

Buying a car in Portugal wasn’t any better or worse than in the US- both places require hours of waiting and lots of paperwork. I am really grateful that the dealership did a lot of the hard stuff for us. They got us the loan, registered the car, and got us insurance. We also have warranties and roadside assistance that works anywhere in the EU.

Unfortunately I had to work a ton the first few days we had the car and I didn’t get to use it much. Finally I have a day off today and we decided to head to Nazare. We went there once last year and have been meaning to go back. We let Sofia ditch a day of preschool so that she could come with us. It feels nice driving again! It was nerve wracking at first, but I’m adjusting. The roads here are great.

For now we’re having to avoid the toll roads since we don’t have our transponder yet. There is a company called Via Verde and they have an awesome app. You can create an account there and use it to pay for all kinds of car related things including parking and tolls. Once we get the transponder it will make driving easier since we can use the toll roads. We can probably use the roads anyway and pay either a person or get a bill in the mail, but I’m not entirely sure.

We were only in Nazare for a few hours. Finding parking was a bit harder than we thought given that it’s Wednesday and not summer. There were still plenty of people out and tons of cars looking for parking spots. We finally found a spot and headed to the beach. Last time was super foggy and we couldn’t see anything. The skies were clear today.

Nazare was fine for playing in the sand, but definitely not a beach to let the kids wade in the water or swim. The waves were pretty big and the tide looked strong. Luckily the kids were happy just playing in the sand.

We didn’t walk around town much today. It was more of a let the kids play kind of a day. Next time I want to go while the kids are in school so that we can look at some of the shops and go to the lighthouse. Given how tough it was to find parking I don’t think we will go again until late this year. I have been really wanting to see the big waves, so hopefully we can make it in November or December to see them.

Tomorrow the kids are back in school and Kyle and I are going to Tomar! I’m excited. I have been wanting to see Tomar for a long time.

I think we bought a car sight unseen

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We moved to Portugal sight unseen. Moved to Leiria sight unseen. Signed a 3 year lease for the apartment sight unseen. So we might as well buy a car sight unseen too, right?

We have been talking about buying a car for the past few weeks now. I have been pretty sick the past 2.5 weeks. Bad cough, lots of congestion, a fever on and off. I lost a lot of sleep because laying down would make me cough too much. During that time Kyle had to do pretty much everything because I had to save the little bit of strength I had for work. We had already wanted a car, but me being out of commission sealed the deal. We looked at leasing options, but just like in the states I have never been able to see the benefit of leasing over buying.

In the US when I buy a car I do tons of research. I like SUVs and I like Honda and Nissan, so I tend to start there. I look at gas mileage, safety, features. We wanted to get a hybrid here, but it’s out of our price range so we looked into diesel. We decided that we prefer diesel over gasoline because it seems like it will be more efficient and better on the car over time. So for us buying a car in Portugal meant walking into a dealership and asking if they have any automatic diesel vehicles. They had one. We bought it, lol. Maybe…

Unfortunately this is not the car we bought

The process is both similar and different than in the US. There is no test drive. They plug some numbers into a computer and show a list of monthly payment options. I forget all of the options, but they had some really long term ones, like 8+ years. We added a few warranties, which were cheap. We paid half of the down payment right up front. Then they wanted all of our info to see if we would get approved for a loan. It’s a little nerve wracking paying so much without even knowing if we will be approved. We didn’t bring any paperwork with us today, so we made do using our phone apps and screen shots. When we got home I spent over an hour getting some things together to email. I emailed bank statements and payments stubs. It would be easier if you have Portuguese income or have paid taxes in Portugal, but I am paid in USD and we haven’t paid taxes here yet, so we had to do it the harder way.

We spent just over 3 hours at the dealership and then I spent another hour or two getting everything together at home. When we left the dealership we still had no idea if we had been approved. I still don’t know right now. I figure it will probably take a few days at least. So fingers crossed that we get approved for financing! Since they don’t do credit scores over here I’m not really sure how they decide who to lend to or what the risk factors may be.

The car we (hopefully) bought is in the shop getting fixed up. They are painting it and replacing two of the tires. It’s a 2014 with 84000 kilometers. I don’t even know the make and model and I don’t even care. A car is going to give us so much freedom. We have made it work for an entire year and a half and we did it and it was fine. But we are both so excited at the thought of having a car again. It definitely brings a lot more cost, but hopefully it will be worth the trade off.

Playground inside the dealership

They did have a car in stock that’s just like ours (but not automatic or diesel) but a few years newer so they showed it to us. They said that all of the features will be the same. I really love the one they showed us. I was very adament about not getting a car when we moved here, but we’ve been here for a whole year and a half now and I think we’re ready. Having an automatic will make it easier. I can kind of drive stick, but only do it every decade or two, so my skills are pretty rusty. We keep talking about all the places we will go when we get a car. High on the list is Tomar because the bus schedule from Leiria doesn’t work, so we haven’t been able to go.

The newer model of our (hopefully) future car

I’m not too sure of the next steps. Hopefully we get a happy call or email soon. We still owe half the down payment. We transferred the first half to them, so we will probably do the same if we get approved. They said that they will drop the car off at our house, which would be awesome. Next up is shopping for car seats, and then some road trips! I guess I’m getting ahead of myself. We still have to wait to see if we even get approved. Oh, and we need to figure out how to buy car insurance. And figure out the tolls. Well, plenty to keep us busy while we wait.