whats cost of car, used? & monthly -yearly maintenence etc

Jer,u said u dont use a car,but what about making service calls,seeing your clients ,laundry,shopping etc?

Hey jazz, not sure you got the message right, I have a car but do not feel the need to use it in the city.

Madrid has one of the best if not THE best public transportation systems on earth and there is absolutely no need to use a car in the city for everyday moving around.

We use our car to get out of the city from time to time, pick up big packages, etc... but never in the city itself.

I would not have one at all but I traded my old PC for the car with my girlfriend's brother since he wanted a PC for his daughter and had just bought a new car. So, it was next to free

You really need to live here jazzbo to get it first hand.

1)Making service calls & seeing clients:
I mostly do web design and deliver/pickup cellphones these days almost all clients are in the city or just outside where I can easily reach them via Metro or bus. If they are way out, I have them come to my studio to discuss business.

2)Laundry:
Not sure I quite understand the question but if you mean how do I do my laundry, we have this cool invention in our apartment called a "lavadora" (washing machine") and we simply throw in the dirty stuff with some detergent and turn it on, presto... out they come clean as a whistle

3)Shopping:
Again you have confused me here We shop as any other city dwellers do I guess except that in Spain the nice thing is that many still go to the different market stands to get their produce (meat at one, fish another, fruit & veggies a 3rd,etc...) and for the general stuff we go to supermarkets here in the city. I have a neat little wheeled cart that I use to do the shopping on Saturday mornings. I have a "D�a" (supermarket chain) around the corner from my apt. which is great! I have a favorite "fruter�a" (fruit stand) here about a 5 minute walk south of our apt. as well (see the thread at www.multimadrid.com/cgi-bin/jersbbucgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=12&t=000038 for the scoop).

So, shoppingis easy and fun!

ok, as for the yearly car costs, I guess they are the same as in most places (car costs, repairs, etc...). We pay very little for car insurance (about $300/year) but the average cost for new car insurance is about $500-$700/year.

Saludos,
jer...