Importing a car into Germany from the U.S.

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Cost of registering a U.S. car in Germany

Bringing a car from the U.S. to sell in Germany

World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (Wikipedia)

I know there is a lot of discussion on this topic, but I'm just looking for some independent advice. My wife and I are planing on moving to Germany in about one year. Our car lease expires next month so we are forced to get a new car. We are debating whether or not to buy a car to import to Germany or buy a car that we would sell before we move. This is what we could think of in terms of pros and cons:

Pros:
Loss of import and change costs (approx $4000) should offset loss of buying and selling a used car in a year
Exchange rate as is makes the equivalent car cheaper in the US than Germany
Less stress to sell car quickly before move (timing of move is dependent on job search)
We have family on the European side, so we can more easily go without a car (i.e. while it is being shipped) on the European side vs. the US side while racing to put together a move
Potentially would could save shipping costs if we ship a car with personal items? (not sure about this one)

Cons:
TUV
Transfering a loan or paying a US loan from Germany
Difficult to predict what car will best fit our needs
Exchange Rate can change
Warrenty goes void (I can buy one I think)
Diesel models not available in the US

Here are the options we are considering:
Buy to Import:
2009 Audi 2.0 A3: ($26k + $2k tax + $4k shipping and change) = $32k USD

Buy in US -> Sell in US -> Buy in Germany :
US: 2007 VW Rabbit - ($14k private party (incl. tax) purchase - $9k trade in) = $5k
DE: 2009 Audi 2.0 TDI Ambition (25k EUR) = $31k USD
Total Cost = $36k

Thanks,
Brent

Buy a used car for one year. With SUV resale prices so low in the US and gas falling to below $2/gallon that may be your cheapest bet.

If I were to buy a new car with the idea of importing it for resale at a profit (remember you have to own it in the US for 6 months before and in Germany for 6 months after) then I would search resale values of vehicles in Germany. I believe you will find that you would have to buy a significantly more expensive auto than the ones you mentioned. You need to be thinking expensive Audi, BMW, Hummer, or look at new mustangs and corvettes. Inexpensive Audi's and VW's are a dime a dozen over here and your profit margin will be small after all expenses are figured into the equation. Don't forget the risk in the exchange rate during the time in question. Buying a car in USD and the resale in Euro almost 20 months later carries with it the risk that the exchange rate can turn against you and turn a planned profit into a loss.

Good Luck.

I meant to post previously that the car needs to be owned in Germany for 12 months after arrival to avoid import taxes.

Additionally, this past year the exchange rate fluctuated between 1.25 and 1.60 Euro. Figure your estimated profit from either of these extremes and that could give you an idea of what kind of risk you run. Realize that past performance is no guarantee. The exchange rates could fluctuate even more by the time you sell in 20-24 months.

Hey, all!

I perused the thread and noticed that some have shipped a Jeep over and I'm looking to have mine shipped over ASAP. I'm gonna do port-to-port from Baltimore to Bremerhaven and my quote from Trans Global shipping (the US rep...haven't checked the Mannheim rep here through Cox Agency) for Roll-On/Roll-Off is around $960USD. Here's the thing...

Hate to admit this but after reading other posts here and other parts of the web, I feel more confused than when I first started researching this months ago. My German GF told me that she heard I'd have to pay a tax if I don't get my Wrangler on German soil by mid-April (a year from the day I arrived last year). We both are also having a difficult time finding out exactly what customs fees I'll have to pay, what I'll have to change on the Wrangler when I get it here due to TuV AND Chrysler Jeep giving up no info. TuV wants a buttload of money for even asking and Chrysler says they won't give out any info since my Jeep belongs in North America and nowhere else.

Is there anybody who has any definite up-to-date info for a non-military person trying to bring their auto here for a Freelancer/Kleinunternehmen? Despite all the hassle it really does seem like this is the more cost-effective alternative for me due to the low mileage of my vehicle but I'd still like to find ways to cut out on any extra hassle/costs.

Thanks in advance, all!

http://www.geigercars.de/

http://www.uscars24.de/

Thanks, Tex!

I'll look those links over. Your other posts have been very helpful as well!

Hi, so I am thinking of importing a US car, take advantage of this economic downturn! Some real bargains to be had (on German cars even!), like on www.edmunds.com. All previous posts seem to be from Americans, any Europeans have experience in this? Any different for us?

Does any body know if you import a used Audi from germany to the us does the warrenty stand up and for how long

A thought just crossed my mind.

If one were to import a junker car from abroad, and not do any conversion work but instead buy just enough insurance to drive it to a German junkyard, would it qualify for the Abwrackprämie/Verschrottungsprämie?

There could be a real junker arbitrage opportunity here. Buy some POS car off a used car lot un the US for $500, drive or push it to the dock and ship it over for $1,000, drive or push it to the scrapyard and get a voucher for EUR2,500 ... and you'd be up c. ($3,500 - $1,500) = $2000 off the purchase of a new car from day one.

No because they'd hit you when you're registering it. You can get the insurance form easily but you'd need to own it here to junk it.

You have to have owned it here for a year already for the Prämie.

and you need to buy a new car to get the Prämie

Hello,

A new post on the car situation. I've learned a lot already from your posts, but am wondering if anyone has faced the issue of having the *first* car of its kind imported, in this case, a Toyota RAV 4 with a 6 cylinder engine. A Toyota mechanic is telling us it could cost us up to $10,000 euros to have the car tested to meet European standards, just for the testing, the actual conversion would cost somewhere between $1800-$3,000 (headlights, directionals, and possible issues related to testing). He suggested getting in touch with a Toyota owners' group to see if the records are available, and pay them to release the information (guess it would cost something under 10 grand).

Seems strange that this car would never have been imported before, that it would cost so much to have it tested, and to pay a group instead to release the information. We have actually found that most red tape in Germany ends up being resolved fairly, but this sounds exploitative. Is this just protectionism or are we dealing with illegal behavior?

So, I guess we should have left the car at home...Any thoughts? I'll check the links too.

Thanks!

It's neither protectionism nor illegal. That's just how much it costs for an actual emissions test. This needs to be done in a controlled environment, using a dyno, and that's why it's expensive. A simple tailpipe sniffer test only tells you whether the emissions equipmment is broken, but you can't use it to measure the amount of pollution the car produces.

If you can find someone that has already taken the plunge (an importer or a private owner), all you need to do is convince him to sell you the necessary paperwork. There's a V6 RAV 4 with a European registration listed on autoscout24, so there's a good chance SOMEONE out there has an emissions cert (and possibly certs covering headlights, brakes etc.) for this model. Now it's up to you to find that someone. I'd try contacting the seller of that car, larger dealers near US bases and importers dealing with Euro conversions.