QUOTE (ollya @ Mar 31 2008, 10:36 am)

if I decide to buy a vehicle here at a later stage then I'll need a residency permit.
Not if you are an EU citizen. EU folk need no permit to live here or buy a car. Your passport and residence certificate will suffice. Note also that all previous replies also assume you are hold an EU passport. Much thoigh the topic title mentions "UK citizens" this was not your doing.
If you are running your own company here (as opposed to being an employee of a company which might include your own), and are planning on staying here more than 6 months you
might have problems, especially if the German company you are working at are your only customer. If they find out about you the Germans might consider (as a result of your registering residence here) that you are actually running your company for here, so you may have to submit accounts in Germany, submit for German tax, and register for VAT. This will depend very much on the relationship with your home base, the contract you have with your German customer, your income, and type of work. You may be wise to take professional advice on this (or simply wing it and hope nobody takes too much notice)