Moving to Germany for 6 Months, Bring Car?

MeatProduct

I'm heading off to Germany to live/work there for 6 months and I'm debating if I should bring my car or not. Car would be great to bring all my gear with me but it's going to cost a good bit more than just flying over. However I will need a car while in Germany as I'm staying in the Blackforest region in the countryside, 'tis a bit isolated. So I'd need to buy one if I flew over.

I've got my car for sale here but no one is buying and this is what got me thinking I along these lines, can't sell it, might as well bring it.

I've read the thread about the general driving regulations, etc. for going on holiday there but are there other things I should be concerned about since I'll be living there for half a year?

Is my Irish license good to go there?

Does my Irish car TAX and Insurance cover me there?

Any advice much appreciated.

Nick

PS: My car is a 1998 Honda Prelude 2.2 VTec

L1011

MeatProduct wrote: »

I'm heading off to Germany to live/work there for 6 months and I'm debating if I should bring my car or not. Car would be great to bring all my gear with me but it's going to cost a good bit more than just flying over. However I will need a car while in Germany as I'm staying in the Blackforest region in the countryside, 'tis a bit isolated. So I'd need to buy one if I flew over.

I've got my car for sale here but no one is buying and this is what got me thinking I along these lines, can't sell it, might as well bring it.

I've read the thread about the general driving regulations, etc. for going on holiday there but are there other things I should be concerned about since I'll be living there for half a year?

Is my Irish license good to go there?

Does my Irish car TAX and Insurance cover me there?

Any advice much appreciated.

Nick

PS: My car is a 1998 Honda Prelude 2.2 VTec

Your licence - assuming full - will be grand, its an EU licence so valid till it expires

Your insurance is unlikely to cover more than 90 days outside Ireland.

I've no idea how long Germany allows temporary imports in situations like this, unfortunately.

MeatProduct

MYOB wrote: »

Your licence - assuming full - will be grand, its an EU licence so valid till it expires

Your insurance is unlikely to cover more than 90 days outside Ireland.

I've no idea how long Germany allows temporary imports in situations like this, unfortunately.

Right, with my pathetic German I shall attempt to contact a German insurance company to see what the dealio is. Massive props for the advice

Nick

peasant

MYOB wrote: »

I've no idea how long Germany allows temporary imports in situations like this, unfortunately.

I'm not sure about that either.

but as you will be working there, you will need a social security number which you can only get if you have a registered address.
Unfortunately having a registered address also means that your car has to be registered in Germany. There is a "grace period" for this afaik, but I have no idea how long that is.

Registering your car in Germany carries no taxes or VRT, but a lot of hassle and fees.


to register a used EU car in Germany you will need to have the following:

Bei Einfuhr eines Gebrauchtfahrzeuges:

Ausländische Zulassungsbescheinigungen (Fahrzeugpapiere) im Original
EG-Übereinstimmungsbescheinigung
(ggf. Datenbestätigung zum Nachweis der technischen Daten)
Fahrzeug zur Überprüfung der Fahrzeug-Ident-Nr.
Eventuell ausländische Kennzeichen
Eigentumsnachweis mittels Kaufvertrag im Original
ggf. Nachweis über gültige Haupt-/Abgasuntersuchung, wenn diese nach deutschem Recht fällig gewesen wäre
Versicherungsbestätigung
Teilnahmeerklärung zum Lastschrifteinzugsverfahren
Personalausweis oder Reisepaß
ggf. Vollmacht des Fahrzeughalters

MeatProduct

Well that's really a big nuisance Peasant. I just contacted my insurer (AA) and they said I would be covered there for 35 days after which time I would need to have a policy with a German insurer. He also said I wouldn't need to get my car registered for that but that he was not an expert on German requirements.

I really don't want the hassle of registering my car in Germany and then in Ireland again when I come back (guessing I won't have to pay VRT though).

Looking like I'll just get a flight over there and buy a ****ty little runabout like the GT-R or something like that

Thanks for the advice,

Nick

peasant

If you have any no claims bonus, get a certificate from your insurance that confirms it. Otherwise you will be stung with a fairly high insurance rate and you can forget about that GT-R

MeatProduct

peasant wrote: »

If you have any no claims bonus, get a certificate from your insurance that confirms it. Otherwise you will be stung with a fairly high insurance rate and you can forget about that GT-R

Well it's no GT-R but not bad for the price! And a car I can bring back with me to Ireland since it's RHD. I'm presumming it's registered in Germany. Will ask my g/f to give me a translation. Is there anything majorly wrong with it? Looks like a really really good price for a 2003 Skyline?!?

Nick

Edit: Ah... English plates, feck
Edit of the edit: Ah, just noticed that it's not the 2003 model, must have been a typeo

galwaytt

just contact the German Embassy in Dublin.......

Other things to consider: there are no cheap banger runabouts in Germany. They don't 'do bangers', as it were........

If you find a German insurer to take you on, there may be a RHD penalty.....seeing as you're now on the wrong side of the road......!

MeatProduct

galwaytt wrote: »

just contact the German Embassy in Dublin.......

Other things to consider: there are no cheap banger runabouts in Germany. They don't 'do bangers', as it were........

If you find a German insurer to take you on, there may be a RHD penalty.....seeing as you're now on the wrong side of the road......!

Will do, I'll give them a bell on the morrow and get everything on the down low

Yeah, having a spot of bother finding a banger there. Found a few 95+ Skylines though and the above skyline is a 2003 but UK reg so I'd have to go through all the hoops to get it registered there but I'd have a fine car I could bring back with me.

I hadn't heard about a RHD penalty, as it is I'd be looking at a 70% insurance rate in Germany, I wonder what % the RHD penalty adds to that...

Nick

joeperry

If your gona buy a car in Germany you neeed to start browsing,this is my favourite site for browsing ,they have an English language version too

www.autoscout24.de

PS. it might be worth getting something 4 wheel drive,also winter tyres and snow chains are essential.

mickdw

It would be an idea to buy an expensive car rhd in germany and then attempt to take it back with you when returning home without paying the vrt on it. Im not sure is the rule 6 months or a year that you need to own the car abroad before you are vrt exempt

L1011

Year there, 6 months owning the car. And has an burden of proof.

MeatProduct

joeperry wrote: »

If your gona buy a car in Germany you neeed to start browsing,this is my favourite site for browsing ,they have an English language version too

www.autoscout24.de

PS. it might be worth getting something 4 wheel drive,also winter tyres and snow chains are essential.

Hi Joe, thanks for that. Been looking at that site today, 'tis a good one. About the 4 wheel drive, kinda considering a HiLux but they do seem a bit more expensive than here...

Nick

MeatProduct

mickdw wrote: »

It would be an idea to buy an expensive car rhd in germany and then attempt to take it back with you when returning home without paying the vrt on it. Im not sure is the rule 6 months or a year that you need to own the car abroad before you are vrt exempt

This would be great Mick. A year is a stretch though. Can't say I'm very impressed with the prices there. An S2000 costs more there than it does here and so do most of the cars I've looked at. Even witout the VRT I don't think I'd make much money off it.

Unless I do go for a more expensive car as you suggest but I really don't have €15,000+ to be throwing around at the moment.

Nick

mickdw

MeatProduct wrote: »

This would be great Mick. A year is a stretch though. Can't say I'm very impressed with the prices there. An S2000 costs more there than it does here and so do most of the cars I've looked at. Even witout the VRT I don't think I'd make much money off it.

Unless I do go for a more expensive car as you suggest but I really don't have €15,000+ to be throwing around at the moment.

Nick

Yes I was thinking more like 40 to 50k price range. Anyway if you need to live there for a year, its not going to work.

MeatProduct

What if I bought a car in the UK on the way over to Germany, got it registered in Germany there would be no VRT equivalent right?

Thanks,

Nick

helimachoptor

MeatProduct wrote: »

What if I bought a car in the UK on the way over to Germany, got it registered in Germany there would be no VRT equivalent right?

Thanks,

Nick

If so.. thats a good idea...

MeatProduct

helimachoptor wrote: »

If so.. thats a good idea...

I can get you 1 too

peasant

MeatProduct wrote: »

What if I bought a car in the UK on the way over to Germany, got it registered in Germany there would be no VRT equivalent right?

Thanks,

Nick

No VRT in Germany.

But ...I'm not entirely sure that you would get out of your VRT obligations in Ireland on your way back ...after all you were only out of the country for half the required period.

MeatProduct

peasant wrote: »

No VRT in Germany.

But ...I'm not entirely sure that you would get out of your VRT obligations in Ireland on your way back ...after all you were only out of the country for half the required period.

Yeah, could try and work something out there for the right car. Might just stay a year or come to some other arrangement. There's some GT-R's that are looking might tasty there on Autotrader in the UK. Can't believe how cheap the RX-7's are, a fine looking car.