Buying a new Cali in Germany

[Plinky]

Hi,
I am in the market for a new shape California. I have compared 2nd hand prices here in the UK to those of new and s/h prices in Germany. They seem quite a lot cheaper there, especially with the weak euro. They also seem to have more models and engine sizes to choose from. Has anyone any experiences of buying and importing from Europe? I'm also intending to travel a great deal in Europe , so a left hand drive model is preferable.

 

[Andy]

A search will give you at least two threads

Sent from my GT-I9305 using Tapatalk

 

[WelshGas]

Don't you have factor in Import Duty/Taxes?

 

[James]

Don't you have factor in Import Duty/Taxes?

Dependent on whether it is classed as second hand or not, I am not entirely sure but I think that is dependent on milage - 5k I believe.

I would always agree that LHD Cali's are cheaper, they are much more spec dependent and as you rightly say, there is a far greater engine choice. Seems entirely reasonably though that you could get something cheaper than RHD, plus you'll be getting the proper dashboard and you passenger seat won't be turning to face the kitchen unit.

James

 

[Gilesyboy]

I live in Germany and we bought ours from a German VW dealer. Our experience:

• The cars you see on the equivalent sites of Autotrader (mobile.de or autoscout24.de) are seldom actually available to buy, when you contact the dealer you will be informed that they just sold it or they are advertised by “brokers” who will try to get a car for you;
• Assuming you can’t speak German, communication maybe a problem as English is not as commonly spoken in the dealers as you would expect
• Cash offers / hard bargaining / playing hardball doesn’t work on Cali’s, they always sell near to the advertised price and they sell fast
• The dealer will insist you pay a sizable (25-50%) deposit for the car without actually seeing it and you will have to sign a contract, this is the process in Germany. We have bought 2 cars this way and it actually works out quite well because they tell exactly the condition of the car and if it’s not like they described they need to repay the money and you can walk away. The dealer sent us photos of every scratch dint etc. and a complete list of all of the repairs to paint work etc. they have done
• After they’ve received the deposit they will want a week or so to get the car ready, e.g. service, TUV (MOT equivalent), cleaning etc.
• Germany is a big country and make sure you know where the car is – Dresden for example is a really long way from Dover.

Other considerations

• Registering and Insurance – I think there’s another thread on here about this, but something that you would need to research is the car registration process, it is very different to the UK and I have no idea how that will work if you want to export and register in the UK. The dealer needs you to prove it’s registered and insured before you can drive it away, you can’t register without insurance. If you need to register a car in Germany you need a half day from work and go stand in the queue at the local townhall. The DVLA is light years ahead.
• Money Exchange – Normally people pay deposit by bank transfer to secure the car and the rest in cash on collection, the fees of transferring etc. could rack up for £40k+

IMO - I think by time you factored in costs associated travelling to the dealer and then driving back, I think you will be more or less the same off. If the exchange rate changes dramatically then maybe it makes sense, but still you will need a load of spare time and be prepared for loads of paper work and google translating. Buying a car in Germany to use in Germany is a testing experience, so expect a load of hassle.

 

[estresao]

Hi Plynky.. I'm also ina similar process, but at Spain instead of Gernany. I've found that buy a brand new California Beach over there could be more than 10k£ cheaper (same features). I didn't yet bougth it, so there are some stuffs pending to resolve, like how to bring here a non registered vehicle. Also I hope the VAT I save at Spain will be the same at UK (I guess I'll pay roughtly same taxes).

I follow that post just in case someone provide us some usefull information or share some experiences

 

[Plinky]

Thanks for the posts. I did contact the DVLA, as well as the tax office. It seems that there are no real fees to importing a car , either new or second hand. If new, you pay tax, either in Germany or in the UK, but not both, at least thats how it was explained to me. I understand the language might be a problem, but there do seem to be big savings, especially if going for the smaller diesel engines, which are what i want anyway....mpg is more important to me than outright power. Im also going to be in mainland Europe more than the UK, so LH drive would be better for that. If anyone has any more information or experiences of doing this, i would much appreciate it. Otherwise, i will investigate and report back on my experiences.

 

[Mollen]

Hi,
We Bought our Beach from VW Berlin/wildau.
I rang about it on friday, took the night train on sunday, paid in full at the dealers on monday over the internet, they fitted a parking heater and drove home on the tuesday.
They even gave it a full valet even though i couldnt see a speak of dust anywhere.
I agree with earlier post about discounts from VW on second hand, all i managed to get was a full tank of diesel.
They fixed the export plates and are super proffessional.

Use vw tradeport and you will be fine.

Good luck!

//Mart

 

[Plinky]

Thanks for that 'Mollen',

How did you process the payment and currency exchange side of things? Did you just do a wire transfer from your UK bank to theirs?

 

[Mollen]

Thanks for that 'Mollen',

How did you process the payment and currency exchange side of things? Did you just do a wire transfer from your UK bank to theirs?

Hi,

Iban number and swift number direkt from my account to theirs.

/Mart

 

[John Sowerby]

Thanks for the posts. I did contact the DVLA, as well as the tax office. It seems that there are no real fees to importing a car , either new or second hand. If new, you pay tax, either in Germany or in the UK, but not both, at least thats how it was explained to me. I understand the language might be a problem, but there do seem to be big savings, especially if going for the smaller diesel engines, which are what i want anyway....mpg is more important to me than outright power. Im also going to be in mainland Europe more than the UK, so LH drive would be better for that. If anyone has any more information or experiences of doing this, i would much appreciate it. Otherwise, i will investigate and report back on my experiences.

 

[John Sowerby]

Hi
Did you go ahead and buy a Cali from Germany, I am considering doing the same thing and could do with some feedback

Many Thanks

John

 

[briwy]

Re transferring money when we bought our house in France we used one of the money transfer companies like HiFx or Moneycorp.
I don't know f you could use them to buy a vehicle (don't see why not though) but we got a far better exchange rate than using our bank.