Buying a van in Germany

oldtech

Guest
Hi Everyone !

I'd like to buy a van in Germany and export it myself.
I've been looking on a website called mobile.de and also autoscout24.de and there is plenty of choice.
Prices look very good for the year / mileage and a lot have good dealer service histories.
I particularly want a left hander as it will probably end up on Spanish or Portugese plates.

Has anyone got any experience of this ?
Any tips ? ... and in particular , any pitfalls to watch out for , especially regarding paperwork.
What I mean is the buying and driving out of Germany part .... I know the Spanish end of things as I used to
work there as a sometime translator for Brits trying to deal with Spanish bureaucracy.
In particular the dreaded "Trafico" ....where grown men weep ! .... even the Spanish !!!

I noticed that a lot of the vehicles ( especially at dealers ) don't seem to have reg. plates !
Is it like in the USA where the plate stays with the driver and NOT with the vehicle when it
is sold ?

As always , any help and advice will be well appreciated

Happy Camping to all !!

Oldtech
 
oldtech said:
Hi Everyone !

I'd like to buy a van in Germany and export it myself.
I've been looking on a website called mobile.de and also autoscout24.de and there is plenty of choice.
Prices look very good for the year / mileage and a lot have good dealer service histories.
I particularly want a left hander as it will probably end up on Spanish or Portugese plates.

Has anyone got any experience of this ?
Any tips ? ... and in particular , any pitfalls to watch out for , especially regarding paperwork.
What I mean is the buying and driving out of Germany part .... I know the Spanish end of things as I used to
work there as a sometime translator for Brits trying to deal with Spanish bureaucracy.
In particular the dreaded "Trafico" ....where grown men weep ! .... even the Spanish !!!

I noticed that a lot of the vehicles ( especially at dealers ) don't seem to have reg. plates !
Is it like in the USA where the plate stays with the driver and NOT with the vehicle when it
is sold ?

As always , any help and advice will be well appreciated

Happy Camping to all !!

Oldtech
Click to expand...

Plates on german vehicles do not belong to the vehicle. Vehicles are registered at the home address of the owner. Means if the owner moves home into another town, he will need to register vehicle there and apply for new plates.

You can buy export plates in Germany WITH insurance, visit a ADAC (german AAA) shop to buy or this http://www.export-plate.com/
 
very useful information !!

Teutone said:
Plates on german vehicles do not belong to the vehicle. Vehicles are registered at the home address of the owner. Means if the owner moves home into another town, he will need to register vehicle there and apply for new plates.

You can buy export plates in Germany WITH insurance, visit a ADAC (german AAA) shop to buy or this Export plates / transit plates delivery for export and transit
Click to expand...

Hi there Teutone

Many thanks for that very useful information :bow:

The link you gave solves several problems in one go !

Might not be the cheapest option but it sure is a convenient "one-stop-shop"
to drive a vehicle out of Germany legally .

regards

oldtech
 
oldtech said:
Hi there Teutone

Many thanks for that very useful information :bow:

The link you gave solves several problems in one go !

Might not be the cheapest option but it sure is a convenient "one-stop-shop"
to drive a vehicle out of Germany legally .

regards

oldtech
Click to expand...

I looked at the prices and thought "ouch" as well.
But consider to pop in an ADAC shop if you are buying in a bigger town. You need to pickup the V5 (Fahrzeugbrief) anyway and I don't think you will get hold of it without payment of the vehicel settled. It's not as weak as the english V5 (just apply fo a new one at the post office) and closely guarded by the owner as it's 100% proof of ownership.

Once you have all the paperwork, you just pop in an ADAC shop and they sort it for you while you wait. But don't forget to bring your passport.

Seller will not hand you the "Fahrzeugschein" which is a smaller pocket sized version of the "Fahrzeugbrief". the Fahrzeugschein will be retained by the sellers local register office when he de-registers the car (or handed in by you when you register the export plates).

I hazad a guess that most german seller will de-register the vehicle as soon as they will figure out you are going to export it.
there is just too much liability for them having a new owner driving away on their registration. A lot of paperwork for the seller if you (buyer) ignore to register the vehicle ASAP in your name.


EDIT:
told you wrong, sorry. The ADAC shop is only selling you INSURANCE. They DON'T register the vehicle for you. YOU will have to go to the local register office (= Zulassungsstelle) and sort it out yourself.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
MPG Gutersloh

index
This company based in gutersloh germany has many uk dealing and expertise in exporting etc.
As there is a large British Military presence there, they speak very good English.
Maybe they can help you!
mat
 
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