We are looking at importing a car from Germany. Has anyone done this recently and how easy (or not) was it?
I’ve seen some older posts that also used an ‘agent’ so is this easier & what are the costs for delivery etc?
Many thanks!
Super easy, as long as you have the coc and the quitus fiscal.
Hi Vero, could you explain more? Are these doc we had to get when we first brought our UK car over to France?
So would we be given these , say from the seller of the car we are interested in (in Germany) & to re-register it in France?
Sorry cars confuse me!
regards
T
CoC = Certificate of Conformity - if it’s not supplied with the car you can usually get it from the original manufacturer.
Quitus Fiscal = proof that EU tax has been paid. These used to be from your local tax office but the application now has to be made online. The address differs by departement as seen here:
https://www.impots.gouv.fr/contacts?374
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I haven’t done it since it was all put online but it was very straightforward, you hand in your docs, plus proof of insurance, then pay for your carte grise, you’ll get a temporary one which allows you get your plates done and there you are.
The last time I did a QF online, the time from pressing ‘submit’ to receiving the document was less than an hour. I was very impressed 
Many thanks - much appreciated, fingers crossed for our purchase now!
kind regards T
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If it’s new, under 6 months old or under 6000km, I think it counts as new so you will have to pay French TVA on import. Dealer should give you an export receipt in which he takes German VAT off.
We imported a used BMW X1 Xdrive last summer through Reezocar in Paris.
I’d recommend them without reservation for the following reasons:
We were unable to find the car we wanted in SW France, - local X1s were mainly 2WD Sdrives and with cloth interiors, whereas the Xdrives were plentiful in Germany, like for like prices were much lower, but the German cars had higher spec - all leather interiors, heated seats, large sunroof etc. We also had to factor in the cost of going to view cars scattered across the Midi.
Reezocar search in France, the Netherlands, Germany Spain and Italy and if you are interested in one of their offerings, they’ll arrange a full inspection by a local mechanic for a fee of around €300, we got a 32 point highly detailed report and decided to buy the car and have it delivered from Hanover to SW France , which cost about €1000, we also took out their reasonably priced twelve months part’s guarantee. Reezocar handled all the import procedures, right down to new licence plates and as an unexpected bonus, the car came with a three year German equivalent of the controle technique.
We’ve now had the car for about eight months and done about 20,000 kms and so far the only expense has been an oil change.
I’d definitely recommend Reezocar, particularly if you’re looking for a German marque with hi-spec and live in a part of France where there aren’t many egs of what you’re looking for.
I understand from a Dutch friend who ran a chain of five garages in the Netherlands that the other good German option is one year old BMWs owned by BM employees who can buy them at discount and sell them on after twelve months.
Hope some of that’s useful to you
Many thanks to all of you that took the time to reply, it’s very much appreciated and has helped us enormously . I did laugh however at the thought of us being able to buy a new BMW…maybe I should buy that lotto ticket!!
kind regards
T
You need to ensure that you get both the teil 1 & teil 2 registration documents with it.
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Hi Toovey
We relocated from Germany and brought a car with us. It was straight forward to change the registration from Germany to France. After this I bought a car from a Hamburg dealer via an online car site. I negotiated for a good price including it being delivered to me in France. This change of registration was also without issues. Also imported from the UK and changed to French. So the bottom line is as long as you have all the documentation and you get it Control Technique’d in France there should be no issues. My advice is do not buy a car in France unless you have to, they are cheaper elsewhere (a lot cheaper)!
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Many thanks! We are grateful for this & are preparing our bids!
regardsT
Hi gregca, could you possibly send me the online car website you used for your car purchase please.
Many thanks Toovey
I have used both of these sites for buying and selling and both are good.
autoscout.de & mobile.de
Good luck.
FYI I lived in Munich, home of the BMW and think the stories of the employees selling 1 year old BM’s is a tall tale. However if you really are interested in a BM check out the BMW gebraught wagen site. They have a massive second hand showroom in Munich. Alternatively Mercedes second hand vehicles can be snapped up through their similar program - Young Stern, Young Stars (nearly new). I have actually bought from both over the years. Viewing in the flesh and also buying from only seeing the car online…
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Thanks again for all your help, the more info the better1
regards
Toovey
I even drove to Prague to look at some cars whilst in living Germany, cheaper still.
Seriously I would not buy a car from France. Use Autoscout.fr & Autoscout.de and do some comparisons. I calculated that equivalent cars were approximately 20% cheaper from Germany. Also the condition of cars are not as good in France. I bought my latest car from the UK and registered it in France. Found it online and got a flight to direct to Birmingham where I was picked up at the airport by the dealer and driven to their dealership to collect the car…