Law / Buying, Registering, Insuring a NEW Car in PL is a NIGHTMARE [22]

Apr 22, 09, 20:24 - Thread attached on merging:
Registering and insuring a used car in Poland

Hello all,

Let me first introduce myself shortly as I am new to this forum. My name is Arthur and I am a 23 year old student from the Netherlands. I will be attending the University of Warsaw for the semester starting October next.

I have had a fascination with Eastern Europe and the former Soviet states since high school and this really is a dream come true. I have visited Poland and some of the other Eastern European countries before and I really like it there.

Enough chit-chat my question as the subject suggests is what is exactly needed to register a used car in Poland. From what I have gathered so far it is:

-Identifiable place of residense for a period longer than three months, I know that in Germany for example it is possible to use a postal box, would this be valid as well?;

-Residense permit (my EU passport should be sufficient right);

Now I was looking at some websites and I found a company in the Czech Republic that would handle all the paperwork and help you sort out what you specifically need for an x amount of money. Is anybody aware of such a company in Poland?

Also here in the Netherlands we have an authority that deals with the registration and checking of vehicles, much like the Department of Motor Vehicles in the United States. I was wondering if there is a Polish Department of Motor Vehicles and if they have a website (preferably in English as you might have figured, my Polish is a little rusty) where all the rules and regulations concering driving and owning a motor vehicle in Poland are explained.

Thanks in advance to anybody that can help me even a little further.

Kind regards,

Arthur

Law / Buying, Registering, Insuring a NEW Car in PL is a NIGHTMARE [22]

Thanks a lot! Good info.

Law / Buying, Registering, Insuring a NEW Car in PL is a NIGHTMARE [22]

Because cars are a lot cheaper in Poland, plus Polish plates get less attention from people you don't want attention from. I also want to drive through Russia this summer, and I learned during my travel through Eastern Europe that Dutch licence plates attract just too much attention.

You are talking about a 5 year residence permit, but I read somewhere that you needed to show an address and a contract for at least 3 months somewhere. There should be a lot people that are there for half a year to a year that should be able to purchase and register a car. This just can't be impossible, right? I will contact the Polish ambassee here this week and see if they have any more information.

Thanks for the reply!

Law / Buying, Registering, Insuring a NEW Car in PL is a NIGHTMARE [22]

Ok, well that's not really a problem. I will either export the car or sell it before I go back to Holland again. Thanks for clearing that up. I know that this is a hassle, I have given myself exactly one month to arrange the car. I will have a place starting July 1st and a friend is flying on August 1st to go to Russia. I know it is a tight schedule, but there is just no other way. I will try to arrange as much as possible before I go there.

Thanks again for the quick replies. I am really looking forward to coming to Poland.

Arthur