Clocking cars and importation to Poland

Hi, I will need to buy a car when I get to Poland in December, however I have heard that many dealers and private sellers revert the odometers by up to 100,000km. I am now thinking of buying in Holland and importing a car instead. Does anyone know what the costs of registration/taxes or other charges are applied by the Polish government?

lol or even thrice.

So that's definitely made my mind up then.. no buying cars in Poland.

Marcus911
Good idea,and an advice if you do from the USA atleast you can check the history with mileage,owners etc on Car fax.com,usually old cheap cars from there are usually junked.exported to Poland fixed and sold.Most cars after Katrina with flood/water damaged were sent to Poland.

Or you could find a car in Poland with only one owner and a full service history. They are out there. Then you won't have to go through the pain in the ass hassle (depending on where you go - in Warsaw it was terrible, in Ożarów Maż it was wonderfully easy) of doing all the paperwork, having the costs involved, dealing with the difficulties if you don't have the exact documentation that they require etc etc. I've bought used cars in Poland which have been exported - all paperwork dealt with, cars I've imported myself, all with no problems or 'clocking' or any other nonsense.

Do what everyone with a brain does - take the car to an authorised service centre - costs from 100-200zł and they'll tell you whether it's a pig or not.

What a nonsense.Old cars in Poland cost less than transporting them here would cost not to mention fixing.When have you been to Poland lately?Was it 20 years ago?My buddy just bought 97 VW Polo for 700 PLN ($250) and you talking about hauling old junk across the ocean for at least $1000?This car was neglected but runs and drives.These days many people in Poland sell cars just because they are bored of them not because there is something wrong with these cars.My mother wants to sell her 98 Ibiza TDI (which I advise her against it) because she just wants a new car,just like that.Bought as 1 year old now 205k on odometer and it didn't cross anybody's mind here to try to tamper the odometer.You are out of touch with reality dude.As for importing from US it is worth to bother only with cars you can bring as mienie przesiedlencze or very expensive cars which are rare here like Corvette or something.

Remember the cars from Katrina?Late model accidental junks?
BTW I come to poland every other month for the last almost 12 years.

I have been looking in Holland for cars as they do seem to be a lot cheaper than buying the same age and model of car in Poland or Germany. What are the costs of bringing a car into Poland, i mean registration costs and whatever other costs? Thanks

What about them?I am sure some were imported to Poland but how many?A 100?1000?Is a disaster like Katrina happening every year?And who buys American cars in Poland?How many of them here?You talking about some marginal number dude.

And even then you have to be careful as to which model you bring, converting them to meet Polish regulations can be uneconomical.


No, they are not. Please stop displaying such stupidity here.

DOES ANYONE EVER JUST GET A STRAIGHT ANSWER ON THIS FORUM? DOES EVERYTHING HAVE TO BE ARGUED ABOUT? I STARTED A THREAD TO GET AN ANSWER TO A VERY SIMPLE QUESTION AND NOW WW3 HAS BROKEN OUT.

Will anyone answer the question?

There is no straight answer to your question.If you have time and/or money to look for a good deal in NL it may be worth it.I have a brother and a friend working in NL and they bring some cars from time to time but they say it takes time to find something worth the troubles as nobody there gives away perfectly good cars for little money.The thing is that they have lorries and they are going to PL anyway so they don't have to calculate cost of gas into their expenses.

grubas
Getting the deal is no problem, I have friends in Holland, I lived there for a long time. All I really want to know is...

1. What do the Polish government charge for registration.
2. Are there any other costs? ( A family member bought an old trailer in Poland and had to pay tax on the purchase, which is weird.)

Many Thanks

You pay 2% tax when buying a car in PL.

Importing a car:
Get the car to Poland
First up is an inspection, pierwszy badanie techniczne w kraju - 98zl
Notarized translation of the car's document (title and registration), from 100-180zl
Duty - akczya: 3.8% of the car's value if the engine is under 2.0l, 18.6% if over
Then you need a piece of paper (VAT25) that states you do not owe VAT - 160zl
My favorite: the 500zl "recycling fee"
Finally you register the bastard, about 270zl
Then you buy insurance

Edit: there is alot of paprwork you need to amass, plus filling out the correct forms, knowing what you should write down, what you shouldnt, and a lot of snags that can drive you insane. all in all, not rushing, it takes me about 2-3 weeks to register a car.

bTW, I'd still recommend doing it. It raises the odds of you not getting burned. Just never buy from a Turk in DE or NL. There are some honest sellers in Poland, its not like all the cars are crap, but maintenance wise its pretty iffy. Regular oil changes are rare. Paperwork, receipts and a service history even more so.

On the other hand, selling a car is also a nightmare, Im selling my Golf right now and its gotten so bad that Ive started to hate Poles. Most buyers do not fathom the concept that cars actually cost money, and if they do, then it has to be half of what your asking. "Why so much, half of the Golfs on Allegro are half your price, and they look so shiny and have more options and only 100000km!". These people literally want to be cheated.

Thanks for the information. Seems the Government in Poland are intent on screwing the people there every which way. Isn't it strange that Poland as an EU state charges duty on something that is brought in from another EU state? Also the fact that they are charge for an inspection knowing that the cars from other states are built to the same specification. The other thing that seems ridiculous is the 500zl recycling fee, do the government actually recycle cars or do private scrap yards and recycling companies do this for profit.

I can understand your frustration and I suppose I am in for a lot of that when I move there in December.. to be honest just after reading your post I am pretty pissed off already.

Thanks for the heads up.

This is true.


This is not true.


What specification has to do with inspection?I don't really see where you coming from.Even in the US which is one country when I am moving from lets say Maryland to Delaware I have to get my car inspected in Delaware even though my car was already inspected and road legal in Maryland.


He just makes it sound like it's a big problem but in reality it is not that bad.

Just going by what pantsless quoted : Duty - akczya: 3.8% of the car's value if the engine is under 2.0l, 18.6% if over. So what is this charge if not some kind of import duty?

Excise tax.

Akcyza is excise duty, not customs duty. Any EU country can enforce excise duty. Ah ha, well actually, it turns out if the car's inspection is still valid for more than a year (like in Germany, inspection is every two years) then you dont need one. But not every urzad accepts this. Better get it and avoid any headaches, and who cares, its a complete farce anyway. I will say that the recycling fee is outright theft.


WTF? For a first timer, its headache of epic proportions and unnecessarily complicated, convoluted and there is not a single website on the net, public of private, that guides someone through it from A to Z, and if there is, it is outdated, missing key details or simply gives incorrect information. And forget getting a clear answer from an urzednik. I know, because Ive done it already four times. How many times have you imported a car from the EU into Poland???

edit: Oh I see, your issue is with the nomenclature. Thats so Polish.

LOL - hello mate.


If the same rule applies to Holland as it does in Germany, i think if you can register the car as a registered owner at a Dutch address for 12 months or more then you can import to Poland and not pay the import tax. Seeing as you have friends in Holland it may be an option.

Thanks for the info Pantsless was surely an eye opener. I think i'll go through the pain of buying in Holland and go through the hassle to get the car registered. Rather that than spending £5,000 on a heap of junk.

Doesn't look good for the Polish second hand car industry, does it?

Wow what a great idea. Obtain residency in Holland, buy and register your car there, pay Dutch insurance rates, find a job and work there for a whole year, then pack your bags and head off the Poland. Sure, you still have to pay all the other fees, but you just saved 3.8%!!!! (because who are we kidding, Marcus is probably going to buy something with a <2.0L engine).

Oh yea, being one step ahead here, here are the next three posts thatll appear in this thread.

Wroclaw Boy: "But pantsless LOL, you like big idiot :-) ;-) <3 you dont actually have like like and like work in Holland ROTFL FTW"

Pantsless: So let's forget the serious coin you drop on Dutch insurance (4-6x more expensive than in Poland). How do you plan on documenting your stay in stay in Holland for 12 uninterrupted consecutive months in the form of pay stubs, tax statements?

Wroclaw Boy: I have to go over here now, and like post something.


For all I care the entire "industry" can rot in hell.

as if hes going to live and work there you idiot, if he has mates there which he says he does and could register the car without too much hassle in his own name it may be an option, especially if he did buy over 2.0 liter for the higher 19% import tax rate.

I drove a UK plated cars for 5 years in Poland, UK insurance, UK tax, UK MOT.

If hes going to do it like then of course thats the most logical thing to do. Btw, mom is that you? She always calls me an idiot.


When you drove this UK plated car in Poland, did you live in Poland and have zameldowanie?

Hi there buddy, you still hanging around this forum? I think you secretly would like to be back in Poland, especially now that I have made the commitment to move there in December.

Thanks guys for the info, I know what I am doing, i'm going to buy a bicycle instead, less hassle, healthier and i'll live longer :-)

Due to a lack of bike paths, inconsiderate drivers and pedestrians, overall road rage, and poor bike infrastructure, I wouldnt count on it. If you want to live longer, dont live in Poland.

Is it really that bad there? seems a lot of people like living there.

No, it's not. Life expectancy is only two years lower than in the USA.

Before i moved to Poland i envisioned myself riding a bike in the country for miles and miles as a leisurely Sunday or perhaps evening activity, after witnessing the drivers and those little bast@rd dogs that roam the villages snapping at everything that walks, drives or rides by I quickly shite canned that idea.

Wroclaw Boy, I asked you this a few days, mind letting me know?