DEALERS Control the markets - Used Vehicles - Cars, Bikes, etc in Poland

has anyone else noticed that dealers "auto handlers" comis control the used markets on vehicles? Have been shopping for a car and bike lately and its frustrating.

I would say without exageration that 80... 90% of the "Private" sales of vehicles are guys that are selling multiple ones, or have just bought the car.

It would be nice to just deal with private, honest sellers... quite frustrating

anyone else have similar experiences?

Very similar in real estate with agents pretending to be private sellers in the ads.

Yes but they control their own mass of vehicles. Imported from abroad by them. We sell and buy vehicles among family, friends and workmates to avoid surprise. We don't even contact komis. In majority if someone catches a decent car keep it for years or until scrapyard.

Anybody buying a used car/bike in Poland needs their head examining.

Buy in a country with higher GDP where there is a true buyer's market because the seller simply wants to get rid of old gear.

I NEVER buy used in Poland as there are absololutely zero deals to be made. I've learnt something in 22 years - that Poles have an ridiculously inflated view of what old tot is worth :)

haha that was going to be the title of my other thread! I don't know if it dates back to communism and people just having things... but seems like the majorite don't 'get' capitalism and the free market.

its quite common to see houses, bikes, cars, etc.. for sale for several months as the owner stubbonly refused to lower price.

I agree with the others. what's the deal on buying a car in Germany? a pain in the... or easy to do? I have heard about 1000zl fees to register it

it's butt, don't be shy to say it.


strongly depending on the car

Maluch - I bought my last car from Germany - a sports Astra - and it were a good 'un - at a very fair price.

What would people rather do - pay a true market price and buy a 5 year old car that's been on German autobahns, or one that's been raped on Polish potholes? No contest!

The catch of course was the 1000 zl "re-cycling fee" - aka protectionism of the Polish "second-hand car market" - you really couldn't make it up, but Tusk and his cronies do just that.

Wiser heads than me will know if this fee is still the case - it is of course against free movement of goods, but we know that is a misnomer when the government can see their way clear to tax the **** out of the little man.

And it's ridiculously easy to do -see other threads - there is a dedicated website somewhere showing the stages. As said, the government try to make it not worth your while, you must have German docs translated, and new plates, and an import fee - total about 600 zlotys - plus the cost of going there and finding the car - I wouldn't EVER buy from a Polish "dealer" unless he was my mechanic, with a long history of honesty.

Same in any country - you want honesty - trust your own judgement.

It was very hard to find a used car that wasn't silly money when I went looking here.


Absolutely right. It's quite hilarious to see them hanging on and on for ages. That said, there have been quite a few reductions on flats and houses lately after some increased for some weird reason.


Absolutely right.


Yes OP, very much so. That really got on my t1ts. It wasn't everyone but it sure was a lot.

If I was buying a decent used car for myself at a reasonable price, I'd look into going to Germany for one. But the reg fees in Poland must be taken into account.

Registering a used car in your gmina costs from 81zł if it's from within your own region, much more otherwise. And much more than that if German or British. The exception is probably if you owned the car in the import country for a qualifying period, probably 2 years, before trying to reg it in PL.

I think you can get some decent cars for really good deals here. Of course, the people who advertise aren't the people to go to. Most small towns have car dealers, guys who go to Germany and bring back fairly good Volkswagens, Astras and the like. Of course you have to know who you're dealing with and not be a complete twit when it comes to cars. You should be able to get a fairly nice used car for 10,000 zl. or so.

So, how do you find them? Do you mean they have car selling lots like Arfur Daley and you're supposed to know who the good one is? We don't all know someone solid to get a recommendation. Online reviews often mean nothing and I've found to my cost many a review was utter nonsense and the trader (or professional whatever) was cack.

As for price, Poles don't seem to like to negotiate much if at all when selling. So they get left with it for, quite often, a long time. The funny thing is: people tell me Poles don't negotiate, yet when I advertise something for sale (even if it's the same price or a bit cheaper than rival sellers' prices) I still get emails or text messages asking for 10-20% off -- presumably from Poles rather than foreigners, if their names are correct. So, what gives? Poles don't like giving discounts when they sell but expect one when they buy? :D

You can try the ex-leasing auctions as well. They all have quite detailed condition reports.

Could you please suggest a couple of reputable firms I might try next time I'm looking to buy? Thanks. If the moderators cannot allow that, please could you tell me the name of the trade body or association that the good auctions are perhaps members of?

I got a used car (VW) from a dealer in Warsaw. I had it inspected by VW authorized service (ASO).

Inspections cost a few hundred zloty which came out of my pocket since sellers generally refuse to pay for them, but are necessary in my opinion.

It was the third car I had inspected.

The first two from other dealers had problems. The first one was apparently involved in an accident that caused an airbag to deploy, yet there was no documentation whatsoever about this accident and the seller totally denied it and disputed the mechanic's report. The other one was leaking oil from the turbocharger, which can be a sign of expensive problems.

The dealer I bought from was polite and offered a small but appreciated discounted. He even drove the car all the way across town to the VW service center I had chosen on very short notice for the inspection without any drama or complaints. Another important thing, he readily showed me all the original documentation for the car from the day it was bought new - while other dealers seemed to have trouble "finding" the documents.

I think the experience varies a lot from dealer to dealer. I probably would have saved some money if I had bought from Germany, but paying for extra registration related fees and fuel/transportation to and from Germany would have minimized my savings to the point where it is simply not worth the trouble anymore.

You could check out the rynek on Sunday morning in Lodz Widzew. Lots of cars there, you really should know your stuff though or bring someone you can trust, lots of hustlers. They will negotiate, one guy once knocked 1000 zl off of the price of some old Audi we were looking at before we even said anything, he probably would have knocked another thousand off without much effort, maybe given it away :) Of course the car was most likely, shi* but it only would have cost a few thousand zl.

gotta beware of the fact that mileage meters are rampantly altered in Poland. I dont know about europe but one can get car history of a car from the usa from carfax.com.Altering mileage meters are seriously punished in the usa but in Poland I hear that dealers seriously alter car mileages.But one can take a poor guess by looking at the tell tale usage signs by checking the brake paddle and stering wheels.

In one - I don't know what planet Sparks is on but Poles like to think it's a one way street - lovely hosts and generous to a fault with their time, but I only ever buy new. It seems InWroclaw that we are the only peeps who feel this way lol.

I remember trying to buy an Alpine car radio off the computer market in Sosnowiec. Mine had been stolen there a month previously :( It was an old model - 400 zl - pure gold. The guy wouldn't take 320, or 350, saying angrily that he had told me the price.

It was still sitting there 8 Saturdays later, at 450 ZL. What a prize idiot.

These "sprzedawczy" don't actually want to sell anything - they just want to sit there in the wet open air market wasting away their sad lives and being away from the trouble and strife for a Saturday morning, as she beats them regularly if they hang too long around the kitchen table. :)


Exactly so - mats, gear stick leather, wheel rims, seals, chassis, all easy to read the mileage when you've passed your 17th birthday.

Ridiculously inflated prices too - doesn't Sparks appreciate that a day trip to Germany with 4 or 5 real purchase targets will oft get a result - and if doesn't, well there are still the frauleins and the lakeside grills. :) Deutschland aber alles - or at least so when considering whether the 'Krauts or Poles are more real when you are buying a second hand motor.

One nation has a sense of humour, including joke prices for old wrecks, and the other has reasonable deals on servicable motors. :) I don't go there for a laugh.

I owned two German reg cars, and they were class :)

You could well be on to something there, actually!

There's a Sunday market here and I used to go. Many's a time I would offer on something, usually 10% off. At least half always refused, or would perhaps offer 2% or nothing off. I'd then go again a month or two later and recognise the item still there unsold. Same with some bookseller in the street near me. I offered a fair price for a tatty book about something which few if anyone would want, believe me. It was for an eccentric Polish friend. The seller refused to drop the price down from her rather expensive asking price for a book with scribble in it and quite tatty looking. She would only take off 1zl. So I declined. 2 months later, she's still got it there, unsold. Just as well, because my friend said it would be out of date by now and the figures and tables in it are free in a (geeky!) pdf online :)

Just because you guys can't negotiate... :)

I just offered my experiece, of course you can go to Germany yourself, maybe save a little bit after hunting around for a few days. For someone who isn't a dealer or trying to make a profit buying and selling cars, I believe that the Polish ryneks and small car lots in smaller towns offer decent quality for decent price. Of course, you can get ripped off, as you can in America, Europe or anywhere else, if you're a bit savvy you can make it work though. If someone refuses to negotiate or accept you best offer, walk away, it's also important to know how to approach people, if you come across as aggressive and cheap, trying to squeeze every grosz you can from the deal, the seller may shut down, if you can talk a bit and beat up the car, you should be able to knock something off the price. That's why it's called "the art of negotiation."

Thanks Sparks - I know you were trying to help and to put a positive slant on it. But there is no buyers' market, unless one is the unscrupulous moneyed type who chases after middle-aged sellers who are trying desperately to raise funds to have cancer treatment. (where is that rolling eyes smiley on this forum?)

Negotiation? Poles refuse to acknowledge what true worth is for the buyer. In 22 years of living in 'ole Polska I've found there are no bargains to be had.

The economics of the country dictate so - people love holding onto tat, and believing it to be worth something that it's not. The favourite line is "I'm not selling that car for the catalogue price of 10,000 - I just spent 5 000 on it, so it's worth at least 13,000."

Hehe :).

Perhaps it's more to do with history than the current economic climate, but I think you're right. Poles are often hoarders. We had to basically burgle my mum-in-law to clear her cellar of junk, including her beloved 40-year-old washing machine that used to regularly electrocute her.

You must remember the car market before EU accession. Today is paradise compared to those days. In 2000, unable to get credit and short of cash, I paid 6500 for a Lada Sputnik/Samara. It was a pos but it was all I could get at the time.

I think the communist history definitely has a lot to do with it.

Another funny thing I have noticed (maybe you have too...) is that Poles rarely reply to SMS messages

I will send something in Polish like "I want to buy your car! I have cash, when can I see it?" and they don't reply haha Do they want to sell it or not? wtfff

truly odd culture...

..but god bless the stunningly beautiful women, dirt cheap food, and fun drinking culture :)

I was told by a Pole that emails and SMSs are not given the same credence as a phone call and Poles are more inclined to ignore them than perhaps Brits. It's certainly been true in my experience of emails (and no they didn't go to spam, they were just ignored).