Import non running project car to Poland

Hi, I have almost bought an Alfa Romeo Montreal. Awesome thing!
However, I do not find much information about import of classic cars to Poland.
Is it taxable? (Some Countrues have no tax on car older than 20/25/30 year)
Any input from you smart people would be appresiated!
Some key words:
- Spanish registration (I do also have Spanish residens card, and could possibly transfer the spanish registration to my name)
- The car is a "Project" and does not run. I expect 3-4years of work before getting it on the road
- Plan to sell the car when its finished,and it doesnt seem to be a big market in Poland for these cars. Meaning; it will be probably have to be exported agan.

I doubt that you will find a market in Poland for this car.
I love Alfa Romeos,but like all Italian cars they are terrible build quality and extremely unreliable.
Electrics are a nightmare.

Tax depends on how long you've owned it and where the car is being imported from/exported to.


So did you buy it, or didn't you? Or are you merely testing the waters to see if its a good investment?


You're right about that. I've shipped 2 cars to Europe and a few to Africa (much bigger market for newer cars, and much better money actually) but the 2 cars to EU were classics and the ones to Africa were salvage titles with some iffy paperwork. One customer was in Czech Republic (saab sonnett) and another was I believe either Sweden or Norway (BMW 2002). The cars to Africa were mainly used late model American suv's and one land rover.

You won't sell an alfa worth $70k depending on condition, serial, spec, etc. in Poland, but you can easily get 30% more than what it's worth in the US if not more. You're more likely to find a customer in Czech Rep, Italy, southern France, Germany, etc. if in the EU and if outside of the EU the gulf states, Russia, etc. You'll definitely make a nice profit if the car originated in US and was sold abroad. Classics sell for a lot more over there. The sonnett I sold for almost 3x what it was worth in the US and almost 5x what I paid for it/put into it. The paperwork is fairly easy and you don't have to deal with a lot of the bullshit that comes with selling cars in other markets. That's why I love the EU market for classics (garbage for American SUVs though). You can pick up a car like the one you want in the US 90%+ finished all OEM for maybe $20-$35k and ship it over to the EU and easily sell it for $55-60k for a quick flip.


Is the registration/title in your name? Or is it registered in Spain (where you're located) and you're shipping it to Poland? If so, that'd be pointless and you'd simply be wasting your time and money.

Good luck!

@ Dirk Diggler: Thanks. Honestly I doubted that I would find someone with experience here. Do you by any chance live near Bialystok? (I live, and settled here)

I have not bought the car yet. It is located on "Tax Free" Las Palmas. I have informed the seller that he will get my decission today 13.02.2019. I am 90% decided. We have been in contact for about a year, so as for the technical, I have gotten some idea of what Im getting into.

What I havent figured out yet is if I need to pay tax when bringing it to mainland, or bringing it to Poland. As it will be sold again outside of Poland, Im not to keen on paying a lot of import duties.

I used to live in Spain, and therefor I have the Spanish NIE number still. It could be an idea to bring it to Poland on Spanish plates, and keep it like that. However, I do not know how legal that is.

It's all connected with the engine capacity. My car was a 2 litre, so i paid 500 zl tax. If it were a 2.5 litre, the tax was in the thousands, apparently. Dunno, I got a legal company to do most of the paperwork for me - cost 200zl - the whole cost, plates, reg, import duties etc, total cost around 1,400 zl. (2013) I have no idea what this shower of a government has slapped on top as cost though.


You can of course bring a car registered in Spain, and return there every year for the MOT. If you register to live here you have 2 months or something of that time period to change the plates to Polish reg (obviously you could run the car for a year on Spanish plates before the reggo runs out)

So there are no tax reduction for classic vehicles?
I brought an RS4 when I moved here. But the process was different because I had already owned the car for several years.

No I live in USA but have a home in wroclaw. It ultimately comes down to price. Personally, I wouldn't mess with it unless you're getting it cheap, which you probably won't unless it needs a ton of work. It's not easy to source parts for old alfas especially if you're trying to keep it oem. As soon as a classic lands in Europe, Russia, the gulf, NZ/Australia it's price gets jacked up. So there's a significant arbitrage opportunity and it's quite easy to find buyers.

Yes you will have to pay an annual tax on engine displacement. Probably why a 5.7 6.0l American car isn't such a popular choice plus the highest cost of gas.


Not that I know of. It's by how long you've owned it, engine size, and country of origin (EU or non EU). The reason why you didn't pay much on the rs4 (good choice for Polish roads) - it was a personal car you've owned for a while.

Also the two companies I use for import/export are doma and polamer. You can always call them and ask for more details. I'd usually pay around 2k when sending a car from us to eu.

Yes, The RS4was mostly destroyed by the time I sold it. The suspensin could not take it.

About the Alfa, Its a barnfind that has been out of circulation for a long time. So as far as I understand, All I need to pay is import duties( a few hundred EUR. (I got it CHEAP)). Nothing else untill it is time for registration. Registration will not be in Poland. Not by me at least.

I don't think that's right....If you are going to import it, you have a month (as I remember) to register it. The point is in the "import". If you drive it here on Spanish plates it is not import, is it? Better ask somebody who does this for a living. It's that simple.

Well here's the thing if it's a barn find you're gonna need at the very least a new starter, alternator, battery, spark plugs, new wiring all around, suspension/shocks, brake rotors and pads as theyve probably rusted through, exhaust, oil pan, etc if it's rusted. Itll likely need a paintjob and probably some body work as well . Trans and engine should be good. The reason why the Saab sonnett was so cheap to fix and made for a good flip is it's fiberglass. IDK what Alfa body is made o but if it's steel you'll likely have rust on it to fix and a paintjob which will cost you several grand. You should count on a low of 8k to restore all those things above with a low end paintjob to a high of 20k with a good paintjob and all those parts.

Depending on year, color, serial and how nice of a resto will determine what you get for it. However I've seen Alfa Montreal listed as high as 60 70k in the EMEA markets.


I agree. I don't think any regular poster will have much info. I've shipped 2 cars to Europe but I had a company called doma handle everything. From EU country to EU country the process is different.

I can tell you about resto, values, etc about the Alfa but not so much a Spain to Poland car export/import.

There is indeed very much work to be done! I expect 1 year storage (Workshop under progress) and 2 years of work before getting it on the road. And I do not think I will drive it in Poland.

The sills must be replaced. But aside from that there is actually no rust on the chassi! Engine is toast, but I have a new engine.

I have budgeted 25k EURfor the restoration, and I hope that it should be sufficient. I do not know what concourse paintjobs cost in Poland, but I already have an offer to have it done in Las Palmas for a very decent price.

I will contact the companies you recomended for me

That's good. Yeah if the chassis is solid and the rust around it is surface rust it's not a big deal. It took me about 2 years to do the sonnett in between waiting for parts and time to do the work and drop it off to mechanic for the things I couldn't do myself.

Just FYI an engine swap will decrease the value albeit slightly as the serials/Vin won't match, but it's not a deal breaker for most buyers for a car like that.

I wouldn't recommend driving it in Poland either at least not regularly. The roads are awful as I'm sure you already know and it'll get dinged up and scraped.

Classic cars are among the best investments out there. If you buy for a good price there is almost no way you can loose money. Their value is always going to go up whether it's a common classic car like a Chevy Nova or mustang or an MG or something rarer like a 280sl or 50s Corvette. Plus, it's fun because you get to enjoy it while you drive around.

Ive been into cars since I was a preteen fixing em up, tuning, researching deals, etc. I'll look up things that are for sale on Craigslist and Facebook that are an exceptional deal. Usually I'll just relist it and flip it local but occassionally I'll send it abroad. Unfortunately the law here states that a person can only buy and sell something up to 5 cars a year without registering as a dealer. It's a fun hobby though and a great way to make some side income. Most the cars I flip I are cheaper ones like 10k to 20, usually no more than 25k and those I try to avoid. This is my sweet spot because it's a wider market and many people can buy a car like that for cash without financing. Even if I average 4k per car that's an extra 15, 20k a year in cash. It adds up after 4 5 years youre close to six figures saved up! And that's just as a side hobby

I figured for the price I pay, it wont matter so much that I have to pay the taxes. I'll be a good boy and do it properly!

Friendly tip for you Dirk: Classic cars can be imported for free in Norway, and new law from 2019 considers 20 years as classic! Good market for young timers!

I'd like to keep in touch Dirk, (Don't worry, nothing romantic) in case you ever come across used Montreal parts. Sometimes that happens by coincident.

Find me on FB. Daniel Hjelm

Is there a new law in Poland starting that you cant import old Cars?!