Process for buying a car in Poland - VAT, additional costs

The time has come to buy a car in Poland and I have been evaluating new vs. used (second hand) cars. I don't know anyone here who has purchased a new car, and I'm in need of some advice. I've checked several of the manufacturer's websites and I have questions.

1.) Is the advertised "sticker" price a firm price, or is that price negotiable like in other countries (MSRP)? If yes, what per cent is the typical negotiation?

2.) Is VAT included in the advertised price? I would think yes, but I have seen mention of 22% VAT on some of the websites.

3.) What additional costs are incurred after purchase?

4.) What else should I know before I enter the dealer showroom?

Yes I know, buying a new car is a stupid idea and the car loses 92.78% of it's value in the first km, and on, and on, and on.

Going by the low salaries in Poland you may need to take out a mortgage to get a new car.

No, I will be paying cash. Which raises another question, does that sweeten the deal? In Canada the dealers are quicker to negotiate with a cash buyer.

If you are buying a new car in Poland

1. Price can be negotiated.
2. Yes
3. Insurance AC/OC - they will offer you a low percentage on a new car.

Most dealers are resellers and do not hold stock, they draw down on the central inventory of the importer which is held in "port" once you have decided on a model, ask them what cars are already available in PL at port. Then start the game of playing reseller off against reseller. Just remember you will need summer and winter tyres.

One other thing if you are not Polish you have to register the car as a foreigner and you must be registered in PL to do this.

Not hugely, no.

If I were you, I'd wait a couple of months. The best day of the year to buy a new car is the Thursday of the last full week in December. The reasons for that is that very very few people buy new cars in December (because they are spending their money on other things and because it's far better from the resale point of view to buy in January). However, car salesmen are desperate to make sales because they have those same Christmas expenses to cover and are getting very little commission because nobody buys cars in December. Go on Thursday because then they'll have had the whole week to worry about not selling a car all week (avoid Friday because they may have the 'weekend feeling' already). Go the full week before Christmas so that they haven't already bought everything for Christmas. Also, the price that dealers pay for cars depends on the volume that they sell the previous year. Which means that if you can find a dealer who is only one car away from getting a better price for cars next year, that dealer will be ready to sell a car to you for less than it costs him (because he'll make more money on each car next year).

As previously said, it does make more sense from a resale point of view to buy in January but if you ask the dealer nicely, he will almost certainly agree to you leaving the car at his premises until Jan 2. You register the car that day and it then becomes a 2011 car!

If you can deal with going for second hand, it's much cheaper (many cars depreciate 50% inside 3 years) - but go to Germany and buy, that guarantees (at least to some extent) that the car has a legit service history & the mileage is probably as shown on the counter.

The point about buying in December holds (or rather: wait till January till the year changes and the same car you were looking at in December gets cheaper overnight).

Well, actually I have a car which I'm going to sell in two weeks. It's not new car - it has 8 yers old but it vorks very well and it's very comfortable. I sell it because I buy brand new car.

It's Citroen Xsara Picasso. Are you intrested in? I live near-by Warsaw.

Its a very good point about buying in December, but as far as registering a car in January, Poles buy second hand cars on the year of manufacture, not the year of registration. In regards to buying a car in Germany, I have done this and you must remember the import tax and related costs,

This is what I wrote on another thread:

I imported a car from Germany about 14 months ago, my experience was very straightforward.

Be aware of the following:

Tax on full purchase price under 2 Litre engine in PL 4%
Tax on full purchase price above 2 Litre engine in PL 14%

If you buy a car that is younger than 6 months it is classed as a new car in PL and taxed as a new car.

If you buy a car that has less than 10,000 KLM on the clock it is classed as a new car in PL and taxed as a new car.

Any car that is imported to Poland, for insurance purposes is worth 10% less than the same car bought in Poland.

I found my car on this website mobile.de

When I take into consideration all costs after purchase price, tax and expenses of going to Germany, the same car in Poland through the dealer would have cost me about 50-60,000 PLN more than I paid.

In Germany there are company's,and a group of people who are locked into buying a new car every 6 -12 months, they buy at a deep discount, run the car and then try to sell at a profit, before the new car is ready. These are the people to target if you are going to buy a car in Germany, because the transaction has to go through the dealer, so you send the money to pay off the contract to the dealer, not a private bank account.

Merged: The Process of Buying a Car in Poland (as a foreigner)

What is the process exactly? Looking to buy a car for export to North america.

Can I get a "temporary" license plate / registration for a month or so while I have the car in Poland?

Do I need an inspection for the condition of the car? Even if I am exporting?

What about insurance? Does it come with the car? I have heard of cars that are insured until X date already.

Any info appreciated :)

Why would you want to do that? Need a Polonez in Canada?

European insurance aint worth a thing in America.

If you want the wheels of the car to touch the road, the car will have to be registered and insured in the appropriate Polish offices, which will mean having a registered address and a registered owner of the vehicle. No way around that.

If you want to buy a car directly for export, contact a professional dealer of new cars. Each one individually may be able to arrange delivery to a shipping port straight from the factory, and from there you can box it up and send it to the States.

But what on earth makes you want to do this? Is there a particular European car you simply must have?

Maybe he is in great need for a... Maluch :))) Or maybe a Syrena :))

Merged: Advice on car buying in Poland

hi folks....i need your advise,am a foreign student studying in Ukraine....i need a car and decided to buy from Poland but i don't want to import car into Ukraine..i want to buy from otomoto.pl,i need how to go about this...all help is welcomed....please help out..tanxs

Get from the seller these things:

1) Signed bill of sale (Umowa)

2) Registration card

3) The title (karta pojazdu)

4) License plates stay on the car.

First you pay the appropriate tax at an urzad skarbowy then you have to register the car at a city starostwo. It costs around 200zl. You need to have a pesel number if I remember right.

at Nacjonalista tanks very much....can i send the link of the car i want to buy to you...maybe you could help out..because i dont speak polish...and i tried calling,but they dont understand English my mail is olamipo9 at yahoo com