Buying a car in germany
Discussion
Hi all. I am soon buying a car in germany ( bmw z4 e85). This is my first BMW and i have to say that I am nervous. I have heard that in Germany many BMW cars that are accident damaged and sold on. I have also been told to stay away from dealers as the car will be dodgy in some way for example accident repaired or clocked back. Is this true? I want to make sure I buy a good car that is not been involved in an accident. I am looking for a similar service to HPI check. I have heard about DEKRA and TUV centres in Germany are these good and what are the fees for an inspection. Help is greatly appreciated.
Pascal
Pascal
I have no idea where you get your information from, and i dont think its right. I am british living in czech republic and the only place to buy a good used car with honest history is germany. The germans look after their cars, i only bought a cheap bmw but its in fantastic shape with full service history. I would say do your research, look on www.mobile.de
, most germans speak english and other than the de-registering that you need to do it should be fine.
, most germans speak english and other than the de-registering that you need to do it should be fine.
As above, just avoid the crash damagaed sale yards selling to eastern Europe. There are plenty of private sellers selling their P&J & as mentioned many speak English if you don't speak their lingo.
I've bought a good few cars from Germany, the de-reg process is a bit of pain, you will need to get ADAC temporary insurance cover to get the export plates. Though I find most of the sellers will help you out.
Also might be worth getting the car with a COC document
I've bought a good few cars from Germany, the de-reg process is a bit of pain, you will need to get ADAC temporary insurance cover to get the export plates. Though I find most of the sellers will help you out.
Also might be worth getting the car with a COC document
In general buying cars in Germany is very "safe" compared to other European countries - having said that there are dodgy dealers as well as anywhere else in the world - these are easily identified though, in some cases even by a websearch.
In Germany we don't have anything like an HPI, however your insurance would be able to tell you if the car had been written off and/or if there were any claims that are accident related - you'd need a German insurance company in order to have that checked though!
Dekra/Tüv is a bit of a waste of time tbh, all they do is to point out any bits that are damaged/broken and do an overall report on the car's condition and not much more (although they might be able to spot any obvious signs of accident damage repair).
If I were you, I'd probably have the car checked over by BMW or at least have BMW in Germany check the cars history over in theirs systems - it being a German car, chances are it was in the service network a lot longer than you'd expect.
Happy to check the dealer's reputation out for you (I live in Germany). In general though, being careful is a good thing, but I wouldn't be too nervous.
Edited to ad:
Not 100% sure but a condition report from TÜV/DEKRA is about 70 to 100 € if I remember correctly (it's called "Gebrauchtwagen- Gutachten/-Zertifikat).
In Germany we don't have anything like an HPI, however your insurance would be able to tell you if the car had been written off and/or if there were any claims that are accident related - you'd need a German insurance company in order to have that checked though!
Dekra/Tüv is a bit of a waste of time tbh, all they do is to point out any bits that are damaged/broken and do an overall report on the car's condition and not much more (although they might be able to spot any obvious signs of accident damage repair).
If I were you, I'd probably have the car checked over by BMW or at least have BMW in Germany check the cars history over in theirs systems - it being a German car, chances are it was in the service network a lot longer than you'd expect.
Happy to check the dealer's reputation out for you (I live in Germany). In general though, being careful is a good thing, but I wouldn't be too nervous.
Edited to ad:
Not 100% sure but a condition report from TÜV/DEKRA is about 70 to 100 € if I remember correctly (it's called "Gebrauchtwagen- Gutachten/-Zertifikat).
Edited by noneedtolift on Monday 21st October 12:34
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