What does importing a car from Germany really cost?

Updated 2026 · ~6 min read

A car costs €22,000 in Germany and a similar one costs €27,000 at home. The gap looks tempting — until you add transport, registration tax and paperwork. Here is the full breakdown, so you know at what price gap importing actually pays off.

The short answer

Import costs come in two parts, and they behave very differently:

• Transport and paperwork — predictable. For a run of around 900 km, realistically €1,000–1,200, largely independent of what the car costs.
• Registration tax — cannot be expressed as a percentage. Most European countries base it on CO₂ emissions, fuel type and emission standard rather than price. Germany and Czechia charge none at all; others can charge several thousand euros on a high-emission car.

Because the tax varies so much, the only honest approach is to calculate it for the specific car using your country's official calculator, and only then compare with local prices.

What the cost is made of

1. The car itself

Germany has the largest used-car market in Europe, so choice is far wider and prices for comparable equipment are often lower. When you buy a used car privately inside the EU, VAT is paid in the country of purchase and not again at home — provided the car counts as «used» under EU rules (older than 6 months and more than 6,000 km). If it is newer than that, VAT is due in your country.

2. Transport

• Drive it yourself — cheapest, but you need export plates and insurance. Budget fuel, tolls and possibly a night's stay.
• Transporter — more expensive but no risk and no plates. For a 900 km run expect roughly €700-800.

3. Registration tax — the part people get wrong

This is where estimates fall apart. Most European countries no longer calculate it as a percentage of the price. Slovenia's system, for example, has been based on CO₂ emissions, fuel type and EURO emission standard since 2021, with a reduction for older vehicles — not on what you paid.

That means a frugal, low-CO₂ used car can attract a surprisingly small tax, while a high-emission SUV of the same value attracts a large one.

4. Paperwork, inspection and registration

• COC document (Certificate of Conformity) — if the seller has it, the process is far simpler. Without it you need to order one from the manufacturer or go through individual approval, which costs time and money.
• Identification and technical conformity check at an inspection station.
• Roadworthiness test, registration and plates.

Budget around €300-400 when the documents are in order.

A worked example

A used car bought in Germany for €20,000, transported and registered at home:

So around €1,100 above the car's price before tax. Add the tax figure from your official calculator and you finally have a number you can honestly compare against local prices.

When importing pays off — and when it doesn't

It pays off when:

• the price gap is larger than roughly 10-15% (more common on higher-value, better-equipped cars),
• you want a specific configuration that isn't sold locally,
• the car has low CO₂, keeping registration tax small.

It doesn't pay off when:

• the car is cheap — fixed costs eat the saving on a €5,000 car,
• the car has high CO₂ in a country that taxes emissions steeply,
• there is no COC document and individual approval is required,
• you're short on time — the process realistically takes a few weeks.

Practical tips

1. Check the CO₂ figure before you buy, not after. It is the single biggest variable in the whole calculation.
2. Ask about the COC document in your very first message to the seller.
3. Don't compare price to price — compare the landed price to the local price.
4. Look at several markets. Austria is closer (cheaper transport); Poland and Czechia often have lower prices.
5. Move fast. Good listings are gone within hours, which is why alerts beat manual checking.