Buying and registering a car in Germany

[vik]

As your son will be there on a visa for long stay he will have to have a registration (address). I don't see a problem there.
mobile.de or autoscout24.de is good place to search for a car.
_________________
T3 Syncro camper in progress

[Steve M.]

[4Gears4Tires]

[tjet]

Thanks for all the great input. I'm still tossing around the idea, and weighing all the pros & cons. Regarding the Autobahn, where my son's school is located, the speed limit is heavily regulated there. The only time I saw any crazy speed was when our flight got canceled in Frankfurt. We needed to rent a car & drive down to Munich at midnight to catch a flight. We were passed 2 times (my speed was around 90 mph. The rental car felt weird above that speed). Both cars that passed us had to be in the 160-170 MPH range, and both were big Mercedes family cars.

[tristessa]

[pjn_wyo]

The problems will be finding a car in your price range that passes TUV inspection on anything T2 or T3 aged. T3's are reaching "old timer status" (cheaper taxes, less inspections) and ones that are still road worthy cost quite a bit.

Also be ready to be scared by the cost of insurance and registration.

If I still lived over there I'd find a T4 tdi syncro tin top or camper.

[Earl Bay]

A lot of interesting and, bear with me, false information

Trucks in Germany are not allowed to drive faster than 80km/h, police doesn't bother you up to 89 and thus, most are electronically limited to 89.
Some manipulate the tach and go faster but anything over 98 is really rare and you really don't wan't to get fined for that.

The driving on the Autobahn works quite well at whichever speed you like depending on day-time and therefore traffic.
No speed limit is more and more a myth allthough long stretches without speed limit still do exist.
But again, depending on traffic your better off just staying around the 130/150km/h mark.
Keep to the right if you're slow, check your mirrors often before over taking.
Because indeed by the time you decided to change the lane somebody might allready be there because he is doing 250.
Stay on the right, not in the middle lane if there is room to the right, it's the law.
(But I know that 90% don't care)
You may encounter horrible conditions within big cities (Frankfurt from experience, Munich not much better). Too fast, running red lights is almost the norm there.

The good old TÜV....
There is so much to write about, I'll try to keep it short.
Importiong a vehicle is of course possible but registering it in Germany it needs modifications.
Side markers are allowed but they are not allowed to work. Take the bulbs out.
Lights, lenses, indicators, speedo are the main thing.

Every vehicle older then 30years IN PROPER AND ORIGINAL CONDITION can be TÜV'd and if good be eligible for an H (historic) license plate.
I won't go into too much details but rust holes even in side panels are not allowed, a vehicle in mint condition with a shabby paint job might not pass.
Modern radio: no, better brakes yes, period correct tuning is possible. A 2L single carb in a T2 will most likely pass but not with original brakes
Dual 40IDA's will be hard to explain.
I had one tell me to get lost with my Vintage Speed exhaust (allthough officially accepted and in the papers), the other one said what a nice car.
It's a fine line most of the time.

The offical TÜV Oldtimer Anforderungskatalog for details:
https://www.tuvsud.com/de-de/-/media/de/auto-servi...dtimer.pdf

So it also depends on the guy (technician!) who checks your car.
What one accepts might not be accepted by another.
What is ok in one Bundesland might not be in the other. Don't move to Hessia, your screwed there.
Less inspections isn't true, it's still every two years, might even be every year if you have a panel van registered as a truck. I might be wrong on that though.

Once you have that H-plate the taxes which normally apply per year (based on CC's, Euro Norm, petrol or diesel and so forth) are capped at 190 something euros.
So money wise it makes great sense for a Mustang but not so much for a BMW Isetta.
Also you have free access to all! Umweltzonen (polution zones)

Buying a VW in Germany, sure they exist. But getting a TÜV worthy bus.... Not under 8K, more like 10, but better you have 12K or more at hand.
Not saying it is impossible, but you'll need a bit more than just luck to strike a good deal.
And especially since covid prices for newer vans, especially T4's have gone through the roof. But T4's were already overpriced before that.
Which leads to: you really need to know your stuff if you are interested in T4's. A lot of them, often from car dealers are tricked.
Wrong mileage, a shower of paint for the show effect, a bribed TÜV certificat, the list goes on.
Don't let yourself get fooled, theres pricks everywhere and a lot of them to be found in the german used car market.

T2 T3 or T4 really doesn't matter, you need to know your stuff. Lessons you learn the hard way cost a lot over here.
As does gas by the way. Diesel over 1.30 and E95 petrol over 1.50 per litre

[Earl Bay]

[ZsZ]

[0cean]

[tristessa]

[tjet]

Yeah my son has back-burnered the idea of getting a car there. He was supposed to finish next year, but now he wants to stay and get his MBA. I guess my syncro plans can wait a few more years...