Best Way to Buy a Car for a Temporary Job in Europe?

[evoeco]

Hi all,
I'm moving to Europe this summer for work for several years, after which I will return to the United States. I now live in a U.S. city where I don't need a car, although I have considered buying one. The job will pay to ship a car to Europe and back. I've been told I won't need a car where I'll be living, but that I'll be much happier if I have one. As I see it, I have three options, and I'm curious about your collective thoughts on the best way to proceed.

1. Buy a car here (new or used) and have it shipped to Europe, then shipped back to the States when the job ends.
2. Buy a relatively new used car in Europe on arrival, then sell it before returning to the U.S.
3. Buy a car in Europe that was manufactured in the year 2000 or before and that therefore can be imported to the U.S. under the 25 year exemption. For practical reasons, this would probably mean a late 1990s Mercedes or something similar so I could get parts and service in the States.

[Beachey]

3. Buy a car in Europe that was manufactured in the year 2000 or before and that therefore can be imported to the U.S. under the 25 year exemption. For practical reasons, this would probably mean a late 1990s Mercedes or something similar so I could get parts and service in the States.

I would think something along these lines is your best option. This is 20 years ago but an old boss of mine was looking into a program where you could buy new in Europe, drive it on Holiday in Europe, and then import it to the US, meaning you could buy new but import it as used. I believe this was with Mercedes—no idea if it still exists. You are also probably aware that to import from Europe typically the car has to be modified to drive on US roads. The most obvious change is that the dashboard has to be changed from KMH to MPH but with digital dashboards, it may have both settings.

I don't think #1 makes sense as most European cars are much smaller than the typical US vehicle so it would out of place.
I think I would only do #2 if you could get your company to give you cash instead in place of shipping costs to offset some of the costs.

[CaptainT]

Move
Only once there decide if you need or want a car. Most likely a car would be a pain. Do you even have an international driver's permit?
Would a scooter better meet your needs?
Only once there and have decided you need a car buy or lease a car. I would not plan on bringing back to USA.

[Watty]

In your planning keep in mind that even before the current tariff kerfuffle there would be duty to pay when moving cars between countries so that shipping cars between countries might not be practical and there is no telling what the tariffs will be when you return to the US.

Also look into what it take to get drivers license where you are living since in Europe getting a drivers licence can be a lot harder and more expensive than in the US. It may vary by country but being able to drive with your US driver's license will likely only be allowed for a very limited period of time.

As I see it, I have three options......

Here are some more;

4) Lease a car in Europe that you can turn in at the end of the lease.

5) Buy a new European car built to US specifications which you take delivery of in Europe then ship it to the US when you return. It was a long time ago but I have heard of people taking European delivery of both an Audi and a BMW in Europe and driving them for a month or so then having them shipped home to the US.

5) Just rent a car whenever you want one while you are living in Europe. This would be my first choice and if it turns out not to work well for you then you could always change your plans and lease or buy a car there.

3. Buy a car in Europe that was manufactured in the year 2000 or before and that therefore can be imported to the U.S. under the 25 year exemption. For practical reasons, this would probably mean a late 1990s Mercedes or something similar so I could get parts and service in the States.

A car that old might not even have airbags much less more modern safety features. Even if it is not terrible a car that old will need ongoing maintenance so you would need to deal with mechanics in a foreign country. By the time you return it will be about 30 years old which would make parts harder to get even if that model was also sold in the US. Getting car insurance for a car with a european VIN may be difficult and require some specialty insurance company which insures collectors cars.

I would take this option off the table.

[galving]

Hi all,
I'm moving to Europe this summer for work for several years, after which I will return to the United States. I now live in a U.S. city where I don't need a car, although I have considered buying one. The job will pay to ship a car to Europe and back. I've been told I won't need a car where I'll be living, but that I'll be much happier if I have one. As I see it, I have three options, and I'm curious about your collective thoughts on the best way to proceed.

1. Buy a car here (new or used) and have it shipped to Europe, then shipped back to the States when the job ends.
2. Buy a relatively new used car in Europe on arrival, then sell it before returning to the U.S.
3. Buy a car in Europe that was manufactured in the year 2000 or before and that therefore can be imported to the U.S. under the 25 year exemption. For practical reasons, this would probably mean a late 1990s Mercedes or something similar so I could get parts and service in the States.

Find an Expat and buy it from them.
They're usually looking to dump the vehicle quickly, and they are usually compensated by the company in the case of a 'loss'.
Do not ship a vehicle from the US to Europe, (or vice versa), multiple different components need to be upgraded or changed to the European standard which comes at a significant cost.

I bought and sold three cars while we lived in Europe, and the expat transactions were the easiest.
Next best alternative would be to get into the country, and ask around with your local colleagues about a garage/dealership that they trust.
I sold my last car to a dealer and the transaction was easier than dealing with another expat.

good luck,
galving

[Jack FFR1846]

Most of Europe is built as the remnants of city/states. As such, almost anywhere, you won't need a car as transit systems are well done. I've been to Austria and nobody I dealt with owned a car. My nephews have lived in France, Denmark and toured the rest of Europe and have never needed a car. A co-worker became a business development manager in Germany and he and his family moved there for 3 years. No car, ever.

On the import side, European cars mostly comply with all US standards from the late 90's to today and are not tremendously different. Some small things for the oldest cars during the US 5 mph bumper days but not much else. So sure, importing an E30 M3 may be worth the bother if you buy one in Germany but getting some mundane Mercedes sedan, it'll be quite cheap to buy in Germany where used cars are not valued like they are here but even here, if it's not at least an SL, why bother for the $1000 more in value here. And of course, you have to keep cars there overly top notch as TUV inspections are no joke so expect to spend thousands on a perfectly good car where some rubber parts look old or services have not been done in the last 30 days.

I doubt you'd get something really worthwhile like a 911 cheaper in Europe. The trend lately has been to import them back into Germany from abroad. To get something really special, say the legendary Audi Quattro Coupe from the 80's rally days, that would bring good money here, but what do they cost there.

The Mercedes program mentioned for new exists for Mercedes, BMW and Audi where you buy the car at a US dealer and go to Europe to pick up the car. You get a couple weeks registration/insurance there to tour Europe then drop the car at a designated port and the company ships it to your US dealer. There is a small discount. These are US cars so no changes need be made. Porsche does this but there is no discount. Delivery can be done in Zuffenhausen or Leipzig. If in Leipzig, they'll allow you to take one of their cars that nearly matches what you're buying on their track. I was considering doing this with a Cayman GT4. Following the paid hotel night and factory tour plus the track stint, you're then allowed to drive the car for 2 weeks on them and then drop it as any of a number of ports for the car to be shipped back to the US dealer.

In Germany, cars are typically not used like they are in the US. Most are left in the garage and only driven on weekends and holidays for pleasure.

If you do import a car that's 25 years or older (exact date of manufacture, so today, if you import a 2000 car and it's listed as being manufactured in June of 2000, it's going to be rejected at the port), you don't have to convert anything. Your state inspection, if the inspector is very observant will note the headlights being different (or wrong side of the road for Japan or England) but the feds won't make you do anything to the car.

[neilpilot]

Move
Only once there decide if you need or want a car. Most likely a car would be a pain. Do you even have an international driver's permit?
Would a scooter better meet your needs?
Only once there and have decided you need a car buy or lease a car. I would not plan on bringing back to USA.

A "international driver's permit", or IDP, is nothing more than a translation of your US DL and has a 1 year expiration. It's also only required in select European countries. For example, I don't renew mine if traveling to the UK, France or Germany, but will be getting on for my upcoming trip to Spain.

Have no idea what country the OP will reside in, but after 6 months your US license is no longer valid and you are required to get a local DL.

Some but not all European countries will allow you to exchange your US DL for their DL. Sometimes testing is required to exchange, and sometime it's not. In some countries the ability to exchange even depends on what US state issued your DL. For example, last I checked France lists a subset of US states where they will accept a US DL in exchange.

[gtd98765]

Agree with other posters on several issues:
1. wait until you get to Europe and have settled your living/working arrangements to see if you need to own a car, or you can just rent one occasionally. I had a car in a European capital but rarely used it, except for rare significant shopping trips (which today one could use Uber or a taxi for) or tourism outside urban areas (for which one could rent a car).
2. unless you are going under a diplomatic status of some kind, don't expect to be able to register an American-market car for Europe without significant modifications. Even the brake lights are different colors in some countries, and local authorities may require those to be changed to their standard.
3. Likewise, you may not be able to bring a Europe-market car back to the U.S. and register it here. When we brought a Volvo home from Europe years ago, the DMV wanted to see the certificate that it had been made for the U.S. market (which fortunately we had).

[CyclingDuo]

Duplicate

[CyclingDuo]

I'm moving to Europe this summer for work for several years, after which I will return to the United States. I now live in a U.S. city where I don't need a car, although I have considered buying one. The job will pay to ship a car to Europe and back. I've been told I won't need a car where I'll be living, but that I'll be much happier if I have one. As I see it, I have three options, and I'm curious about your collective thoughts on the best way to proceed.

2. Buy a relatively new used car in Europe on arrival, then sell it before returning to the U.S.

Option 2 is simply the best of the three options you mentioned. Been there done that in the EU with two cars.

As others have said, wait until you get there and see how things are going for you with your public transit use, and then ascertain if you really even need to buy a car - or opt to just rent one for weekend travel every now and then.

Insurance, driver's license, registration, can all be quite a learning curve with the language barrier. However, usually the auto insurance agent can help with all of the tax/title/registration details of your car purchase.

Upon leaving the EU, we sold one of our cars privately, and the other car was purchased back from us by the dealer where we originally bought it 8 years prior. We had looked into bringing it back to the US, but the costs of that were more than just selling the car back to the dealer and buying a car once back in the states.

We had goals of seeing all the sights, and traveling throughout Europe while we lived there with young children to front end load our European travel as a family. Skiing, golf, hiking, little league, soccer league, shopping, etc. meant our lifestyle adapted better to car ownership than doing all of that with public transit. So the expense was a calculated decision that we are still glad we did in retrospect. Paid cash for both of our cars, and sold both for cash.

CyclingDuo

[timcob]

You need to look at licensing and insurance rules and that all depends on which country you live in.

The leasing and european deals for americans - volvo, renault (google ideamerge) do not apply to Eu residents.

You can usually drive on your US license for a year. After that you will need a eu one and that means you have to be resident and also take lessons etc. Here in Malta you cannot apply for a drivers license until you have been resident six months and then you have to take lessons for weeks and do the test as if you were a new driver. Also you will find that if you buy a car you must have insurance and you cannot get insurance on a USA drivers license.

Also you will find that a car that is suitable for the US is not what you want in europe. My advice - get a rental car on a long term basis that includes insurance and then get an EU drivers license and then buy a car in europe and sell it again when you come back.

[exodusNH]

Hi all,
I'm moving to Europe this summer for work for several years, after which I will return to the United States. I now live in a U.S. city where I don't need a car, although I have considered buying one. The job will pay to ship a car to Europe and back. I've been told I won't need a car where I'll be living, but that I'll be much happier if I have one. As I see it, I have three options, and I'm curious about your collective thoughts on the best way to proceed.

1. Buy a car here (new or used) and have it shipped to Europe, then shipped back to the States when the job ends.
2. Buy a relatively new used car in Europe on arrival, then sell it before returning to the U.S.
3. Buy a car in Europe that was manufactured in the year 2000 or before and that therefore can be imported to the U.S. under the 25 year exemption. For practical reasons, this would probably mean a late 1990s Mercedes or something similar so I could get parts and service in the States.

I would rent a car when you need one. I spent 10 weeks in France in 1999. Not one time did I ever feel I needed a car, including when I did a whole touristy thing through Paris to Normandy.

Parking will be a pain. Gas is expensive. There's a whole different driving style.

[InvisibleAerobar]

The Mercedes program mentioned for new exists for Mercedes, BMW and Audi where you buy the car at a US dealer and go to Europe to pick up the car. You get a couple weeks registration/insurance there to tour Europe then drop the car at a designated port and the company ships it to your US dealer. There is a small discount. These are US cars so no changes need be made. Porsche does this but there is no discount. Delivery can be done in Zuffenhausen or Leipzig. If in Leipzig, they'll allow you to take one of their cars that nearly matches what you're buying on their track. I was considering doing this with a Cayman GT4. Following the paid hotel night and factory tour plus the track stint, you're then allowed to drive the car for 2 weeks on them and then drop it as any of a number of ports for the car to be shipped back to the US dealer.

I’m fairly certain that overseas delivery is no longer a thing for any of Audi, BMW, and MB. Even when it was active, there were rules re: how long the car can be kept in Europe before the export to the U.S.

Volvo still has an OSD program, but that too imposes a time limit before export to the U.S.

There may still be separate programs for Foreign Service workers (read State Dept. employees) and military personnels.

[mchampse]

Just because your company is offering to ship a car back-and-forth for you, doesn’t mean you HAVE to take advantage of the offer.

Once you get to the city in question, decide if you need a car. I’m guessing that cities in Europe where people “need” a car have better transit than many “transit-rich” cities in the United States. If you do get a car in Europe, sell it before you return. Once back here, decide if you want to purchase a car.

[kxl19]

Look into the French car sale & and lease buyback programs (search Google). You get a brand new car, and very generous insurance and usage. It’ll be cheaper than a typical long term rental

you pick up a new car and there’s a guaranteed buyback from the auto manufacturer at the end of your “rental”. It’s a way for the manufacturers to avoid VAT when reselling a slightly used car to individuals.

You will be limited to the French car manufacturers brands (Peugeot, Renault, etc), but you can pick up in France or most places in Europe. I successfully used this for a long-term rental while living in France.

[bendix]

Importing cars back and forth between Europe and the United States is a big hassle with cost for shipping it, which takes forever, and then they need to be adjusted to meet all sorts of regulations, which cost time and money and nerves. I would therefor strongly advise against 1 or 3.

Get a car there. Dont go to a independent dealer. They´re all sharks. Avoid them. Also, dont buy from a private seller. Most of them do this semi-professional and live by selling trash. Go to a dealership from a known manufacturer. From having been in Europe until my early 30s, I can recommend VW or Skoda (which is part of VW). I wouldnt go with Japanese cars as they´re rather exotic there and most shops wouldnt have experience with them. I also wouldnt do French or Italian cars. And I wouldnt do German luxury brands, even though they have nice offerings like e.g. the BMW 1 Series (which is very different from the US 1 series)

Buy a young used one from a dealership or lease one.

[adamthesmythe]

Moving for several years- I would wait until I get there to see how much I want a car. This will depend greatly on your job and where you end up living. And on how much you will miss out by not having a car.

For several years- it would be reasonable to buy new and sell when you leave.

I think it would only make sense to ship a car to Europe if you already had one and you really liked it and it was suitable for Europe.

[evoeco]

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. I haven't had a car for five years, so my hope is that occasional rentals will fill the bill in a Euopean city even more walkable and transit friendly than my current home, but I wanted to learn about options. Several people mentioned leasing, something I hadn't even considered, and it looks like a great idea. I'm going to put leasing and purchasing from a departing expat on my list of most viable options.

Sadly, this also means I can talk myself out of buying something absurd like a 1990s Porsche-built Mercedes 500E to ship back to the States.

[evoeco]

Deleted duplicate.

[Dufus]

https://www.cbp.gov/trade/basic-import- ... orting-car lists the requirements for importing a car.

[bobn60014]

Maybe I missed it but, where will you actually be based in Europe? It makes a difference.