topics
tools
Expatica countries
editor's choice

Checklist for moving to Germany

German immigration and residency regulations

Learning German: Passing the critical stage

Public holidays in Germany for 2012

O’zapft is! German Festivals in 2012

Index Last Var.(%)
BEL 20 2119.44 0.28
DAX 6339.94 0.38
IBEX 30 6543 0.13
CAC 40 3047.94 0.32
FTSE 100 5351.53 0.03
AEX 292.76 0.23
DJIA 12454.83 -0.60
Nasdaq 2837.53 -0.07
FTSE MIB 13154.8 0.36
TSX Composite 11576.47 0.09
ASX 4081.2 -0.61
Hang seng 18713.41 0.25
Straits Times 2772.75 -0.24
ISEQ 20 500.94 1.55
You are here: Home Moving to Getting Started Driving in Berlin: Buying, renting, insurance and...

Getting Started

archive
Enlarge font Decrease font Text size


08/12/2009Driving in Berlin: Buying, renting, insurance and registering your car

Driving in Berlin: Buying, renting, insurance and registering your car In part two of our two part series, we guide you through acquiring a car, registering it and buying insurance.

Leasing a car

If your stay in Germany may only be temporary, arranging for temporary transportation may not be a bad idea. If you just need a car for a day or a week, you’ll want to rent. If you’ll need a car regularly, you should look into leasing.

In a lease, you usually make a one-time payment to get a car and then have set monthly payments over the term of your lease. At the end, you turn in the car and, provided it’s in good shape, you go on to your next assignment – or sign another lease.

Because the new car market in general has become so competitive, leasing agencies have stepped up their products and now may include insurance or maintenance to help win your business.

If you’re only planning on driving around Berlin, anything larger than a Volkswagen Golf or an Audi A3 may be unwieldy.

Since leases are structured like financing, it’s hard to say what you’ll pay, but Sixt Leasing offers a VW Golf for around €120 a month on a 24 month lease. You’ll have to pay €4,700 up front and limit your driving to 20,000 kilometres over the term of the lease. Insurance will be included for an additional €90 a month.

There’s a similar deal on an Audi A3 – same initial payment, mileage and insurance offer – for €126 a month. Most leases run between 24 and 36 months.

To lease, check with several companies and then show up with your passport, driving licence and piece of paper that shows you’ve registered your address. There are no rules about who can lease but some agencies may want you to have a residency permit to prove you won’t abscond with their car.


Renting a car

Since tourism is one of Berlin’s biggest industries, there’s no shortage of car rental companies.

How much you’ll have to pay depends on when you rent – weekends are cheap while weekdays are steep because it’s mostly deep-pocketed business people hiring cars. A VW Golf, for example, will cost about €89 for a weekend, while a BMW 3-class would be €39.

Weekly rentals start at about €50 for a small car – and the sky’s the limit from there, with nearly every make and model available. All the big international chains have locations at Berlin’s two biggest airports as well as downtown locations. It’s worth checking online for the best deals.

Company cars

If you’re high enough up the corporate food chain, you may be offered a company car as part of your contract. It’s unlikely your company would offer a cash alternative, as a car is a much sought-after benefit. If you’re at the top of the food chain, then maybe you’ll get a driver to go along with the car.

Buying a car

There are very few brands of cars you can’t get in Berlin and the ones you can’t get you probably wouldn’t want anyway. You’ll mostly see German cars careening through Berlin’s streets but there are also plenty of foreign makes and models from elsewhere in Europe, Asia and North America.

Once you’ve found the car you want, you’ll likely be asked to make a cash down payment of about €500 until you arrange financing, show up with the balance in cash or transfer the full amount from your account to the car dealer’s.

The Volkswagen Golf is by far the most popular car in Berlin and will cost you around €20,000, while the popular Audi A3 starts at just under €30,000. However, if you like the two-seat Smart, you’ll only have to shell out about €8,000.

If you’re looking for anything from the Volkswagen family, which includes VW, Audi, Seat, Skoda, Bugatti and even Lamborghini, check out its flagship store at the intersection of Unter den Linden and Friedrichstrasse in Mitte.

Up Unter den Linden toward the Brandenburg Tor is Peugeot’s flagship outlet. Go three blocks toward Checkpoint Charlie on Friedrichstrasse and you reach the VW showroom, where you can pick out a Mini.

BMW has its main dealership on the elite Kurfürstendamm shopping mile in the former West Berlin. The Smart is sold in a massive store on Unter den Linden near the Technical University with an equally giant Mercedes dealership next door.

If you’re bringing a car with you as part of your move, German officials will see it as part of your household and not levy any fees. If you buy a used car in an EU country, you can also bring it in free of charge with little hassle – just be sure there’s a written sales agreement.

However, if you buy a new car in a European country and then bring it to Germany, you’ll have to pay 19% value-added tax at your nearest Finanzamt within 10 days of purchase and then register it like you would any other car once you get it to Germany.


Used cars    

It’s no secret that a new car loses about a third of its value just by being driven off the forecourt, so used cars can often be a good bargain – especially in Germany, where a well-maintained car is not only a matter of pride but the law. Check out www.mobile.de to find the right car for sale near you.

An owner may have kept the car’s service record along with receipts for any work done – this can give you a good idea of its dependability. Such owners also can demand a higher price because they can document the car’s history.

Once you’re convinced you’ve found the car you want, work out an arrangement with the owner to have it checked by the German automobile club, known as the ADAC (030 86860, Bundesallee 29). It will tell you any potential problems with the car and also suggest a sale price. If an owner is uncooperative, walk away.

If you buy from a dealer, they may offer to have the car checked out by Dekra, an independent automotive evaluation company (www.dekra.de). The check is thorough and will list any problems such as worn brakes or tyres and protects the dealer from any future claims. You can also use it to negotiate a lower price if you understand cars and can tell what repairs may soon be needed – you can have the ADAC look at the Dekra report too before buying.

Financing your car

Most dealers – used or new – will offer financing and, because most major carmakers operate their own banks these days, the financing offered by new car dealers will vary little from what your bank will offer.

However, some carmakers may offer special conditions on certain cars they’re trying to move. For instance, in early 2008, VW offered 3.9% financing on most models, while bank financing starts at about 4.5% for 12-month loans and then spring above 6% for anything over a year.

When buying a used car, you’ll get a better deal from your bank. As with any major purchase, shop around for financing to get the best rate.

Car insurance

In order to operate a vehicle legally in Germany, it must have third-party, or liability, insurance that will cover any damage to another car or person no matter who is driving. In addition, you can get Teilkaskoversicherung, which will protect your car against such things as fire, storm or theft – but check your policy thoroughly for what it will reimburse.

It may even pay for damage caused by marders, which are a member of the weasel family that like to chew on auto wiring. They thrive in urban Berlin and you may occasionally see one if you’re out late at night. If you want your car covered in an accident, even if you cause it yourself, you’ll need Vollkaskoversicherung.

Insurance rates are based on the type of coverage, the value of your car and a complex formula that takes into account your age, marital status and accident-free years. You can also build in an excess to further lower your premiums.

Expect to pay about €600 a year for Teilkaskoversicherung on a mid-sized car that’s a couple of years old. Insurers that do business only online tend to be the cheapest because they have low administration costs.

Make sure you know whether you’re covered before heading across the border to Poland or the Czech Republic – high theft rates there have made insurers wary of offering coverage.

If you buy a new car or finance your vehicle, you may be required to take out Vollkaskoversicherung to replace the car should you cause an accident. Most used-car owners don’t bother with Vollkaskoversicherung, however, since the cost of the insurance usually exceeds the cost of the car within a few years.


Registering your car

Germans may have a love affair with the automobile but their bureaucrats apparently don’t – there are only two places to register your car in Berlin: one in each in the two former Berlins.

In order to register a car, you’ll need its Fahrzeugbrief, proof of insurance, your Meldeschein, which shows you’re a registered resident of Berlin, and your passport. If you’re registering a new car, you’ll also need a current emissions and safety check, known informally as TÜV.

Technically, the TÜV is just the safety inspection and AU, or Abgasuntersuchung, is the emissions, but they’re usually performed together by a qualified garage. You’ll also need to fill out a registration form, which you can download from Berlin’s website (www.berlin.de/formularserver/formular.php?46485).

Once you’ve got your paperwork ready, head either to the Zulassungsstelle in Lichtenberg (Ferdinand-Schultze-Str. 55) or Kreuzberg (Jüterboger Str. 3, near Tempelhof Airport). You’ll first be called up to a counter and then be given a bill if all your paperwork is in order.

If you don’t have licence plates, you’ll then have to go outside and get some made (they cost about €30) and take the bill and the plates to the cashier. There, you’ll get the stickers for your licence plate and pay the registration fee of about €70.

Expect a bill from the Finanzamt within a couple of weeks for the annual car tax – this will cost you about €200, depending on the age and average emissions of your car. You never have to reregister your car but you must have a safety and emissions check every two years.

Most garages perform these checks; just ask for a TÜV. When you’ve got that done, take the paperwork the garage gives you and repeat the steps above to get new stickers for your licence plate that show you’re up to date. Not getting the stickers in time can lead to a fine of as much as €75 and two points against you on your record.

If you buy a new car, the dealer will handle the first registration for you. After that, if you don’t have the time or inclination to renew the stickers, plenty of companies are happy to do it for you. You’ll need to sign a power of attorney and loan them your passport for the day (this is not only normal in Germany but a legal requirement – you’ll get it back).

Want to know more? Check out part one (LINK) of our series, where we cover the driving culture in Berlin, where to park and buy gas and, most importantly, the laws.

Expatica 2009



Reprinted with permission of Explorer Publishing from the Berlin Complete Residents' Guides.


1 reaction to this article

wallpaper posted: 2012-04-19 19:19:07


Wow, really great information sharing. I have already read so much on this topic but your this article has answered so many questions in my mind.

Add a comment

General rating: Not rated yet

Rate article:    Add my rating



1 reaction to this article

wallpaper posted: 2012-04-19 19:19:07


Wow, really great information sharing. I have already read so much on this topic but your this article has answered so many questions in my mind.

Add a comment

Looking for a job?

Browse all jobs
Moving to essentials
Moving to expert Q&A
ask your question
Discussion Forums

Family in Germany

English Speaking Parents/Playgroups in Bielefeld

Discuss German Culture

anybody try to exchange HK driving license in UK or France

Legal Problems in Germany

What is the cost for filing bankruptcy in Germany?

Relocation to Germany

BUY NOVELTY DRIVING LICENSE,ID CARD, PASSPORT

Irish in Germany

BUY NOVELTY DRIVING LICENSE,ID CARD, PASSPORT

participate in the forums

Inside Expatica
The ABCs of the German school system

The ABCs of the German school system

What you need to know about German schools and daycare.

German immigration and residency regulations

German immigration and residency regulations

Want to move to Germany but haven’t figured out the details? Check out Expatica’s overview of the German permit system.

Driving in Berlin: Rules, habits and fines

Driving in Berlin: Rules, habits and fines

In part one of our two part series, we cover the driving culture in Berlin, where to park and buy gas and, most importantly, the laws.

Looking for work in Germany: The in depth version

Looking for work in Germany: The in depth version

Our comprehensive guide includes information on how to find work, recruitment agencies, employment contracts and labour law.