An import guide?

    Hi Lotus Forum! I hope it's ok to run this in English - just moved to Germany from Denmark, and I still have to clear some rust from my skills in German. That time will surely come. :)

    Anyway. I would love to get my name on ideally an Exige S2 (or something to that tune) later this spring, and judging by the market, the UK is of course the place with the most cars available. But since Brexit, I assume that it has become significantly harder to import one from the UK to Germany?

    It must have been asked before, but has some of you knowledge of a guide in either German or English about the steps it would take to import one? Or, alternatively - should one steer clear of importing a car due to the current situation and wait for the right option to pop up in mainland Europe? :cc

    Thanks in advance - good to see a proper, oldschool forum that runs the way it should! 8)

    hello there & welcome

    pre Brexit it was all good to import a Lotus from the UK. i did that myself and it was a good buy (value and quality wise) and great fun, too. we also picked up some specialist parts for Catherhams.

    as all pre Brexit Lotus cars should have a valid COC the registration is pretty much the same, aka TÜV visit for HU+AU. you must make 100% sure you have a valid COC for your car, else trouble.

    the difference is that there is now a 10% import duty (+19% VAT) to be paid.

    caveat: you are exempt of this import duty IF you are moving to germany on full time residency and have given up residency in your home country and have not been registered in Germany 12 months prior and the vehicle is registered in your name and you do not export or sell the car on in the 12 months following.

    *nudge nudge wink wink*

    as i see it currently, the Exige S2 market in the UK is better than the market in Germany, both value and choice. however, unless you buy from one of the well know traders (will or jon i guess) i would not take a chance on UK car unless you know 110% what you are doing. UK cars do have a penchant for not being treated to well...

    so if RHD isn't an issue, you have a reasonable case to import, as you could be exempt of the 10% import duty and the market in UK has more to offer (value/choice)

    you have to bring her over on a trailer, so that is some added cost if you do not have one availble. but marginal cost for a 2 day trip imho.

    have fun regardless 8)

    ps. i would get started on this right away, as later in spring prices and choice of cars could well be worse than over the next 1-2 months...

    Welcome

    Because German TÜV can be a pain in the arse ;) , a small addition:

    Take care to the car‘s OEM condition regarding exhaust and catalytic converter, brakes, springs and dampers, engine and / or ECU tuning, seat belts - in short, everything that is relevant to safety or emissions.

    It should also be mentioned that the headlights have to be changed to right-hand traffic or at least converted.

    Good luck

    Small, pretty, quick, fun. Great!

    I have already lived here for too long to dodge the 10%... :(

    But to be fair I would still say an import duty of 10% and a bit of VAT is a minor issue compared to living in a place where everything with four wheels are taxed a cool 150%. :D

    Where is the duty and VAT cleared? I assume I need to do that right off the tunnel or boat, depending on my choice of route?

    The key must be to find a nice and original example to keep the TÜV happy in the first place...

    Duty and VAT you have to pay when registering. Remember that from importing a new car from the Netherlands long time ago.

    How is it with VAT deduction in UK, possible when you buy from a dealer?

    Zitat von NMRacing

    Where is the duty and VAT cleared? I assume I need to do that right off the tunnel or boat, depending on my choice of route?

    The key must be to find a nice and original example to keep the TÜV happy in the first place...

    duty & VAT have to be declared and paid to customs prior ro registering the car. not right off the boat/train.

    once done, you get the good old "unbedenklichkeitsbescheinigung" :D that you need to register the car locally.

    in terms of TÜV i would suggest you find a Lotus garage that routinely handles these cars. that should be a lot simpler than finding a car that is "nice and original". specially headlights could be an issue (tricky to costly to impossible to replace...)

    assuming you are paying cash, when you exit Germany with more than €10k cash you have to declare it to customs. I did it for peace of mind as I was flying over and the risk of getting asked silly questions at the airport, especially in my case to Switzerland, is small but real, but unlikely if you drive there. If you declare it on exit, be ready to send over a copy of the sales contract to German customs, in my case they did ask for it a couple of months later... If for whatever reason the deal falls through and you can't provide a copy of a sales contract, they will probably ask you to provide evidence that you put the money back in the bank in Germany. There is a form to fill in, some infos here:

    Customs online - Cash

    Make sure you are precise in counting all the money you are taking with you and that it matches what you declare in the form, even including coins.

    Exige: Punk is not dead