Berlin Tales

[C240Sport97]

I recently got a quote from MB Berlin for CLS500 with lots of options .. just for research purposes

Apart from answering the same questions many times, what struck me most was that the German list price is roughly equivalent to the UK list price .. the difference being accounted for in the 1.5% higher UK VAT.

It also seemed that you had to pay 16% German VAT and reclaim that once UK VAT has been paid.

When you add in the 3rd year UK warranty, plus the approximately 6% discount available from a UK dealer, buying in Germany seems pointless.

 

[clegsr]

Vat?

As far as I know, you only have to pay VAT once within the EU, therefore if you pay it in Germany and can show the receipt to Customs and Excise you dont need to pay UK VAT

 

[A-AvantGarde]

As far as I know, you only have to pay VAT once within the EU, therefore if you pay it in Germany and can show the receipt to Customs and Excise you dont need to pay UK VAT

Yes that's technically correct, however, I seem to recall the same thing mentioned by C240Sport97 when I looked at importing three cars from within the EU. I specced up and priced up a W203 C240, SLK 230 and CLK 200 Convertible from Belgium a few years ago . At that time the pre-tax price was very favourable and I had a number of family members that wanted to order new cars to spec

They used to allow this but I was told by the Belgian dealer that I would need to pay Belgian VAT, then when the vehicles were imported into the UK I would have to pay UK VAT. Only once I got a receipt from Customs & Excise for the payment of UK VAT would I be able to claim a refund for the Belgian VAT element from the Belgian authorities.

I guess this is what has made personal importing die away (remember it was all the rage about 4 or 5 years ago!). For most people this would case quite a cashflow problem having to pay VAT twice upfront!

 

[C240Sport97]

VAT on cars is an exception to the general rule where you pay VAT where (at that location's rate) you buy the product/service.

For cars, VAT is due where (at that location's rate) the car is registered.

 

[kensalriser]

In other words, hey we'll have a free market but only when it suits us. (Us being the Governments).

 

[BonzoDog]

Isn't Denmark meant to be the cheapest place to buy new cars because of tehir 100% duty?

 

[A-AvantGarde]

Isn't Denmark meant to be the cheapest place to buy new cars because of tehir 100% duty?

Not sure on the percentage but I believe you're correct. Norway & Finland are also similar, but IIRC Denmark has the highest taxation on cars within 'Europe'. Further afield Singapore is also very very expensive for cars...

However I think you would have the same issue importing a car from Denmark as elswhere in Europe in that you would need to pay the VAT & Car Tax that would be imposed in Denmark and then claim that back after it had been imported into the UK.

I also seem to recall Saab's being particularly cheap in Denmark or Finland.

 

[C240Sport97]

back in 1999, I imported my CLK 320 Convertible from Sweden .. then I did not have to pay Swedish VAT (at 22.5%!!). I had export plates, and paid UK VAT when I registered the car here.

 

[DC_insider]

The EU Competition Commission carry out audits of car prices across member states. You can pick up the detail of the latest report here:

http://ec.europa.eu/comm/competition/car_sector/price_diffs/

Some points to note:

1. As VAT varies from country to country it is only useful to compare the "excl tax" prices.

2. Right-hand-drive is an optional extra when ordering in Left-hand-drive countries so you would need to include the cost of this when comparing prices to the UK.

3. The base cost of a vehicle can be cheaper in some countries than in the UK but charge considerably more for common options such as automatic transmission.