Question: Selling used 2016 Mustang GT in Germany

[Sub-Moa]

So, a question for all you guys. I'm stationed in Germany and plan on buying a new Mustang GT with performance pack and premier trim soon. It would be through a dealer in the US so I would pay state sales tax on it. Just so happens that my state has no sales tax so it would amount to 0. How would it work if I sold my car to a European? The car technically had the sales tax paid in the US. What taxes would there be to pay on the buyers end? I'm assuming customs tax but what else?


Reason I ask this is I wouldn't mind selling a great car with perfect maintenance records to a European when I leave. It would be a win win for everyone because the price would be cheaper for the buyer but more than I would get after shipping it back to the states and selling it. I'm sure it varies by Country but any help is appreciated.

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[Lone Survivor]

As you're stationed on 'American sovereign territory', the car would be subject to import and VAT. Technically it's never left America, as such it's an import.

But I'll be glad to be corrected

 

[Lord Thunder]

So, a question for all you guys. I'm stationed in Germany and plan on buying a new Mustang GT with performance pack and premier trim soon. It would be through a dealer in the US so I would pay state sales tax on it. Just so happens that my state has no sales tax so it would amount to 0. How would it work if I sold my car to a European? The car technically had the sales tax paid in the US. What taxes would there be to pay on the buyers end? I'm assuming customs tax but what else?


Reason I ask this is I wouldn't mind selling a great car with perfect maintenance records to a European when I leave. It would be a win win for everyone because the price would be cheaper for the buyer but more than I would get after shipping it back to the states and selling it. I'm sure it varies by Country but any help is appreciated.

I am not 100% familiar with the rules, but odds are that the person who buys it still has to pay 'import' duties and/or VAT. It would definitely be true when you sell it to anyone outside of Germany. They would have to pay all the tax (VAT, Emissions, Luxury and what not) tax on the car for sure. There are rules where the sum goes down the older the car gets, but that varies by country and/or the type of tax.

 

[Ericc B]

There are rules where the sum goes down the older the car gets, but that varies by country and/or the type of tax.

Import and sales tax are caldulated over on the official purchase price the new owner pays to the seller. So with a private seller this is a bit of a grey area where one could imagine the official sales price to be different from the actual one.

Mind you though you might lose a bigger amount of money on the car by selling it here than by selling it in the US. Car depreciation in Europe is in general significantly higher. Plus because of the crappy exchange rate US imports are currently actually more expensive here than official EU cars. Perhaps not so much in terms of actual cost of the car itself, but because of the added import tax and the costs of admission conversion and registration.

 

[Ericc B]

The car technically had the sales tax paid in the US.

Sales tax paid outside of the EU is irrelevant when importing a car into the Europan Union. There is only exemption when a car is sold from one EU country to another, provided that the car was officially registered in the first country and sales tax was paid there.

 

[Nordic]

Get a Shelby GT350 instead, you will be able to sell it for big money here in europe!!!
A much better deal for all of us, give me a call when you want to sell it!!!

 

[Ericc B]

Get a Shelby GT350 instead, you will be able to sell it for big money here in europe!!!
A much better deal for all of us, give me a call when you want to sell it!!!

Now that's a good idea. It will nullify any depreciation discussion you might run into.

 

[Glenn G]

A German would have to pay MwSt(VAT) of 19% and Zoll(import duty) of 10% on the new price of the car if it is less than a year old for a total of 29%.

A few years ago you would have had 0 problems selling a Mustang here and making a profit. buying one a few years old from American soldiers and Airmen and putting a lower price on the bill of sale worked for both parties. the German would then have to go get some modifications done to meet regulation.

You would have to sell yours really cheap to make it worth it to a German, as they can now just go to a dealer and pick one up at a very competitive price and have a warranty.

Lets look at the breakdown, all export 'Stangs are Premium PP (minus 3.73 gears and strut tower brace)
I built and priced a 2016 on the US site it came in at $39,790 it will cost you more than $210 to ship it over, I don't remember how much MAS charged me but it's over $1k so we will call a us model $41K
I built the Identical car on the German website and it came out to €43,000
Current exchange rate is €0.92 for $1.00
So your $41k car is worth €37,678 Now we add 29% tax a whopping €10,927 euro! for a total of €48,604
My girlfriend and I spent more than €2,000 legalizing our imported Supra from England. you are now at over €50k euro or €7,000 euro more for a used car that has no warranty, vs a Brand spanking new one sitting on a dealer lot.
Lastly securing a loan from a German bank on a self imported car is next to impossible. So if you did find someone dumb enough to buy it, they are probably not going to have that much money on hand.

Buy the car to enjoy it on the Autobahn, I don't regret it for 1 second. but don't think you can turn a profit on it here.

 

[AmerikanishesPferd]

So, a question for all you guys. I'm stationed in Germany and plan on buying a new Mustang GT with performance pack and premier trim soon. It would be through a dealer in the US so I would pay state sales tax on it. Just so happens that my state has no sales tax so it would amount to 0. How would it work if I sold my car to a European? The car technically had the sales tax paid in the US. What taxes would there be to pay on the buyers end? I'm assuming customs tax but what else?


Reason I ask this is I wouldn't mind selling a great car with perfect maintenance records to a European when I leave. It would be a win win for everyone because the price would be cheaper for the buyer but more than I would get after shipping it back to the states and selling it. I'm sure it varies by Country but any help is appreciated.

Lots of rules and regulations already mentioned in this thread. Plus if you buy the car through a base dealer you technically have to own the vehicle for 10 years before being authorized to sell it to a local national. This probably ensures that the depreciation basically nullifies the potential to make a massive profit. I can imagine back in the day flipping cars was a big hit hehe.

That being said, depending on the color you pick I'll be interested in 4-6 years when you PCS out from Ktown. I'm looking for a Mustang but would prefer to buy one used and save some money! :cheers:

PS: Welcome to Germany!

 

[Sub-Moa]

Thanks everyone. Sounds like I'll just bring the car back to the states with me.

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