Source
r/germany•
AgentJohnson

Buying a car in Germany - details inside.

Hi friends,

I'm from the US and some friends and I are planning a trip to Germany, probably about May of 2013. We'd like to drive the Nurburgring and one of my crazy (and kinda cheap) friends suggested buying a crappy car over there as opposed to just renting one to run the track.

How difficult would it be to do this? We would of course be respectful and learn the German driving customs beforehand. Thanks for your help!

Edit: Thank you all for your responses. I'm going to push for renting a track car if we end up going. This idea seemed like way too much work from the beginning. If I was planning on moving to Germany for a few months then I would probably reconsider..but that's not happening!

Posted Nov 26, 2012, 12:52 AM UTC · edited

319
Whispertron•

Afaik in order to register as the owner of a vehicle and get it insured to you need to be a registered as a resident. I.e. have an address where you pay rent or own the property. So that might be the first stumbling block as opposed to whether or not a cheap car is any fun on the Nürburgring.

6
gyrospita•

...deadly fun.

1
Whispertron•

Well it'd certainly be an interesting "How did you get those scars?" story...

1
[deleted]•

How difficult would it be to do this?

You won't find that much crappy cars because of TÜV.

It might be cheaper to rent a car at the Nürburgring eg. there: http://www.rentracecar.de/index-gb.htm

How much money would you like to spend?

3
AgentJohnsonOP•

Renting is actually what I suggested, this purchase alternative was my friend's idea. I think between the three of us, http://www.ooyyo.de/detail/ford-fiesta-1.4-germany-ratingen/c=CDA01D7114D2854F111BFE6FB68C3653CCA2117116D38B90581DE46EAC612252D6A3/-5382744464319967731.html/ that would probably be a reasonable purchase.

The next concern though is the price of insurance and what we have to go through to get rid of it when we leave (we're thinking two weeks in DE total). Of course we also don't want it to shit the bed on us.

1
Timerly•

Renting is much safer and you'll get a far superior car. These things are cared for and seldom make problems, all insurance is covered and you don't have any trouble with it. Not worth it to get a shitty car to drive around Nürburgring with, for the ring you can rent a sports car for one day which is probably more fun. That suggestion sounds fun but a.) impractical and b.) incredibly cheap given that you're already spending quite a bit on the trip. You pay so much to get there, why not make it especially enjoyable? A 400€ car will just be a pain in the ass to unload, too, even if it doesn't break down. You won't get out even.

7
MaxBahr•

I am not really into used car prizes right now but that Fiesta seems a little bit too cheap. It might be a scam.

+It could easily happen that you spend half a day at the Department for Motor Vehicles when you try to register the car.

+And how do you want to get to the car? Taxi or train? Both take time and cost a lot of money.

2
decatron•

It doesn't say anything about TÜV (HU - Hauptuntersuchung). I wouldn't buy a used car that doesn't have a current TÜV, because that would mean that something is most definitely wrong with it.

2
gyrospita•

Try getting a Golf 2...

1
driven_•

i'm actually interested in this as well. i plan on going around summer 2013 too...

2
DocTomoeBaden-Württemberg•
  1. Find a cheapo car ( http://mobile.de is your friend in that )
  2. To drive on the Nürburgring, your car has to be street-worthy. This means you have to get a current TÜV (or have one that still is valid). Cost for the examination is ~50 bucks, plus eventual repairs (trust me, they will find something).
  3. Last time I was there, they necessiated license plates, which means you will have a registration, and thus insurance. Cost for that is - depending on your age, your experience of driving in Germany, the time you had an EU drivers license and the car type, between 200 and 2000 Euros.
2
[deleted]•

[deleted]

1
decatron•

Renting a small small car for a month will cost you ~1200 Euros, it will be new and a decent one, and you won't have any hassles with paper work, registration, insurance, TÜV, etc. You won't find a driveable car for cheaper. I mean, maybe with reselling it after... but it's a huge PITA.

2
gyrospita•

Beware of the following: When you're going to Nürburgring, your normal car insurance does not under no circumstances cover racing. Be even more aware that rental companies strictly prohibit entering a race track AND the surrounding areas. So if you're planning to go out on the 'ring and crash (which you most likely will do), you're not only waving goodbye your ~1500€ deductible for damages on the rental contract but you'll be most likely eligible for paying all damages and fees for the whole car. Ergo: Go rent a dedicated ring racer instead.

1
itscoredawgUSA•

I have another question.

If you are visiting Germany from the US and decide to rent a car, do they do credit checks and do you need to take a German driving course beforehand?

1
AgentJohnsonOP•

It looks like to me you can just drive for up to six months. IDK about credit checks.

1
Pull_your_socks_up•

If you have no history with local insurers, assume four figures for the insurance alone.

1
dmurray14•

Either rent from Rent4Ring (talk to Dale) or, if you can swing it, look into European Delivery programs from BMW, Porsche, or Audi. I picked up an M3 in Munich in September, and that's definitely the way to do it if your timing works out - insurance is covered, you can drive all over Europe, and you get to bring the car back!

1
[deleted]•

First of all, good luck with the nürburgring, because they are bankrupt.

-1
gyrospita•

Track stays open. Ringwelt is bankrupt.

2