Importing a used car from Germany or Austria

German and Austrian classified sites offer a wide choice of used cars, so many buyers from Slovenia look across the border. Because you're buying far from home, often after a single viewing, every mistake costs more: it's harder to go back to the seller, harder to enforce your rights, and the transport and Slovenian paperwork are already paid for.

This guide goes step by step: what to work out and check before you set off, what to look for in the seller and the documents, how to get the car home and what to expect in Slovenia.

1. First, work out what the car will really cost

The advertised price isn't the final price. Add:

getting it home, on plates with insurance or on a trailer,
the identification and technical assessment in Slovenia, which can cost more than €100,
the motor vehicle tax (DMV),
a technical inspection if the car doesn't have a valid one, plus registration and insurance.

The biggest unknown is usually the DMV. Since 2021, under the Motor Vehicle Tax Act (ZDMV-1), it depends mainly on CO2 emissions, fuel type and the emission standard (EURO), not on the price of the car. A diesel pays more than a petrol car with the same emissions. For a used car the calculated tax is reduced by age: for a car older than five years you pay 58%, and for one older than ten years 33% of the calculated amount.

So ask the seller for the CO2 figure and the emission standard before you go to see the car. You'll find them on the certificate of conformity (CoC), and often on the registration document too. That way you can work out the tax in advance and include it when comparing prices. Our import cost calculator does it for you.

VAT is usually not an extra cost on a used car. For VAT purposes a car is used if it has done more than 6,000 km and more than 6 months have passed since its first registration. If you buy such a car as a private person from a private seller, no VAT is charged. If you buy it from a dealer, VAT is already included in the price under the rules of the dealer's country, and you don't pay it again in Slovenia. If the car doesn't meet both conditions, it counts as new and you pay 22% VAT in Slovenia, even if you bought it from a private seller.

If the documents raise a suspicion that VAT wasn't paid correctly, FURS (the Slovenian tax authority) can require a deposit equal to the VAT before it assesses the DMV. In a case reported by Žurnal24 in 2022, it was €6,700. Such cases mostly involve purchases through companies and intermediaries. FURS returns the deposit if it finds no evasion. So the invoice or contract must show clearly who is selling and who is buying the car.

2. Check the car before you set off

A trip to Germany or Austria takes a day or more, so check as much as you can from home. Ask the seller for the VIN, photos of the whole car, the service book and workshop invoices.

Mileage is a particular risk with imported cars. The European Parliament estimated that between 30 and 50% of cars brought in from another country have a tampered odometer. We describe how to check the mileage in detail in How to check if a used car's mileage has been rolled back.

For a German car, ask for the reports from its periodic technical inspections (Hauptuntersuchung, HU). They record the odometer reading, so comparing older reports quickly shows if something doesn't add up. Paid vehicle history reports by VIN (such as carVertical or autoDNA) are a useful extra source, but treat them as a hint rather than proof.

If the seller won't let an independent expert inspect the car, walk away. That's also the advice of the Slovenian Market Inspectorate.

3. The seller and the documents

A German car has a two-part registration document: part one (Zulassungsbescheinigung Teil I) and part two (Teil II, formerly Fahrzeugbrief). For the identification in Slovenia you need the original registration document or a certified copy, and if it has two parts, both. Don't take the car without them.

When going through the documents, check:

that the VIN in the documents matches the one on the car,
that the seller is entered as the registered keeper and the name matches their ID,
how many keepers the car has had, which on a German car is shown in part two of the registration document,
whether there is a certificate of conformity (CoC), which can be requested for a used car too.

Part two of the German registration document isn't proof of ownership, but it is a strong indication. If the seller doesn't have it, it may still be held by the bank that financed the purchase. Don't buy such a car until that is sorted out.

Write the odometer reading into the sales contract, together with what the seller knows about any accidents and repairs. If it later turns out otherwise, you have it in writing.

4. Dealer or private seller: what rights you have

In Germany a dealer is liable for defects on a used car for two years, and can shorten this to one year with a written agreement in the contract. A private seller can exclude liability, for example with the well-known “gekauft wie gesehen” (bought as seen). The exclusion doesn't apply if the seller deliberately concealed a defect.

In Austria a dealer must give at least one year of warranty on a car first registered more than one year ago, and at least two years on a newer one. A private seller can exclude the warranty, but is still liable for features they explicitly promised.

On paper your rights are similar to those at home, but enforcing them abroad is much harder. If you have a dispute with a dealer in another EU country, the European Consumer Centre Slovenia helps for free.

5. Getting the car home

On the road the car needs plates and insurance, or you can bring it on a trailer or with a transport company.

Germany, export plates (Ausfuhrkennzeichen): white plates with a red stripe, issued by the German registration office. You need a valid technical inspection (HU) and special liability insurance. According to ADAC the fee is about €25–50 and the plates €20–40, plus the insurance and German vehicle tax for the period of validity.
Germany, yellow short-term plates (Kurzzeitkennzeichen): valid for no more than five days, and recognition abroad isn't guaranteed. ADAC lists agreements with Austria, Italy, Denmark and Switzerland; Slovenia isn't among them.
Austria, transfer plates (Überstellungskennzeichen): issued for no more than 21 days and need insurance with an Austrian insurer. Usually the dealer arranges them.
Trailer or transport company: the car doesn't need plates on the way.

Export plates only come with liability insurance, with no comprehensive cover. If something happens on the way, you pay for damage to your own car yourself.

6. The procedure in Slovenia, step by step

Identification and technical assessment. An authorised organisation, such as AMZS or some technical inspection stations, checks that the car matches its documents, is complete and is safe to drive. Bring the originals: the invoice or sales contract, the foreign registration document and the CoC if you have it. You receive a certificate of conformity.
DMV tax return. You file the tax return (form DMV-N) on eDavki no later than 15 days after acquiring the car. Attach the invoice or contract, the certificate of conformity and the foreign registration document. FURS issues a decision, and you pay the tax within 30 days of receiving it. If you sign up for eVročanje (electronic delivery) on eDavki, you get the decision sooner.
Technical inspection, if required, can be done straight after the identification.
Registration. You can only register the car once the DMV is paid or FURS has confirmed an exemption. At registration you also take out compulsory insurance.

7. Watch out for scams

With cars from abroad the same pattern keeps coming up: the price is noticeably below market, the seller says they've moved abroad, a viewing isn't possible, and payment and transport are to be handled by an “escrow company” and a shipping firm. The Austrian organisation Watchlist Internet warns that such companies don't exist and the money goes to the fraudster.

Don't pay anything until you've seen the car and the documents in person.
Don't send a copy of your ID to a seller you don't know.
If you've already paid, call your bank straight away and report it to the police.

Buying a car that has already been imported to Slovenia?

If you're buying a car that was brought in from abroad, enter its VIN as an eDavki user on the portal or in the mobile app. It shows the mileage and the value on which the DMV was paid, plus any recorded damage. The data covers vehicles whose DMV was assessed after 30 December 2009.

Also compare the date of first registration with the date of first registration in Slovenia. A difference shows the car was previously registered abroad.

In short

Work out the DMV and all other costs before you buy, for example with our import calculator.
As a private buyer you don't pay VAT in Slovenia on a used car.
Check the mileage in German inspection reports and the service history.
Make sure the seller is the registered keeper and has the complete registration document.
Bring the car home on export plates or on a trailer.
File the DMV return on eDavki within 15 days of acquiring the car.
Never pay in advance for a car you haven't seen.

Importing a used car from Germany or Austria: what to watch out for