Data from the Polish Automotive Industry Association, shows that from Poland's easy access to the European Union, the amount of cars imported into this country per year was no lower than 600k. Why is the purchase of a car abroad still such a popular idea?
The year 2008 was a record year regarding import of cars to Poland. At that time, Poles bought approximately 1.1 million cars from abroad. According to the data from the Polish Central Statistical Office (GUS), the total value of imported passenger cars (new and used) in 2015 was approximately 19 billion PLN. This means that Poles are still very interested in finding their new car beyond the western border. Why? Here are the four most crucial reasons:
1. Better technical condition of used cars
The Polish experts claim that the majority of cars imported from countries like Germany and Holland, are properly serviced and maintained in a decent condition. The automotive knowledge of car users in these countries is much higher than the European average. They regularly perform technical check-ups which directly impact the condition of vehicles – said Maciej Szurkowski, an expert from the Polish Automobile and Motorcycle Association.
An additional factor which determines the general positive technical condition of cars from the above mentioned regions of Europe, is the condition of the local roads. With the freeway network’s total length being 12,363 km, Germany is the European leader in this category.
2. Bargains in the secondary market
Data from the reports of the Polish Automotive Industry Association clearly show that the automotive market in Western Europe is much more mature than in Poland. According to the “Automotive Sector 2015” report, approximately 30 cars per one thousand people is sold in western European countries. In Poland, the same index shows approximately 10 cars per one thousand people. A natural consequence of such a big demand for new cars in western countries, is a large and active secondary market. What is more important is you can find cars in these markets which are offered for very moderate prices.
3. Lower prices than the dealer showroom
For the past few years, a popular tendency among the wealthier Poles is to buy new cars at a German dealership. This especially applies to cars from the E and F segments, which are the higher-middle class and luxury class. You can save a lot on the price of the car (a lot of dealer showrooms offers high discounts, sometimes even at the level of 30% of the initial price), as well as on the currency exchange rate. For example, if you buy a car worth thirty thousand euro, you can save up to 5.9 thousand PLN* when exchanging currency using Cinkciarz.pl.
4. Buy without an agent
Another strong argument for buying a car in Western Europe, is the savings that result from omitting an agent. Auto dealerships in Poland ship vehicles from the dealers, who then buy them in other countries. These are two middle-men you can ignore by contacting the car owner independently. You can do this via websites like www.mobile.de or www.autoscout24.com.
If you buy a car from a private owner you need to remember the basic safety procedures, which are the same as in the case of buying a car from a dealership (the most significant documents you need to receive when buying a car in Germany, are Fahrzeugschein and Fahrzeugbrief, which are the registration certificate and vehicle card, respectively).
* Currency exchange rates from March 30th 2016, as given by Cinkciarz.pl