Despite the presence of a large number of sites with advertisements for the sale of cars by individuals, various car markets still exist even in Europe. The car market in Poland is familiar to many citizens of the CIS who have ever purchased a vehicle in this country. Knowing about the good condition of used cars from the European Union, residents of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine often visit Poland to return home in a European-assembled car. Our compatriots are especially interested in models that were not officially sold in the CIS countries.
What is a car market in Poland
A typical Polish car market is a site on the outskirts of the city where a variety of used cars are put up for sale by various vendors. Despite the existence of electronic trading platforms, such places are not losing their popularity.
In a short time, here you can see dozens of options and find a suitable model for yourself. If necessary, you can also purchase spare parts for them at the car market. If you can't find the part you need, the sellers will certainly tell you where you can buy it.
It is better to look for markets for used cars in large cities, since there are more sellers and more competition between them, therefore, it will be easier to bargain and bring down the price.
The most popular Polish car dealerships are located in Szczecin and Slomchin.
The market in Szczecin has existed for several decades, and it is known about it far beyond the borders of Poland. It works only on Saturday and Sunday. Any resident of the city will tell you how to get there.
However, you can find good deals in cities such as Warsaw, Lodz, Wroclaw, Poznan and others. Before you go to a car dealership with the intention of buying a used car, you should learn more about its features. Most of the deals here are made "on the hood", so the buyer himself needs to be vigilant and check the history of the vehicle. To do this, you need to bring a smartphone or laptop with mobile internet.
You need to be very careful about paperwork. You should refrain from purchasing cars with yellow numbers, since only German citizens can drive them.
Polish transit numbers are colored red. Cars with such registration plates can be bought, but you should pay attention to their expiration date. The fact is that the buyer with expired transit numbers will be fined on the way home. If you really like the car, ask the seller for a good discount.
The Polish car market is an unsafe place, especially for foreigners who are noticeably different from the locals. Therefore, one should not go here alone or even together, so as not to become a victim of local extortionists, who simply threaten not to let the would-be buyer out of the market without receiving money. It is best to come here with a group of several people and always keep in the crowd.
Polish classifieds sites
Car dealers in Poland use several websites to place ads. Thanks to this, even before the trip, you can study the prices, photos and technical characteristics of the cars for sale, and even contact their owners by phone.
Some Polish sites have versions in Russian, otherwise you can always use the translator in your computer browser.
The largest and most popular portal is Otomoto.pl, where you can find quite a lot of interesting offers for the sale of new and used cars, motorcycles, trucks, tractors and special equipment. For the convenience and speed up the search, you must use the filter.
The cost of vehicles is indicated in local currency - PLN. However, some merchants may accept payment in Euros as well as US Dollars.
In addition to Otomoto, you can also use the following web resources:
- autoscout24.pl;
- autotrader.pl;
- autogielda.pl;
- allegro.pl;
- gratka.pl.
It should be borne in mind that there are sometimes inaccuracies in the announcements. For example, for some reason, the seller, instead of the year of manufacture of the car, may indicate the time of its first registration. Therefore, be careful and, if in doubt, try to ask questions to the owner of the machine.
Self purchase
Buying a car in Poland and other EU countries should not be done spontaneously. The entire process must be planned in advance.
Before setting off, residents of Russia and Belarus need to pay a customs deposit. This must be done at the place of residence where customs clearance will take place.
The amount of the customs deposit must be equal to the amount of customs duties, recycling fees and the cost of registration of the model that you intend to import from the European Union into the territory of the Customs Union.
To determine the size of the deposit, you can use a special online calculator on the TKS.RU portal. If you have not yet decided on the choice, the customs officers will calculate the size of the deposit at fixed rates, taking into account the approximate characteristics of the engine power.
Residents of Ukraine can use the calculator on the website of the Ukrainian customs.
In order to go to Poland for the car market, you must have on hand:
- International passport.
- Schengen visa.
- International driving license.
- Bank card Visa or MasterCard, so as not to carry with you a large amount of cash in foreign currency and not to declare it when crossing the border. Before traveling, you must notify the bank of your intention to use the card in the European Union so that it does not block it in the event of a sudden appearance of foreign transactions.
Checking the purity of the transaction
Whoever you buy a used car from should check its history before making a deal and make sure the deal is clean. This can be done free of charge on the website of the Central Vehicle Register. To complete the request, you only need the VIN of the car you intend to purchase.
The resulting report will contain the following information:
- basic technical characteristics of the vehicle;
- last recorded mileage;
- the presence of restrictions on registration actions;
- being pledged or wanted;
- the number of transitions from one owner to another.
In addition, you can carry out additional paid verification through the following services:
- autobaza.pl - online check for a wanted car in the EU, as well as information from insurance companies and various auctions in 12 European countries. The cost of a request ranges from 20 to 50 zlotys, depending on the amount of information in the report;
- Autodna.pl - works by analogy with the previous service, but the volume and content of the received data sometimes differ significantly;
- Bimmer-check.com - this service is needed for those who intend to buy a BMW car. Here you can get detailed information from the history of service in dealerships, photos and other useful information regarding the operation of a particular machine.
Required documents
In order to cross the border without any problems with a car purchased in Poland, you need to have the following documents:
- Contract of sale.
- The registration certificate of the car, in which the readable VIN must be indicated, as well as the main technical characteristics of the car and the data of previous owners.
- Transit numbers are issued after the car is removed from the register.
- Certificate of compliance of the vehicle with environmental standards EURO 5 and higher (for Russia and Belarus).
- Green Card insurance.
- Export declaration, which is drawn up in the customs authorities of Poland.
- Payment order for a customs deposit received at the place of residence before the trip.
- When crossing the border, you must fill out a declaration in the form TD-6.
Customs clearance procedure
Customs clearance of the purchase is carried out after returning home. In the Customs Union, which includes Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, the amount of customs duties is determined depending on the age of the car and the engine size. In this regard, it is unprofitable to fit new cars under the age of 3 years: they will have to pay a duty of 48-52% of the customs value.
The best option is cars aged 3 to 5 years. In this case, when calculating the amount of duties, the customs value is not taken into account. Only the volume of the engine matters: the more cubic centimeters it contains, the higher the level of customs clearance costs.
In addition to duties, in Russia you will also have to pay a recycling fee. Its base rate is 20,000 rubles. This amount must be multiplied by the following factors:
- car under 3 years old - 0.17;
- car from 3 to 5 years old - 0.26.
In Ukraine, during customs clearance, you must pay the following payments:
- Import duty - 10%;
- Excise duty.
- VAT - 20%.
The amount of excise tax depends on the engine displacement.
Excise tax is available with a full and reduced rate. To use the reduced rates, the following conditions must be met:
- the imported vehicle was released not earlier than 2021;
- the car meets the requirements of the environmental standard EURO 5 and above;
- one citizen imports only one car during the year.
If a car imported at reduced rates is sold within a year, the excise tax must be paid at the full rate.
Useful Tips
Buying a used car in any country is a risk, so pay attention to the following points:
- Use a paint thickness gauge for visual inspection. It will help identify cars repainted after an accident. A conscientious European seller will provide a thickness gauge himself, and if he is against such an inspection, it means that he is hiding something from the buyer.
- If, while studying ads on the Internet, you see information that the car was regularly serviced at dealerships, ask the seller to send a scan of the service book by e-mail. By the seals in it, you can find out the name of the dealer, and then ask him for information about the service history of the car by the VIN code.
- You should refrain from transferring the deposit to the seller's account until you meet and inspect the vehicle. There are always scammers among the sellers.
- Don't make quick decisions. Take a closer look at the car, pay attention to minor scratches and other defects. Create an atmosphere conducive to bargaining so that the seller will give up a couple of thousand zlotys.
Important points when buying a car in Poland
It is better to buy a car in Poland from a legal entity, that is, from a dealer who resells vehicles. In this case, you will overpay a little, but then the dealer will refund you VAT (here it is called VAT) in the amount of 23% by bank transfer. If the seller is a private person, you will not be able to get a refund.
However, even when contacting dealers, VAT cannot always be refunded. Therefore, before buying, you should check with the seller about the possibility of VAT refund. You can also find out about this from the announcement: if the seller has put the VAT-Faktura mark, VAT will be transferred to you after returning home.
This opportunity is available only when purchasing vehicles that were sold and registered for the first time in Poland in a new form without a run. If the car was imported from other countries, VAT-Faktura Marza must be indicated in the advertisement for sale. In this case, no one will refund you VAT.
Requirements for cars imported into the Russian Federation
For import to the territory of Russia, you should choose only those cars that meet the environmental standard EURO 5 and above. Otherwise, although you will be allowed to cross the border, the customs will not issue a vehicle passport (PTS). Therefore, you will not be able to register the car with the traffic police and operate it legally.
Without observing this norm, only vehicles over the age of 30 years with the original engine and in the original body can be fitted.
From January 1, 2021, it is necessary to install the ERA-Glonass system on all cars imported to Russia and Belarus, which is designed to call emergency services in automatic mode. The purchase and installation of this equipment is carried out at the expense of the owner of the machine. And without this, it is impossible to get a TCP.
Uncleared cars in Ukraine
On the roads of Ukraine, you can often see cars with Polish numbers, which are operated without customs clearance. In order to avoid customs payments, the car is registered with a legal entity in Poland, which allegedly hires a driver and sends him to Ukraine on a business trip.
Under this scheme, a car can be in the country for up to a year. By the time the period of stay expires, you must go back to Poland and return, going through the procedure again. Moreover, this time, customs officials can allow temporary import for just a few days. Thus, such a scheme is more suitable for people who regularly travel to Poland.
Finally
In order to visit a Polish car market, for safety reasons, you should go there in a company of several people. In a short time, you can inspect dozens of cars there, while checking the history of the vehicle you like will be extremely inconvenient. It is much safer to buy a car from dealers, whose ads in large quantities you can easily find on the Internet.
