My younger son is being stationed in Stuttgart in December. He is interested in buying a Mini or BMW to drive while he is there. Is there a way for servicemembers to avoid the German VAT? I know the Euorpean Delivery programs (BMW & MB) are ways to get around the VAT, but you have to be out of the country in 90 days. He is going to be on the NATO Staff for 2+ years. Anybody have any suggestions? Thanks.

Greg

 

Stuttgart!? But sir, surely you know that in Stuttgart, one does not drive a BMW or MINI.

 

Please give thanks to your son for serving our country.

 

A couple of choices. He can check w/ Pentagon Car Sales http://www.pentagoncarsales.com/ and see what the rules are; the VAT rules may be differenet in Germany than they were in the UK.
He can also check the Stars & Stripes classified ads http://ww2.stripes.com/classifieds/europe.php to get an idea of what is out there but I wouldn't recommend he buy until he has had a chance to see what is on the resale lots on various posts in the area. Good luck.

 

Oh yeaaaaaah..... P O R S C H E

 

If he's here through NATO on a 2 year rotation he should be able to use the BMW/MINI Military Sales Program. Our local Military Sales dealer is Cars International (http://www.cars-intl.com/) If all else fails, email Pam there and she can tell you whether or not he qualifies. Getting the car this way, he can get a US spec vehicle that he can then bring back with him Contrary to popular belief, it's not very easy (not to mention $$$$) to try to import an EU spec car to the US.

 

Yeah, what DrillSlinger and Old Load said...I got both of mine through Pentagon Car Sales (my husband got both his BMWs there also) - US Spec vehicles (still drivable in Europe) without having the same VAT. There WILL be some hoops to jump through (Canadian shipping and customs, etc.) but nothing super expensive, nor hard to do - Pentagon does all of it. Just tell him not to buy into the OEM "adds" - I fell for that with my first MINI and paid more for OEM stuff I ended up taking off and replacing, once my eyes were opened to the wide world of NAM. Also, Pentagon's car lots have demo models for sale on a very regular basis - my first MINI was a demo from Italy and had less than 3,000 miles. The military will ship one vehicle back from Europe for him, but he can also buy a shipping package (lock in the price) when he purchases the car. I think the going rate for that is $1,200 or so now. When he gets back to the states, he needs to keep copies of all that dealership paperwork so he can register the vehicle with BMW USA - where he can get a US warranty package from BMW as well (the German warranty is 2yrs, ....36K? something like that.) It's not an extended warranty per se, but an actual warranty.

.....Hope it helps! Stuttgart is cool - and I liked touring the Porche factory. But I'm still addicted to the MINIs.

 

Pinky - MB's are a bit out of his price range and there are a few other types of card in Stuttgart.

Ron-S - Thanks. I am a Navy vet and my other son also served in the Navy. A family thing as my father and brother were also career Navy.

Old Load - Thanks, will check out the web site.

Drillslinger - Good info! I am passing that on.

uh oh - Lots of bits and pieces to consider. Thanks for the info and help.

I knew when I posted this last night that I could get some really useful info. Makes me really appreciate the Mini community on NAM!

Cheers,
Greg

 

 

This is a great place to start. Not sure how far it is from where your son will be stationed. Good luck to your son!

http://www.spangdahlemyardsales.com/...ars&cat1388667

 

Spangdahlem is about a 3 hour drive from Stuttgart.