It depends on the car, and there is a point below which it does not pay off for anyone. Here is the full mechanics: where the difference comes from, what eats it up and how to check it against your specific model before moving a single euro.
Importing has a fixed cost that barely goes down even if the car is cheap: transport, fees, handling and the service add up to practically the same for a €12,000 runabout as for a €45,000 SUV. The saving, on the other hand, is proportional to the price of the car.
That is where the rule we apply to ourselves before accepting a job comes from:
| Price of the car | Does importing make sense? |
|---|---|
| Under €12,000 | Almost never. The fixed cost eats the whole difference. Buy in Spain. |
| €12,000 – 20,000 | Only if that specific model is rare here or the Spanish version is far worse equipped. |
| €20,000 – 35,000 | The zone where it usually works, provided the comparison is made trim against trim. |
| Over €35,000 | Where the model performs best: the difference grows and the fixed cost weighs less and less. |
This is not a promise of savings. It is the point from which it is worth running the numbers; the specific numbers depend on your model and are checked before deciding.
It is neither magic nor a tax trick. It is three very concrete things:
1. The size of the market. Germany registers around three times as many cars a year as Spain, and its nearly-new market is far deeper. For one specific version — engine, trim, colour, extras — there are usually dozens of units competing against each other there; here, two or three. Where there is competition there is price.
2. The kind of car that gets sold. A good part of the German stock is company, leasing or demonstrator vehicles: few years old, high but documented mileage, stamped service book and a single owner. In Spain that same profile is scarcer and is paid for more dearly.
3. The equipment. The German buyer configures at the factory what here counts as an extra. Panoramic roof, leather, matrix headlights or adaptive suspension appear far more often in the same price range. Sometimes the real difference is not in the price but in what the car brings for that price.
Everything that follows has to be added to the seller's price. None of these items disappears:
| Item | Order of magnitude | Depends on |
|---|---|---|
| Transport Germany → Costa Blanca | ≈ €1,300 | Route and type of truck; IVA and insurance included |
| IEDMT (registration tax) | 0 % – 14,75 % | The car's CO₂ and its valor venal according to the tax office tables |
| Tasa DGT | €99.77 | Fixed |
| ITV de importación, ficha técnica, gestoría | €350 – 600 | Whether any element needs homologación |
| IVTM (annual municipal tax) | €90 – 200/year | Fiscal horsepower and municipality |
| Our service | €1,750 + IVA | Single price, with the independent inspection included |
The item that surprises people most is the IEDMT, because it is not a percentage of what you pay: it is calculated on the valor venal that the tax office sets for that model and year. And the band depends on CO₂: below 120 g/km it is €0, and from 200 g/km upwards it goes to 14,75 %. Two cars at the same price can end up €4,000 apart on this tax alone. It is the first number we look at, even before the price.
A detail almost nobody mentions. Before the rate is applied, indirect taxes are deducted from the taxable base (art. 69 of Ley 38/1992). That is why the effective percentage on the value of the car comes out lower than the nominal one: around 3,8 % in the 4,75 % band, 7,5 % in the 9,75 % band and 10,9 % in the 14,75 % band. Our calculator already applies this; a calculation done with the bare nominal rate comes out between 25 and 30 % above the real figure.
To know whether your specific car pays off you do not need an expert. You need four figures:
| Line | How to get it |
|---|---|
| A. Price of the car in Germany | The one in the listing, German VAT included |
| B. Cost of bringing it over and registering it | Transport + IEDMT + fees + gestoría, from the table above |
| C. Our service | €1,750 + IVA |
| D. Price of the same version in Spain | Coches.net, Milanuncios, Wallapop — same engine, same year, similar mileage |
If D is greater than A + B + C, importing pays off in money terms. If the difference comes out below around €1,500, our recommendation is not to do it: the margin is too narrow to justify five weeks of waiting and the risk of anything going wrong.
The most common mistake is comparing a well-equipped German car with a base-trim Spanish one. If the Spanish version has no panoramic roof and the German one does, you are not comparing the same car: you are comparing two different cars and the apparent saving is false.
There are situations where the honest answer is "don't do it":
● Cars under €12,000. The fixed cost weighs more than any market difference.
● Large petrol engines with high CO₂. A V8 or a powerful SUV goes into the 14,75 % IEDMT band and that tax can wipe out the whole advantage. The same model in diesel or hybrid, at 130 g/km, pays 4,75 %.
● Models that are dirt cheap in Spain. The best-selling superminis here do not add up: there is so much local supply that the Spanish market is already competitive.
● If you need the car next week. The complete process takes three to five weeks. It cannot be accelerated without skipping checks, and that is where the problems appear.
Beyond the price, there are two things worth knowing:
The warranty stays alive. The factory warranty of a European car is valid throughout the EU, at any official dealer of the brand. What we do is check the specific conditions in writing before the purchase, because the detail depends on the manufacturer and on whether servicing has been done in the official network.
The history is verifiable. A German dealer car arrives with its service book and its documented history. We ask the seller for written confirmation of history, accidents, mileage and condition, and on top of that we carry out a mechanical inspection in person with a road test before you pay anything. It is included in the price of the service, it is not an extra.
When someone writes to us with a model in mind, the order is always the same:
1. We look at the CO₂ of the version you are interested in and work out the IEDMT band. If the tax eats the deal, we tell you right there and there is no job.
2. We compare the German price with the Spanish one for the same version, not the same model.
3. We send you the complete calculation through to the Spanish plates, with each item listed separately.
4. If the numbers do not work, we say so. We would rather lose a job than deliver a car on which the client has gained nothing.
Do you have a specific model in mind? Send it to us on WhatsApp with the link to the listing if you have already seen one, or simply tell me the make, the version and your budget. I will send back the complete calculation through to the Spanish plates, with the tax calculated on that car. No obligation and no cost.
Run the numbers on WhatsApp →How much do you save on average by importing from Germany?
We do not give an average, because it would be made up: it depends on the model, the version and the CO₂. What is constant is the mechanics — a fixed cost of some €3,500 to €4,500 against a market difference proportional to the price of the car — and with that the specific case is worked out in ten minutes.
Do you have to pay Spanish IVA when importing from Germany?
On a used car bought from a German seller with the VAT already included, no IVA is paid again in Spain. The IEDMT is paid, which is a different tax. The exception is vehicles considered new for tax purposes: less than six months old or under 6,000 km.
Can you import a car from Germany without going to Germany?
Yes. That is exactly the job: we do the on-site inspection, the negotiation and the transport. The client does not travel.
How long does it take from the moment I say yes?
Between three and five weeks to the Spanish plates: verification, transport of seven to ten days, ITV de importación, homologación where applicable and registration with the DGT.
And if the inspection shows the car is not right?
It is not bought. That is what the inspection before payment is for. The advance of €400 + IVA covers the cost of that inspection; the rest of the money for the car has never left your account, because you pay the seller directly and only after your written approval.
→ Full cost guide, tax by tax
→ Step-by-step paperwork and documents
→ Registering an imported car in Spain
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