Importing a Dutch cars. Everything you need to know, step by step

The Netherlands as a source of used cars has been particularly popular with professional dealers. Entire squares in many places in Poland are occupied by Dutch cars – the best example of this is, for example, Kutno near Łódź in Poland, a true mecca of used cars from the country of legal drugs.

 

*The information given in the article concerns only the Polish regulations.

 

According to many drivers, second-hand Dutch cars are well-maintained and worth recommending, and their mileage is similar to the real ones. This is partially true. However, some drivers find the selected Dutch car in person, which is a popular solution given the relatively small distance between Poland and this small coastal country – after all, many of them remain in good technical condition.

 

How to import a Dutch car?

 

 

We’re going to check whether importing a car on your own is a complicated procedure, and above all, what you should remember before starting the search.

 

      

In 2022 alone, more than 35.000 cars were imported from the Netherlands to Poland. The Netherlands is not as popular as Germany in this matter, though. Nevertheless, Dutch cars are in demand. The possibility to check a lot of information about the cars available in public registers encourages the potential buyers to purchase them.

 

 

It is through the RDW that you have to deregister a vehicle if you want to import it to Poland – you will find out how to do this later in the text (deregistration is done at the RDW, i.e. the local communication department). The Vehicle report allows checking the actual mileage, which is noted during each technical review, the so-called APK (Algemene Periodieke Keuring). The RDW and APK terms are useful to get familiar with before searching for you dream Dutch car. Interestingly, checking the Dutch vehicle history does not generate any additional costs in the Netherlands.

Aside from papers being kept in order or, in the contemporary reality, in the electronic registers, Dutch cars are also usually well maintained (although not always). The Netherlands is one of the richest EU countries, so people usually do not save on car service. There is also, of course, another side of the coin – high labour costs make it not always profitable to repair a car e.g. after an accident. Therefore, you need to be cautious if you’re interested in a car already imported from the Netherlands to Poland for trade, as some of the cars might have taken part in an accident. Fortunately, you can check such cars in the NAP base or via the special autoDNA report for vehicles for Dutch cars. The seaside location of the Netherlands also has its drawbacks. Gross cars, especially when checking the technical condition, reveal advanced chassis corrosion – the fight against this problem in the Netherlands is simply unprofitable due to the labor costs.

 

What form of import should you choose for Dutch cars?

For each country, there are at least a few ways to efficiently import a car. Returning to Poland by driving the car in the case of a vehicle bought in the Netherlands is one of the most popular solutions – but more on this later.

An alternative way is, of course, the purchase of an already imported Dutch car in Poland from a professional dealer. Yes, in this case, the effect of scale undoubtedly reduces the cost of purchase and transport – but the price is often the average technical condition and salvage history. An undoubted advantage is the attractive prices in comparison with other markets. The VAT invoice margin or the sale and purchase agreement that you receive from the dealer is additionally enriched with all ready documents for registration at the office – all that is left for you to do is  to pay registration fees at the post office or online. You can also find electric cars among the used ones – importantly, they are all available on the spot at the commission squares.

A variant that gives a real impact on the search for a Dutch car is a personal search and purchase on the spot, but the entire organization of transport and formalities – including the proof of transferring the vehicle to a new owner – are outsourced to a specialized company. Within a few days, the company delivers the purchased vehicle to the indicated address by a tow truck. The only duty of the new buyer is the registration of the vehicle at the local office.

 

Where to look for a Dutch car?

If you’d like to import a Dutch car, you can start your research in the European advertising services, such as autoscout24, ooyyo.com or mobile. Dutch advertising services are also a good choice. You can also check offers of the agents who deal with importing Dutch cars to Poland. A suggestion for the persistent is to search for a car by sales groups on Facebook.

In case anyone longs for a traditional car exchange, you can check one in Beverwijk. It is there where one of the bigger car exchanges in Europe is located. Most of the agents head there, thanks to which Poland is number one when it comes to exporting the cars sold in Beverwijk. A large part of the vehicles offered there go to Lithuanian dealers. When you finally find and purchase a car, there are still certain formalities connected with preparing the car export from the Netherlands, i.e. importing it to Poland.

The most popular Dutch cars are, among others, city cars of French, German and Asian manufacturers. Fashionable SUVs and crossovers as well as electric cars are very popular.

 

What documents are required to export a Dutch car?

 

 

Alternatively, you can use the services of an authorized company, e.g. at the car exchange in Beverwijk.

You can go alone or with the seller of the car to the chosen unregistering office. The most important documents you need to have after purchasing a car are the proof of purchase of the car and its vehicle registration book.

If the car was registered before December 2013, then it will have paper register documents. In such case, when unregistering the car for export, you need to have:

• proof of handover (tenaamstellingsbewijs – Deel IB).
• transfer certificate (overschrijvingsbewijs – if the former seller is present, then this document is not required).
• yellow license plates (kentekenplaten).
• valid identity card (geldig legitimatiebewijs).

When exporting a car out of the Netherlands manufactured before January 1st 2014 with a plastic registration card (kentekencard), you need to have:

• registration card (kentekencard, kentekenbewijs)
• handover code (tenaamstellingscode – if the former seller is present, then this document is not required);
• yellow license plates (kentekenplaten).
• valid identity card (geldig legitimatiebewijs).

 

Driving a Dutch car back to your country

After purchasing a car from the land of tulips, there are two ways of importing the car to Poland.

The first way is to visit the National Traffic Service Office (RDW) of the local department of transportation in the Netherlands. There, you need to return the yellow license plates and pay a fee of approx. 10 euros to receive export plates that are valid for 14 days. It is also mandatory to purchase a short-term MTPL insurance in order to be able to legally leave the country of purchase. Often, the sellers help finilizing these formalities – especially if you are dealing with a professional dealer.

 

 

The other way is transporting the purchased car on a tow truck. In this case, you can skip buying the license plates. All you have to do is use the service of a transporter who will safely bring your car from the Netherlands to Poland. Remember that the seller, aside from the purchase and sale contract, has to provide you with the set of keys, the vehicle card and the NAP document (confirmed mileage).

In a situation when the car has been purchased from a company (a legal entity), you need an extract from the Chamber of Commerce. This certificate must not be older than one year. You will also need a confirmation of the company signature on documents, if such has been used. After completing all the formalities, you will receive an export declaration of the car, as well as the white license plates

 

Cost and exporting the car by driving it back to the country

The unregistering procedure costs 10.3 Euro. In addition, it is necessary to add approx. 25 euros for white export plates and another nearly 120 Euros for insurance. In sum, this cost will amount to approx. 155 Euro if you unregister the car for export on your own. 

If you want to drive the car out of the Netherlands, it must have a valid APK inspection. Otherwise, the car must be exported on a tow truck (cost – at least a few hundred PLN). If the APK inspection expires e.g. after 10 days from the moment of exporting the car, then the white plates will also be valid for 10 days, instead of 14 – it’s good to keep this in mind.

In addition, when planning to bring a car on your own, by driving it, you should purchase not only third party liability insurance. It is worth having a confirmation of the validity of the MTPL insurance in the event of an accidental roadside inspection. When planning the return route, also check whether it does not include toll roads – you can find out more about this in the article on vignettes of toll motorways in Europe. Travelling on a toll motorway has costly consequences.

 

Registration of a Dutch car in Poland – step by step

A Dutch car imported to Poland must be registered in order to be able to legally drive it on the roads. From the moment of entering Poland, the car must be registered within 30 days. This time should be sufficient for you to take care of any additional formalities, technical inspection and registration of the vehicle with the local communication department.

 

Documents needed to register a Dutch car

Formalities related to the registration of a vehicle in Poland are first completed at the customs office, where excise duty must be paid at the tax office – you do the payment at the post office or online to the account of the tax office appropriate to your place of residence. The car must also have a document confirming the validity of the technical inspection – already carried out in Poland.

The registration of the car itself is, of course, arranged in the communication department. Necessary documents should be provided, such as:

• confirmation of payment of registration fees and paid excise duty,
• application for registration,
• confirmation of purchase of the vehicle,
• purchase and sale agreement or invoice,
• the original Dutch registration document,
• confirmation of the current technical examination.

 

Costs of car registration

The cost of registering a Dutch car includes:

• payment of excise duty: two rates apply: 3.1% of the value of a vehicle with an engine up to 2000 cm3 and 18.6% of the value for cars with an engine over 2000 cm3
• registration certificate and a set of signs and stickers: PLN 85
• temporary permit (for 30 days): PLN 13.50
• license plates – PLN 80,
• registration fee: PLN 2
• issuing a vehicle card: PLN 75.

 

Translating the documents

You must bring translations of the Dutch documents required in the office in which you are going to register your car. You need to have the following documents translated by a sworn translator: the purchase and sale contract, purchase proof, vehicle registration book and all other documents which originally have been issued in the foreign language. The cost is approx. PLN 200 depending on the company. There are discrepancies in terms of the translations of documents required in individual communication departments. Some officials stubbornly demand a set of translations of all documents, while for others it is an unnecessary addition.

 

Technical review of the vehicle

Every vehicle, in order to be allowed to be driven on the road, must have a valid technical review (also, remember to have a valid insurance for your car). The first technical review (in the case of a new car) has to be done after 4 years from the first registration, and then the next two are done every 2 years. For older cars the review should be done every year.

In order to have the first technical review done, you need to visit a service centre. The cost of inspection for a passenger car is PLN 99 (gasoline/diesel) or PLN 162 (with LPG/CNG gas installation). The procedure of the first inspection in the country is no different from the standard technical inspection. The starting point, of course, is to check the VIN number on the body and documents.

 

How to check a Dutch car?

 

The autoDNA Vehicle History Report may include, but is not limited to:

• Information whether the car has been reported as stolen,
• Information about any possible accidents,
• service requests and actions concerning the specific model,
• pictures of the vehicle (if available),
• the last mileage reading (of certain cars),
• technical reviews data,
• information about disassembly,
• information about scrapping,
• information about the number of previous owners,
• information about the roadworthiness of the vehicle,
• the purpose of the vehicle (e.g. whether the car has been used as a TAXI),
• information concerning servicing action of the manufacturer.

 

Is it worth buying a Dutch car?

The statistics show that people are very interested in used Dutch cars. According to the latest data of SAMAR, this country was in the fourth place of countries, from which cars are most often imported to Poland.

The cars from this country are considered to be well maintained, as the Dutch do not save on the car service. However, you need to pay attention to their high mileages and the necessity to remake the end of the filler in case of the LPG cars. In addition, according to many service providers of gas installations, repairs of LPG installations installed in the Netherlands can be problematic due to poor spare parts, for which sometimes you need to wait for several days.

 

 

Also read about import:

1. 1. a car from Germany
   2. Import a car from France
   3. a car from Italy
   4. Import a car from Belgium
   5. Import a car from Denmark
   6. Import a car from Austria
   7. Import a car from Sweden
   8. Importing an Ukrainian car
   9.  a car from UK