Buying a car in Germany: from a private seller or a dealer?

Buying a car in Germany from a dealer gives you the European legal guarantee, an invoice with the seller's VAT number and someone to claim against. Buying from a private seller can work out cheaper, but without the guarantee under consumer rules, with a contract you will have to get translated and with more checks left to you. Neither option is better in every case: it depends on how much risk you accept and how much you can check yourself before paying.

The difference, in one table

Aspect	Dealer or trader	Private seller
Legal consumer guarantee	Yes, with the EU minimum	Does not apply
Purchase document for the DGT (Spain's traffic authority)	Invoice showing their VAT number	Sales contract with a translation
VAT on a used car	Depends on how the dealer calculates it	You pay no VAT
Who you claim against	An identified company	A person, under whatever law governs the contract

The table summarises what we go through below. If the car counts as new for VAT purposes, the VAT row changes in both cases, as you will see further on.

Guarantee: the dealer's big selling point

According to the European Commission's Your Europe portal, if the car you buy has defects or does not match what was advertised, you have a minimum guarantee of 2 years, and in some countries the guarantee period for second-hand vehicles can be reduced to no less than one year, something the seller and buyer must agree at the time of purchase. By contrast, EU consumer protection rules do not apply to sales between private individuals.

In practice, that guarantee is the big difference compared with a private seller. With a private seller, if a breakdown appears two weeks later, you have no consumer guarantee to fall back on: what you can claim will depend on the contract and the law that governs it. What exactly the guarantee covers, which clauses are not valid and which law applies is explained in the guarantee on a used car bought in the EU.

The paperwork you will be asked for in Spain

To register in Spain a car bought in the EU, the DGT (Spain's traffic authority) asks for the vehicle's original documents and the technical data sheet issued by the ITV (Spain's roadworthiness inspection), plus a different document depending on who is selling:

• Dealer or trader in another country: an invoice showing their VAT number.
• Private seller: a sales contract accompanied by a translation and Property Transfer Tax (Impuesto de Transmisiones Patrimoniales).

On that tax, for used vehicles Spain's General Vehicle Regulations (Reglamento General de Vehículos) require the document proving payment of the Tax on Property Transfers and Documented Legal Acts, or proof of exemption from it or of non-liability (translated from the Spanish). Whether you have to pay it and how much depends on your case and your autonomous community: check with its tax office before agreeing the price.

With both types of seller you also need both parts of the registration certificate, if they exist, and the rest of the technical papers.

VAT depending on who you buy from

First, it matters whether the car is new or used for VAT purposes. Your Europe treats as new those vehicles with a mileage of no more than 6,000 km or delivered to the owner before 6 months have passed since first registration.

• Used car bought from a private seller: according to Your Europe, you do not have to pay VAT on the vehicle.
• Used car bought from a dealer: they may charge you VAT and show it separately on the invoice, or may not, depending on how the dealer decides to calculate the VAT on that vehicle. Either way, you do not pay VAT again in Spain. We explain this in the REBU (second-hand margin scheme) for imported cars.
• New car, whoever you buy from: you have to pay VAT in the country where you register the vehicle. If you buy from a dealer, Your Europe recommends telling them that you will register it in another country, so that you do not pay VAT there.

If a dealer charges you German VAT on a new car as a deposit, Your Europe explains that once the car is registered and the VAT paid in your country, you can send the proof to the seller and ask for a refund of the VAT paid in Germany. More detail in VAT on a car bought in the EU.

If you buy from a dealer: what to ask for

• Check their VAT number. With the European Commission's VIES web tool, you can check whether a company is registered for cross-border trade in the EU. That validates the number, not the person writing to you: confirm the contact through the company's official channels.
• Get the guarantee in writing: the period, what it covers and where repairs are done if you are in Spain.
• Check the invoice: their VAT number, your details, the chassis number and whether it shows VAT separately.
• Insist on all the original documents before the car leaves: registration certificate, technical documentation and certificate of conformity if it has one.

If you buy from a private seller: how to reduce the risk

Your Europe recommends extreme caution when you buy a car from a private seller. Some simple measures:

• Check that the seller is the registered owner and that their name matches the one on the registration certificate.
• Beware of leased or financed cars: according to Your Europe, until the purchase option is exercised, the person or company leasing the car is its legal owner.
• Check the history: inspection certificates, invoices and mileage. We explain how in how to spot a tampered odometer.
• Sign a written contract stating the mileage, the condition of the car and what is being handed over, and pay by a method that leaves a trace, never in advance to someone you have not met.

If anything about the advert or the seller makes you doubt, go over the warning signs in scams when buying a car abroad.

Sources consulted

Checked on 11 October 2026. We link to the original source so that you can consult the current text.

• Comprar y arrendar (leasing) un vehículo en otro país de la UE. Comisión Europea (Tu Europa).
• Matriculación de vehículos nuevos o extranjeros. DGT (sede electrónica).
• Real Decreto 2822/1998, Reglamento General de Vehículos (texto consolidado), anexo XIII. BOE.
• El IVA en la compraventa de vehículos. Comisión Europea (Tu Europa).
• Comprobar un número de IVA (sistema VIES). Comisión Europea (Tu Europa).