Another stupid purchasing decision

Lopéz

Lopéz

Lopéz

Man of Honour
Joined
17 Oct 2002
Posts
29,239
Location
Ottakring, Vienna.
Honestly, I will never learn.

Buy a car, that I don't need, that is not particularly fast, not very interesting, not very useful, not really cheap, not especially good, and definitely not that nice looking and drive it 950km home with no breakdown cover with no idea how to register it in one of the most bureaucratic nations in Europe.

Oh well. Done now innit.

My new wagon:

L1.png


L2.png



950km later without missing a beat*, it's in Vienna.
L3.png


Now stashed in an underground Park & Ride because it's illegal to park on the street without a resident's permit. And I cannot get one of those because the vehicle isn't Austrian registered, so I am in one of those chicken/egg scenarios until I can work my way through the red tape of import registration here.

Swathes of alcantara:
L4.png


Next steps - see if I can convince Austria that EU law really is law and not just advice, and that they have to accept a foreign MOT to register it here.
Ha, good luck with that!


(actually this is a massive lie. I stopped for fuel and it steadfastly refused to start again until I sat there for 15 minutes and tried it again)
 
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You know what, I was surprised - it sits quite happily between 130-140km/h on the motorway, there's not masses of wind noise either. Seats are quite nice.

The brakes however, are atrocious (they're all like that sir) and modifying in Austria is illegal without an IVA :D
 
Poor little Lancia.

I'm doing it a disservice really - it's practically spotless outside (like, really) and other than the usual alcantara wear on the bolster the interior is in great shape too.
 
So now how do we deal with the administration side.....
As the car is imported, first thing I need to do is register it in Austria.

Registering an imported car in Austria

This is more complicated than it should be, because Austria has its own separately maintained database of approved vehicles.

This first registration process must be carried out by the "General Importer" which is, in my case, Fiat.

Fiat need:
  • Certificate of Conformity (I do not have one of those)
  • Foreign V5 (I do have one of those)
  • Receipt that proves it is mine
  • Austrian MOT, officially known as the §57a-Begutachtung Pickerl
I have challenged the 4th point and told them that under EU directives, surely an MOT from any EU member state should be admissible.
Fiat have curtly responded something that basically translates to "We'll see about that"

Once they have inevitably knocked back my application, I will be forced to get the Pickerl.


MOTing a car in Austria - the §57a-Begutachtung Pickerl

The first thing the MOT station will ask me is why I am trying to MOT a vehicle that is not registered in Austria.
There will then be a Denglish discussion where I explain why I need this service, they will then doubtless ask me for documentation that I do not have or does not exist.

The vehicle will then fail the MOT because of..... many things, despite being in excellent condition.
Austria has the strictest safety inspection in Europe, so the car is absolutely guaranteed to fail on a multitude of things.

The pictures that @JonRGV250 posts up here would never ever be seen over here, the standards are just too strict.

Once (if) I get the fabled §57a-Begutachtung Pickerl, I have to go back to Fiat and try again with the first time registration service.

Fiat will relieve me of 200 Euros and I move on to the NOVA.


NOVA

Once I have my printout from Fiat saying the car now legally exists in Austria, I cannot tax or insure it until I have paid the NOVA tax - payable on all vehicles newer than 1991, brand new or used, when first registering in Austria.
This has to be done (Appointment mandatory, payment in cash only!) at the Ministry of Finance.

They will then argue with me about the amount payable, and eventually I will be relieved of some money and allowed to leave.
They then tick a box in the database that says "The NOVA has been paid and this vehicle can be legally registered"

Hang on, we've already registered it with Fiat haven't we?

Oh no no no no sir, you misunderstood. Fiat are simply confirming it complies to the EU manufacturing standards and that it exists as a tangible object in the country.
Now you have to actually register it to get an equivalent of a V5.

Great so that's free, right, just like in the UK after import formalities are all done?

No it's 200 Euros.

This is all seeming like too much work and expense, I will buy a car already in the country.

Well you can do that but you still have to pay 200 Euros.

What?

Yep, every time you buy/change ownership of a car in Austria, getting a new V5 in your name costs 200 Euros, regardless of the situation.

Christ on a bike.

Let's get that bit done then.


kFZ Zulassung:

So I have to go an insurer (doesn't really matter which one) get the car insured (this also includes VED, it's rolled into insurance costs here) and they conveniently do the registration at the same time, give you some number plates (number plates are unique and are not transferred with vehicle ownership) and off you go.

Bearing in mind I am 44 years old this car will cost me NINE HUNDRED EUROS A YEAR to tax and insure. I ran some comparison costs through Durchblicker (our version of Compare the Market) and anything remotely fast or polluting cost a staggering amount.
An expat mate of mine is paying 4k a year to tax and insure a 20 year old VW Sharan :D

Motoring costs (costs of buying, running, in fact doing anything with a car) here are just eyewatering compared to the UK, I am still having trouble processing it all really.


So this, in theory is what awaits me.

I will update as an when this thrilling saga hits a new plot twist :D
 
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