Buying a car in Austria (For the English speaker)

My partner and I recently bought a car in Austria. Given that neither of us had brought a car before and that my German is less than average this was no easy task.

We did a lot of researching online and posted questions in forums and were fortunate enough to find some helpful people. As I found it hard to find all the information we needed (in English) in one place, I decided to write the following step by step guide, to help people in the same position in the future.

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Finding Cars

To register a car in Austria you need to be a registered citizen with an address. 

Austria is known to be slightly more expensive to buy cars than Germany and some other surrounding countries. However, if you buy a car from another country you must pay an import tax and obtain a road worthy certificate, 2 (potentially large - depending on the condition of the car) expenses you can avoid if you buy the car in Austria.

Good websites to use to look at cars are: www.autoscout24.com, http://www.car4you.at and http://www.gebrauchtwagen.at
Hint: You can translate pages into English by right clicking the mouse and selecting 'translate into English'.



Variables To Take Into Account

The horse power (Pferde-Stärker) of the car will be a major factor on the price of your insurance. The higher the horse power, the higher the insurance.
Pickerl (Report § 57a) is the term for road worthy certificate. You do not need a pickerl to sell a car in Austria, but you do need one to register the car. As a rule, aim for a car with a pickerl as if will help you avoid unexpected costs in repairs when you register the car, as well as the cost of obtaining the pickerl. When the pickerl runs out you have up to 4 months to replace it while you're still driving it. The pickerl can be checked by looking at the sticker on the windscreen - the cars licence plate will be on the sticker - if you get a new licence plate the sticker should be changed - this is free. 

Pickerl
Image credit:  www.mats.at

 

 See if the car has a valid 'Autobahn Vignette'. You will need this to drive on all 'A' roads and on the spot fines apply if you are caught without one. This can be bought for periods of 10 days, 2 months or a full year.

Note: The Autobahn Vignette does not cover all roads - there are still privately owned toll roads around Austria with varying costs. One way to know where these are is by using online tools such as this one: http://www.viamichelin.com/
If it is coming into winter you should check whether the vehicle has winter tires or snow chains (some restrictions apply with snow chains). Regardless of conditions it is mandatory that you have winter tires or snow chains on your vehicle between 1 November and 15 April. Winter tires can be used in summer as well.
Insurance
Once you have a car in mind you should compare insurance prices. It is compulsory to have third party insurance - known as Haftpflichtversicherung -  when you register your car.  You can organise this directly through an insurer, Versicherungsunternehmen, an insurance broker, Versicherungsmakler or through an online comparison tool such as https://durchblicker.at. With cars over about 10 years old you can only get third party insurance, not insurance for your own car. You can also organise roadside assistance, legal assistance and passenger insurance with your Haftpflichtversicherung.
In Austria you start off with a rating 9 on the bonus/malus scheme, which is the lowest ranked entry level. If you have already had insurance on a vehicle in your home country you can write to the company and ask them to send your insurance record. Be honest with them and let them know you have moved overseas and would like your record to obtain insurance in a new country and they will comply with a nice letter with all the information you need. Most insurance companies in Austria will accept your previous record and rank you accordingly. Depending on how long you have been accident free this can make a huge difference on the amount you pay. If the insurance company you are looking at doesn't accept this, go elsewhere as many companies will.  With some companies you will pay a percentage more if you want to pay monthly instead of yearly. Ask your insurance company if this will make a difference.

Some companies will also offer lower prices (deductions) in exchange for a higher excess in certain situations. For example if the driver is aged under 25, if someone other than the insured driver is driving, if you don't want roadside assistance etc. Have a play around on the websites and see the differences it will make.

Viewing The Cars

Once you have found some cars you are interested in and know the insurance costs you will need to contact the seller. We have found that Austrian's are most responsive if contacted by phone, regardless of any language barrier. Sending emails is easier, but you are less likely to receive a response. If your German is not great, use a translator (such as google translate) to prepare a few sentences along the lines of 'I am interested in your car, is it still available?', 'When could I view the car?' etc, to save being caught out if they don't speak English (though many people do). 

Many prices are 'by negotiation', so if you want the car you can ask for a lower price - although it is rude to bargain if you do not actually want the car. 

The Paperwork

Once you decide upon a vehicle and an agreed price you will need to hand over the cash and fill out paperwork (autoverkauf vertrag)  with the owner, this is the legal document signing the car over to you and is needed when you get your insurance. You will also receive documents about the car, the service history (if available) and pickerl documents. 

You then leave the car with the seller and contact your insurer - you may need to make an appointment. 

Back To The Insurer

Safety Triangle
Image credit: www.rtpromotions.co.uk

Once you have filled out the paperwork for your car with the seller, you need to visit your chosen insurance company, where you will also register the car. You will need to bring with you, your passport or photo ID, (international) drivers licence, the autoverkauf vertrag (Car-sale contract),  pickerl (Report (§ 57a) documents (if your car does not come with a valid pickerl you will need to obtain this before registering the car). The initial registration & licence plates will cost approximately 170-200 euros, depending on your insurer. 

Once the registration and insurance is complete you will receive your licence plates (Autokennzeichen) ready to put on your new car, a pickerl with the new licence plate details (but same validity date) and have third party insurance and be almost ready to drive your new car. The documents you receive will need to live somewhere in your car and the new pickerl is placed on the front windscreen.

By law when driving in Austria you need to have with you a reflective safety vest, a reflective hazard triangle and a first aid kit. These can generally be found in service stations and at border crossings.   

Pick Up Your New Wheels

Go back to the previous owner and car. Put on your shiny new licence plates and pickerl. Shake hands. Drive home. Do a dance and open a beer =D

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Please note I am not an expert and by no means is this legal advice. This is just a collection of information as I believed to be true at the time of writing. Have an excellent day =)

I am your servant

Learning a new language, you always discover phrases and sayings that seem hilarious, ridiculous or down right strange. Whilst we have equally as bizarre sayings in English, we are so used to saying them that we don't even recognise the strangeness in what we're saying. Learning a new language in situ gives you the added bonus of learning local greetings and customs that are specific to an area. Here in the Tirol district my two favorite common greetings are 'Servus' and 'Mahlzeit'. they are also used in other parts of Austria and Germany to differing extents. 

Servus is a greeting that is used all day for any situation where you encounter someone. It can be used with friends and strangers alike as a hello, a goodbye, a polite greeting, when you walk into a shop, when you bump into someone on the street, if there is more than one person involved, you can use it. 'Servus'... 'Servus!' The person will always repeat the greeting and if someone says it to you it is polite to reciprocate. For a casual encounter nothing more need be said, 'Servus'...'Servus' and carry about your business. Servus literally translates to 'I am your servant' or 'at your service'. Whilst it isn't taken at its meaning and rather is used as a politeness it still makes me giggle thinking about an encounter with the direct meaning. Imaging walking into a cafe or bumping someones shoulder, 'I am your servant', 'I am your servant', images of top hats and walking canes fill my mind.

The other greeting that makes me giggle is Mahlzeit. Mahlzeit is used when people are sitting down to a meal, going out for dinner (or breakfast or lunch...) and in some areas is used as a greeting between 12 and 2 whether or not food is involved. When I first heard the phrase I assumed it would have a similar translation to bon appetite, however I soon found out that the literal translation is 'meal time'. I have heard the greeting used in conversations with gusto, 'Hello, how are you? Meal time!' Sitting down to dinner, 'Meal time'...'Meal time!' Passing someone in the street 'Meal time'...'Meal time!' When looking up Mahlzeit I discovered is actually a shortened term of the phrase 'Gesegnete Mahlzeit', meaning 'Blessed Meal time', which makes more sense, like many phrases in the English language the formality has been dropped, however the meaning is still there. Though for anyone who is not from the area the true meaning is lost so all you hear is 'meal time', which alone sounds funny to me.

I often wonder what strange things we say in the English language that must confuse people or make them giggle when they're learning our language, or travelling around different English speaking countries. Of course being that it is all natural to me none of it seems strange. I'm sure I'll think of some soon though.