Austria → United Kingdom
Importing your car from Austria to the United Kingdom
Bought a car in Austria? We collect it, clear it through customs and get it onto UK number plates – all from one company.
- Collected on our own enclosed transporter
- Customs clearance and VAT handled
- Modifications, MOT or IVA arranged
- DVLA registration in 10 working days
Why choose My Car Import?
We handle as much or as little of the journey as you want – from a single piece of paperwork to the whole job, collection to number plates.
Transporting your car
Our own enclosed multi-car transporter runs regularly across the EU, plus a partner network for everything it can’t cover.
Modifications
Headlights, rear fog light and speedometer brought to UK specification, finished to an OEM standard.
Vehicle testing
MOT or IVA, depending on the age of the vehicle and where it was built. We book it and we present the car.
Registration support
A trade account with the DVLA import department, with an expected turnaround of 10 working days.
Customs clearance
We clear around 3,000 vehicles a year. Post-Brexit an EU car needs proper customs paperwork – we make sure it has it.
Remote registration
Had the work done locally? Send us the paperwork and we’ll register the car without it ever coming to us.
The shapes that come out of Austria
Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen in our own yard. Estates and four-wheel drive like these are far more common in Austria than they are here, which is very often the reason people buy there in the first place.
The journey
Getting your car out of Austria
Austria is landlocked, so your car comes home by road rather than by sea. That’s generally good news – road transport across the EU is quicker than shipping, and our own transporter is already making the run.
We collect from anywhere in Austria, whether that’s a dealer in Vienna, a private seller in Salzburg or a specialist in Graz. The car is loaded, the export and customs paperwork is raised, and it travels to us in the UK. If you’d rather it went straight to your door once it lands, that can be arranged too.
Because our transporter collects several vehicles on each trip across Europe, yours might be the first car on or the last. We’ll give you a realistic idea of collection timing when we quote, rather than a date we can’t stand behind.
Fully insured from the moment we load it to the moment it’s back on your driveway.
Paperwork
What should come with an Austrian car
Continental plates, UK yardA European import waiting on its paperwork with us. This one arrived on French plates rather than Austrian ones – the documents and the process are the same.
Austrian vehicles come with their own set of documents, and having the right ones from the seller saves a great deal of time later. Send us photographs of whatever you’ve been given and we’ll tell you if anything is missing before money changes hands.
We pride ourselves on being here not only to import your vehicle but to provide help and guidance to give you a clear idea of the process.
Ask the seller for
- The registration certificateZulassungsschein / Zulassungsbescheinigung
- The type-approval dataTypenschein or Genehmigungsdatenauszug – often does the job of a Certificate of Conformity
- The purchase invoice or bill of saleNeeded for the customs value – and for VAT if you’re reclaiming
- Photographs of the VIN and chassis plateTakes two minutes and settles most identity questions
- Service history and any §57a test recordNot required to register, but worth having
Missing something? It’s rarely fatal – we source Certificates of Conformity and dating evidence all the time. In fact we have helped with so many unique situations that we are very confident we can register your vehicle here.
Choose how much you want us to do
Under ten years old and built outside the EU, or without type approval? An IVA test is usually the route. Everything else generally goes through mutual recognition – we’ll confirm which applies to your car at the quotation stage.
Our inspection lanes. Testing happens here, on site, every week, not at a government test centre queue. We also think it offers our customers peace of mind their vehicles aren’t being loaded onto transporters, driven to the testing station, unloaded, tested and then brought back to the premises.
It allows us to offer a service that is possible thanks to our private IVA testing lane can offer. Meaning your Austrian car is safe and secure during its visit to My Car Import.
Tell us about the car and we’ll price the whole job.
We’ve imported thousands of cars from around the world into the United Kingdom, over 25 years. A few minutes on the quote form gets you a real answer.
Our form is designed to collect the correct information. You can also arrange a call with one of our import specialists.
Importing from Austria: your questions
Every vehicle is different. If yours isn’t covered here, just ask.
Getting your car here
How long does it take to get a car from Austria to the UK?
The drive itself is the short part. What sets the timeline is when our transporter is next running that route and how many vehicles it’s collecting along the way – yours might be picked up first or last on a trip taking in several EU countries.
Once the car is with us, registration is the predictable bit: an expected turnaround of 10 working days with the DVLA, plus whatever testing or modification work your vehicle needs first.
We’ll give you a realistic collection window at the quotation stage.
How do you get your vehicle out of Austria?
There are quite a few rules around getting a vehicle out of Austria but it depends on if the vehicle is insured in Austria. If you are purchasing a vehicle we would usually recommend getting it transported to avoid the headaches. But, if you already own the vehicle, driving it over is a good choice.
Can I drive my Austrian car in the UK before it’s registered?
A visitor can generally use a foreign-registered car here temporarily, but once you’ve permanently imported a vehicle it needs to be registered with the DVLA, taxed and insured in the UK before it’s used on the road.
Bear in mind it’s a left-hand drive car on left-hand drive roads, the speedometer will read in km/h, and your UK insurer will want it on UK plates. If in doubt, check the current position with the DVLA – and let us get it registered quickly rather than risk it.
Money and paperwork
How much does it cost to import a car from Austria?
It depends on a handful of things, which is why we quote per vehicle rather than publishing a flat rate:
- Where in Austria the car is and how it travels – enclosed transport costs more than open
- Import VAT at 20% of the purchase price, or 5% if the vehicle is over 30 years old
- What compliance work the car needs – headlights, fog light, speedometer
- Whether it needs an MOT or an IVA test
- How much of the process you want us to handle
Taking a few minutes to complete our quote form is the quickest route to a real number.
Can we help with transfer of residency from Austria?
Absolutely. We have a really handy guide that will walk you through the process but if you have any questions we are always here to help as part of the service.
Buying a classic car from Austria?
If you are thinking about importing a classic vehicle you will be able to get the reduced import tax rate. We have a comprehensive guide here that outlines everything.
Buying, and what we can take on
What makes Austria worth buying from?
Austrian cars tend to be well looked after and thoroughly documented, and the country’s roadworthiness regime means service history is usually there in black and white.
German marques dominate the market – Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Volkswagen and Škoda – and estates and four-wheel drive are far more common than in the UK, which is often exactly what buyers are coming to Austria for.
Whatever you’ve found, send us the advert and the VIN before you commit and we’ll tell you what registering it here involves.
Buying a car from Austria?
If you are buying a car from Austria and haven’t seen the vehicle physically we would always recommend a local check from a third party. In Austria this is called a ÖAMTC.
Thinking about buying a motorhome from Austria?
We can import and test anything up to 3500KG but depending on the vehicle we can assist with registering anything heavier.
Importing from somewhere else?
We collect from right across the EU. Pick a country for the guide to bringing a car home from there.
