# Buy a car in the eu



## inysteve (Apr 12, 2010)

Hi all, im thinking of going to Germany or Belgium to buy a car, i e fly over and drive back. Does anyone know how much cash you are allowed to take to another eu country please?

Thanks


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

inysteve said:


> Hi all, im thinking of going to Germany or Belgium to buy a car, i e fly over and drive back. Does anyone know how much cash you are allowed to take to another eu country please?
> 
> Thanks



"You can enter or leave the EU with up to €10 000 in cash (or its equivalent in other currencies or assets) without declaring it. Any larger amount of cash has to be declared to the customs authorities. These cash controls are aimed at fighting money laundering and other criminal activities. *Some member states apply cash controls to those travelling between EU countries*."
Travelling in Europe - Money

I believe there is a €10k limit for Germany but I cana't find anything about Belgium.


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## inysteve (Apr 12, 2010)

Alcalaina said:


> "You can enter or leave the EU with up to €10 000 in cash (or its equivalent in other currencies or assets) without declaring it. Any larger amount of cash has to be declared to the customs authorities. These cash controls are aimed at fighting money laundering and other criminal activities. *Some member states apply cash controls to those travelling between EU countries*."
> Travelling in Europe - Money
> 
> I believe there is a €10k limit for Germany but I cana't find anything about Belgium.


Thanks thats very helpful


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## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

I know people who have taken a lot more than 10k in their car but obvioulsy if you get stopped you face the consequences. If you are buying a car from a dealer I wouldn´t take cash... pay with a debit card, or even use the internet to do a transfer when you are there... surely more secure? I have put some chunky things on my debit card (much more than the cost of a car) and its fine to do, but do tell your bank your plans before you go or they may suspect fraud and decline the transaction!


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## Seb* (Mar 22, 2009)

Basically you can take as much cash as you want. But if it is more than 10,000 EUR you have to declare it when crossing the border. A lot of people get tempted to forget it (open borders, no passport controls etc). If you don't declare it the border control (or the responsible agency, e.g. germany has special units checking cars on route to switzerland for undeclared cash etc.) can confiscate the excess money and it usually takes months for you to get it back.

As mentioned before it would be saver to not carry big amounts of cash, but knowing Germany very well I am aware that it might be difficult to buy a car without cash as a foreign resident (credit card payments for these kind of things are not very common, I think it is the same in Belgium). If you are buying with a reputable dealer there might be other ways of payment of course (CC or direct bank transfer). Buying from a smaller dealership or car markets you might need cash.


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## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

If you are taking more than 10k get a letter from the bank manager stating were the money has come from.


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## candylover (Oct 12, 2013)

*what about the buying process?*

hi,i am new here and i saw your question about buy the car from belgium. can you please tell us about the process of buy car from belgium and re registered in france?
what did you do in belgium to can make the car in your name or you just need the invoice paper from the seller? thank you.. any answer will be helpful.


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