Living in Holland as an exotic car lover
Discussion
Sorry for starting another 'living in Holland' thread, but I'm interested to know what it's like from a car enthusiast's perspective. Having never been to Holland before I found myself twice travelling to Amsterdam this year and loving it there - I felt more at home there than I do at home, so much so that I'm seriously considering a move there at some point in the future.
HOWEVER...
I understand that car owners take a severe beating from the powers-that-be and, as a car enthusiast, this worries me. I have always dreamed of owning a Ferrari Testarossa and will definitely do so one day. Just how hard will this be in Holland? A decent one can be had in the UK for about £45k and taxed for about £220 per year (I think), but what would it be like in Holland? What sort of price would one be in Holland... would it pay to buy one in the UK before moving there... if I did it that way would there be some kind of 'gas-guzzler' import tax to pay... and what sort of ongoing taxes would I be hit with as an owner?
HOWEVER...
I understand that car owners take a severe beating from the powers-that-be and, as a car enthusiast, this worries me. I have always dreamed of owning a Ferrari Testarossa and will definitely do so one day. Just how hard will this be in Holland? A decent one can be had in the UK for about £45k and taxed for about £220 per year (I think), but what would it be like in Holland? What sort of price would one be in Holland... would it pay to buy one in the UK before moving there... if I did it that way would there be some kind of 'gas-guzzler' import tax to pay... and what sort of ongoing taxes would I be hit with as an owner?
It is no fun to drive an exotic car in Holland, too crowded, too much speed bumps and too much cameras.
Buying 2nd hand cars is certainly cheaper in UK
Dutch prices can be found here :
http://www.gaspedaal.nl/
When importing a car in NL you have to pay BPM (expensive !), which can be calculated here :
click
Road tax is based on weight (in steps of 100 kg). A 1551 kg car would roughly cost € 868 a year
http://www.belastingdienst.nl/rekenhulpen/motorrij...
So better buy this :
Buying 2nd hand cars is certainly cheaper in UK
Dutch prices can be found here :
http://www.gaspedaal.nl/
When importing a car in NL you have to pay BPM (expensive !), which can be calculated here :
click
Road tax is based on weight (in steps of 100 kg). A 1551 kg car would roughly cost € 868 a year
http://www.belastingdienst.nl/rekenhulpen/motorrij...
So better buy this :
Interesting, thanks.
Maybe it wouldn't be too much suffering financially, but cameras and speed humps don't make me feel enthused.
HvdWeerden said:
It is no fun to drive an exotic car in Holland, too crowded, too much speed bumps and too much cameras.
Doesn't sound good!HvdWeerden said:
Buying 2nd hand cars is certainly cheaper in UK
Dutch prices can be found here :
http://www.gaspedaal.nl/
Looking at that I'd say a Ferrari Testarossa is cheaper to buy in Holland than in the UK. A comparable example costs about the same in Euros in Holland as it would in GB pounds in the UK.Dutch prices can be found here :
http://www.gaspedaal.nl/
HvdWeerden said:
When importing a car in NL you have to pay BPM (expensive !), which can be calculated here :
click
That looks expensive, though it looks like I'd be better off buying one in Holland anyway, so I guess I'd avoid the import tax.click
HvdWeerden said:
Road tax is based on weight (in steps of 100 kg). A 1551 kg car would roughly cost € 868 a year
http://www.belastingdienst.nl/rekenhulpen/motorrij...
Testarossa, with a weight of 1455kg, would be €784,00, if I've used the calculator the right way.http://www.belastingdienst.nl/rekenhulpen/motorrij...
Maybe it wouldn't be too much suffering financially, but cameras and speed humps don't make me feel enthused.
MitchT said:
Testarossa, with a weight of 1455kg, would be €784,00, if I've used the calculator the right way.
Maybe it wouldn't be too much suffering financially, but cameras and speed humps don't make me feel enthused.
Yeah but look at the bright side. The Ring is much closer from here. ;-)Maybe it wouldn't be too much suffering financially, but cameras and speed humps don't make me feel enthused.
Also, there are plenty of track days all year. Go with the rules on the road, and go for it on the track.
Besides, because it's mostly flat, no twisty roads to urge spirited driving here anyhow.
Not so sure about owning interesting or exotica being better or easier in NL than UK, but...
I lived in Germany for 4.5 yrs. Before that I was born and grew up in UK. As soon as I moved to DE I noticed, much to my sadness that there were not many interesting cars around at all. FWIW I was living in Frankfurt so saw lots and lots of Porsche, Maserati etc but these are just money cars IMO. People with loads of money who want to show if off.
Since moving to NL 4 weeks ago, my inner car nut has been reawakened! Getting rid of the boring old Mondeo and bought a BX GTi. See *loads* of interesting (for me this means "old") cars on the streets here. I have never seen so many Citroen DS's and old S-class Mercedes, to name just two.
From this first impression point of view I would say NL seems to be a great place for car nuts so just don't worry about it. If money is a consideration then look at something older and light to avoid the crazy high road taxes (as written above, it's done on weight). Petrol is very expensive but if you go diesel then the road tax is double that of petrol!
Let us know how you get on and what you decide to do
I lived in Germany for 4.5 yrs. Before that I was born and grew up in UK. As soon as I moved to DE I noticed, much to my sadness that there were not many interesting cars around at all. FWIW I was living in Frankfurt so saw lots and lots of Porsche, Maserati etc but these are just money cars IMO. People with loads of money who want to show if off.
Since moving to NL 4 weeks ago, my inner car nut has been reawakened! Getting rid of the boring old Mondeo and bought a BX GTi. See *loads* of interesting (for me this means "old") cars on the streets here. I have never seen so many Citroen DS's and old S-class Mercedes, to name just two.
From this first impression point of view I would say NL seems to be a great place for car nuts so just don't worry about it. If money is a consideration then look at something older and light to avoid the crazy high road taxes (as written above, it's done on weight). Petrol is very expensive but if you go diesel then the road tax is double that of petrol!
Let us know how you get on and what you decide to do
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