The choice of buying or leasing a car in Germany consumes a lot of time. Getting yourself a car in a German way is more challenging as compared to other countries. That goes specifically for the expats.
Since you have decided leasing a car in Germany, it’s about time that you dig yourself in the technicalities and look around for advantages and disadvantages of this system. After you have developed a good set of knowledge, it’s a very smooth process for leasing a car. You have a variety of cars to choose from. Starting from hatchbacks to luxury sedans, SUVs and what not.
The Germany way of getting a car is also quite different. For instance, you have to get the car insured from a German insurer before buying or leasing the car. Moreover, the first thing a buyer considers even before selecting their desired ride is the insurance cost of the car. The insurance cost varies according to the make and model.
What Is Car Leasing?
Car leasing means that you have the possession of car without paying its cost. Leasing offers you an experience of driving a new car but for limited time period. The process is simple. You will choose the car of your choice, check the annual mileage and sign the agreed-upon contract with down payment.
How Much Does Leasing A Car Cost?
There are a number of price ranges available that can match the requirements of all customers. The average starting price begins at €150 and go up to €2400 a month. Like we said, the prices vary depending upon the car of your choice. Moreover, there are several deals and offers very often. You can make the most of them.
Is Car Leasing Offered Along With The Insurance?
Most definitely. The insurance comes along which provides you full coverage. This includes accident management, damage protection, maintenance and other related offerings. This way, you are safe and protected in case of any mishap
Is It A Wise to Lease A Car in Germany?
The concept of leasing a car is somewhere between financing it and renting it. When we purchase a car directly from a dealership with the help of finance, a residual value has to be paid once the tenure is concluded and the car is ours. On the other hand, leasing in Germany is like having a home, but partially. Here, the car is yours but still you are not being regarded as the owner.
Despite that, if we look closely, this is actually a very wise decision, for expats particularly. For instance, if an expat wants to move to a different country, they won’t have to get into the hassle of selling their car. Instead, they will simply return the car to their lease company.
How to look for the best car leasing companies in Germany if you don’t speak German?
You can make use of Google Chrome for this purpose. Visit the provided webpage of your selected car leasing company. Simply right click anywhere with your mouse. a drop-down menu will open up, look for the “Translate to English” option and there you go.
Here is a video where he explained the difference between buying or leasing a car and which option suits you the best. This video also applies to the car leasing in Germany
List Of Car Leasing Companies in Germany
The below mentioned car lease companies have various options and rates for multiple prices. If you go on exploring each of the lease provider, it will consume a lot of time. For your convenience, we have listed down the most reliable companies that offer car lease facility. The list is made based on following criteria:
- Good condition cars
- Flexibility in contracts
- Clarity in contracts (no hidden costs)
- English customer support
LeasingDeals.de
This platform offers a completely digital process of leasing a car. They cater both private and commercial customers. There is a variety of cars available from different manufacturers like Audi, BMW, VW, Mercedes, Porsche and Volvo. These can be leased directly from the website. The website is unfortunately not available in English language.
- No down payment required
- Portal for comparing leasing deals
- No residual value risk
- Top-notch rates
- Wide-deal network in Germany
MeinAuto.de
The Company is based in Köln but it is one of the best in the leasing website in Germany. They have 4.4 rating on TrustPilot, which is enough to trust a platform. Beside this, ADAC has given them “Very Good” ranking twice. Other than ADAC, Getestet.de also tested their services and proved the best in the market in terms of leasing a new car. Their process is smoot and transparent for their customers. So the buyers gets the clear picture.
- No fees for Signing the Contact
- Independent Car brokers
- Cooperation with the certified authorized dealers
- Full Manufacturers Warranty
- Car can also be purchased or financed beside leasing the car.
Null-Leasing.com
In 2008, Null-Leasing started as a BMW's online leasing partner and they have the highest TrustPilot rating 4.7 Stars. Then later on in 2016, they have expanded their portfolio and started adding other brands. As their name indicates that they are given 0% leasing, this means that they only gives you offers where you don't have to pay any upfront payment. They are one of the most transparent provider on the internet right now. Other than that, they also offer mileage leasing and there is no extra commission fee on such leasing plans.
- More than 11,000 offers leasing offers are available
- Personal Contact for customers
- Good search option with extra filters
- No User registration required, you can send the contact request for leasing offer
Europcar
This platform provides a wide variety of rental cars from all the top-of-the-line manufacturers. You can select from a range of compact cars, automatic gearing, eco-friendly drive and even exclusive cars.
- Clear contract terms
- Possibility of flexible leasing
- English customer support
- Website in English
SIXT.de
This is the oldest and the largest car rental company inside Germany. They have been in the industry since 1912. The short-term rentals and lease is their specialty. The best part is, for non-German speakers, they provide clear terms.
- Wide-deal network in Germany
- Top-notch rates
- English website and support
- Competent and personal advice
LuxuryLeasing.de
This platform offers a variety of luxury and exclusive cars at good price. Their specialty is BMW models and other luxury cars.
- Wide-deal network in Germany
- Exclusive car leasing
- Best rates
- Competent and personal advice
Primary Aspects Of Leasing A Car In Germany
The contract for lease includes a down payment being considered as a deposit. Moreover, the contract for leasing car is signed for a period of three years. By the end of tenure, there are two available options.
You can make the payment for remaining residual value. Usually this is settled and mentioned in the contract when the lease is being signed for. Despite the fact that however extensive the mileage is, there is a fixed amount that needs to be paid as written in the contract. This happens when the contract is terminated and then you eventually become the car owner.
In the second instance, you can give the car back to the leasing company. You are off the contract once you pay off the additional charges. The following are common charges that includes in this cost:
- Damage caused to interior of bodywork
- If you have driven additional kilometers, other than the one you documented for
Essential Documents For Leasing A Car In Germany
Leasing a car in Germany with the help of an authorized dealer has significant advantages. For instance, you don’t have to get into the hassle of paperwork, registration and financing process. The dealer takes care of all of these tasks. Likewise, if you are working with an online broker, you may get similar benefits.
On the contrary, if you are opting to buy a car from a private seller, please make sure that you have an agreement of purchase (Kaufvertrag). The contract templates can be obtained online easy. You can also visit a nearby stationary shop and acquire them. The written contract is a good protection for you and your seller. It contains seller’s name, their contact information and other important data. This contract also comes handy during the registration process of your vehicle. The seller unregisters the car and terminate the car insurance. Similarly, you will now insure the car and then register it under your name.
The procedure for registering your newly purchased car is quite hectic. Therefore, most people in Germany opt for a private service for vehicle registration (Zulassungsdienst). Also, in some instances, people have their dealers (Vertragshändler) take care of the paperwork. Though this comfort comes at an additional price, it will surely make the registration process very simple for you, particularly for those who are buying a car for the first time.
Your dealer or a registration service can assist you in getting the best insurance policy. There is a large amount of auto insurance firms in Germany at the moment. They all compete to provide you the best possible plans.
In case you select an insurance policy that you don’t like, you don’t have to worry. After one year, you will have an option of changing to another auto insurance provider. You can also change your insurance provider in case the rates go high. Remember you are in Germany now. You can’t even cancel a subscription of magazine without proper advance notice. So do go through the insurance section below.
Essential Documents
For this process, there is a list of documents. These are:
- Passport
- Residence permit
- Work contract from your organization
- Anmeldung
- Proof of financial resources
- German Bank info
- German driving license
- eVB
Link to the Topic
How to Register a Car in Germany
Auto Insurance and eVB
It may sound easy and simple or even look easy, it is definitely not. The eVB (elektronische Versicherungsbestätigung) or “electronic insurance verification” is one of the major parts of leasing a car. The moment you get to know the cost of auto insurance in Germany, you may want to reconsider your plan of getting yourself a car. It is very much possible that the auto insurance for a fairly old car might surpass the amount of the purchase price.
The eVB actually plays an important role. It presents proof that the car you have leased has been covered with an auto insurance. You cannot have possession nor can’t register your new car without an eVB. The validity of eVB is six months. For instance, the eVB is expired before the completion of all steps that are required to get a new or used car, you will have to get a new eVB.
Factors Determining Rate of Insurance
The following three factors needs to be considered before consulting with an insurance broker. These factors will determine the rate of insurance for your car:
- SF-Klasse: The full form of SF is Schadensfreiheit. It means accident free and damage free. The class of SF helps in determining the insurance premium. The classification of German accident-free cars varies from a minimum of zero to as high as SF35. Your insurance premium is inversely proportional to your SF class. The higher your SF class is, the lower your premium will be.
- Typ-Klasse: The “model class” is an official statistical determination (annually) of how accident-prone a particular model of car is, and the cost of repairing that model.
- Regionalklasse: The “regional class” is integrated with all the official 415 registration districts inside Germany. It is also based on accident frequency for different car models of every district. In simple terms, the cost of insurance is determined by your place of residence. In a similar manner, people residing in North America have to pay more insurance if they are living in a big city.
The level of accident-free for your car, the class of SF can show up some concerns if you are new in Germany. There might be further problems if you didn’t have German auto insurance before. You want to avoid starting out at the zero SF, or beginner’s level, especially if you have been driving for years outside of Germany. One possibility is to get an official letter from your North American or other non-German insurance agent stating that you have been accident free for x-number of years.
These three factors should be considered before leasing a car. After that, obtain eVB which will later be communicated to your local vehicle registration office.
To have your eVB issued, our agent or the broker will require following details:
- Your car’s key number (VIN) and model number
- Your car’s date of first registration and the registration date as a buyer
- Whether you are going to buy or lease the car
- Whether you previously had auto insurance. If yes, then where
- Your local vehicle registration office
- The insurance type you want
- Any additional insurance security you need
Once the class of SF (accident-free) has been identified and related insurance factors have been decided, you can make an appointment with your insurance agent. In case of first-time buyers, they can sit down with their dealer or broker and discuss about insurance. They can assist you in getting best possible car according to SF class. But for this, you should have all the supporting documents available.
Among German drivers, it is a common ritual to look for better insurance options after each year. The deadline every year is 30th November. The neglected fact among these drivers is that insurance with lowest rate is never the best solution. Instead, the actual recognition of a true insurance policy is observed when you are going to file a claim. The level of assistance, good service and benevolence of your insurance provider is truly tested at this time.
Link to the Topic
All About Car Insurances in Germany
From where I can lease a Car?
There is a wide variety of authorized brokers available online. You can select the car of your preference from there. If you are looking for a used car, you can visit small used-car dealers or private sellers.
For first-time buyers, it is highly recommended to get in touch with authentic and reputable broker or dealers. A dealer having a well-known auto store is likely to offer you the opportunity of test drive. They might also offer periodical servicing for your car. For used cars, a 12-month warranty is usually offered.
Legal Protection – Beyond Insurance
The family car keeps a very important status for both Germans and the ex-pats. They consider their vehicle as an extremely valuable treasure. They keep it clean, wash it constantly, and polish it. Even if the car has negligible damage, the owner will never hesitate to go to court and challenge it legally.
The German land is considered quite litigious where people are always ready to take the tiniest of matters to court. For that instance, if by chance, you end up in court against a car freak, you will be very comfortable if you are backed by an automobile club. For that purpose, we would recommend getting the legal insurance in Germany which includes all kind of disputes.
Conclusion
Finally, you have enough knowledge about leasing a car of your preference in Germany. Moving forward, try not to forget to visit a reputable and authentic company to check out the deals you are looking for. This practice will assist you in driving the right vehicle to home and keep you safe throughout the agreement of tenure. Last but not the least, do remember that you have to discuss the terms and conditions before signing the deal.
