31 May

Buying a car in the Netherlands

Things to consider before buying a car.
As everything is more expensive in the Netherlands than in most other European countries, it is necessary to evaluate the costs involved in owning a car and see if it overweighs the benefits.

New car — Go for it only if you wanted the latest model and have sufficient money to afford it.
Used car — Best investment if you are going to drive often or if public transportation is less accessible.
Private lease — Good if you don’t want to worry about insurance, road tax and maintenance and just pay around 300euros every month.
Renting — Best for one-off weekend rides.
If you rent often, consider if it is worth the hassle of finding a good deal and the right car every time, the commute time to collect and return the car, and whether to purchase full insurance or take a risk and keep your fingers crossed until you get back all the deposit they held.

Although owning a car is a movable asset, we should take into account that the value depreciates significantly over a period of time. Considering this in mind, choose which type of car suits your need based on your budget.

With limited cash in hand, new cars or even used electric cars are out of my league as they cost easily over 18,000 euros. After analysis, I realised it’s smart to buy a used 5 seater car that’s fairly recent (less than 5 years old) and fuel-efficient.

Once you decide to own a vehicle, the following are the expenses to keep in mind on top of the purchase price:

Road tax:

The Netherlands has the highest road tax imposed in Europe. The tax has to be paid every 3 months and is calculated based on the following:
– Your province where you reside.
– Weight of the vehicle.
– Type of fuel.

We can calculate this via car.thetax.nl

Note: Diesel cars are the most expensive and fully electric cars do not impose any taxes (as of 2020).

For instance: Suzuki Celerio weighs 790 Kgs and it runs on gasoline. The tax is around 60€ per quarter.

Car Insurance:

Having car insurance is mandatory and the premium has to be paid monthly. This is probably the most expensive of all. If you are getting insurance for the first time, you will have to pay a higher premium based on the car. The bigger the car gets, the higher the premium is. For a 5 seater compact car, the average premium can range between 40–70€. Calculating the premium is super easy and convenient via sites like this – independer.nl or autoverzekering.nl
(just enter the car number plate and you get all the options). You can choose one of these coverages:

WA coverage (third-party liability)
WA beperkt casco coverage(third-party liability + limited cover)
All risk coverage (third-party liability + comprehensive cover)

Think carefully about what coverage you really need. Pay attention to the age of your car. As your car ages, you can more easily save on your coverage:

Less than 4 years old: choose All-risk coverage (most extensive).
Between 4–8 years old: choose WA limited airframe coverage.
Older than 8 years: choose a WA coverage (least extensive).

Note: In the Netherlands, it is the car that is insured (unlike the UK for instance). This means that the insurance is covered even if your partner or your friend borrows your car and you are the main insurance holder.

Tyres:

In Europe, it is common to own 2 sets of tyres – Summer tyres and Winter tyres changed every 6 months based on the season. Thankfully it is not mandatory to switch tyres every season in the Netherlands, but doing so is encouraged for our own safety. While buying, keep in mind to check the depth of the tyre tread. It is illegal to drive a vehicle with a tyre tread less than 1.6mm.

The cost of a new tyre varies around 50–100€ based on the brand and size you choose. If you want to buy a new rim for the tyres, it also costs around 30–60€ per rim.
Fitting charges at a garage per tyre cost around 15 to 20€ ‘per tyre’. This includes removing a tyre from the rim and fixing a new one onto the existing rim and do wheel balancing.
If you own a pair along with rims, it is 20€ for swapping all 4 tyres. Thus, people buy tyres along with rims and thus it is easier to switch tyres by themselves.
If you do not have a place to store your tyres, and if you want to park them in storage space, you may do so at your nearby tyre storage garage and you will incur a yearly fee.
If you want to dispose of your tyres through your garage, you incur a disposal fee. However, it is free (up to 4 nos) if you dispose of it yourself at your nearest dump.

If you’re purchasing a new pair on websites like oponeo.nl, it is wise to consider All season tyres as they can be used throughout the year. However, keep in mind that the rules might differ with countries and you have to be mindful of them when you are travelling. For instance, if you are travelling to Germany, it is mandatory to drive with appropriate tyres based on the season irrespective of the destination.

Parking permit:

If you are living in a part of the city where there is only paid parking available, you have to approach your municipality to get a parking permit. The price varies a lot based on the location and municipality. I have limited knowledge on this as the place I reside has free public parking available and I’ll leave it to you to explore.

Gasoline cost:

Gasoline cost is way higher in the Netherlands than in the rest of Europe ranging from 1.6–1.8€ per litre. Filling a 35-litre tank can cost around 60€. It is smart to buy a fuel efficient car to stay environmentally conscious and to save some money.

While searching for a car, find the one that has fuel efficiency label A or B and has EURO 6 standard (low CO2 emission) or higher. These cars should have a consumption ranging from 3.5–5L/100kms. In other words, if a car gives 20kmpl or higher, it is considered fuel-efficient.

With all these in mind, I narrowed it down to just one car that fits all these criteria — Suzuki Celerio. I couldn’t find any other cars with an energy rating of A except hybrid or fully electric cars.

5 seater car with 5 doors (very important for easy loading of passengers and baby).
Totally fits within my budget of around 6000–7000€.
Launched in 2015(or 2014?), so used cars are expected to be new.
Offers 27.8kmpl (3.4L/100km) — so a full tank of 35L gives me around 875kms (tested already!)!
With energy label A and meets EURO 6 standards (84 g/km Co2 emission only).
Taller and more luggage compartment space than any other cars of this range like Kia Picanto (very important for tall people).
Has Isofix connectors in all 3 back seats. So, it is easy to fix an i-Size baby seat anywhere.
Meets all the European safety requirements as per their specification.
Weighs just 790kg, so less road tax (20€ per month).
Hard to drive faster than 130Kmph (max speed is 155 km/h) and thus no speeding ticket ;).

Parking fee:

Paid parking is common in the city centre and shipping malls. This is probably important to consider every time based on the destination you go to. The price can be significant based on the location you park. For instance, parking in Amsterdam central is around 7€ an hour. It is sometimes difficult to find a parking spot and thus plan ahead before you drive.

Parking fines and speeding violations:

It is common to get tickets for parking and speeding violations. Be mindful to not overrun the timeframe for which you paid to park. These fines come to your doorstep by post and the amount increases every 6 weeks if you miss paying.

For parking: Use mobile apps like parkmobile or ANWB Onderweg to avoid parking over the allotted time.

For Speed cameras: Use Flitmeister app for live warnings like stationary vehicle on the road and speed camera hotspots. Thankfully, I haven’t got any speeding tickets in the Netherlands so far.

Miscellaneous:

Sometimes, it is common to pay around 300–450€ on top of the purchase price of used cars for Bovag guarantee or similar (like Autotrust). This is like insurance where the Bovag company will own the responsibility for 6 months of all the major issues* the car might encounter after purchase.
If you want to know the Vehicle history before purchase, you may just use any service like carfax.nl (or google for NAP-Check) to know the complete history of the vehicle including the mileage driven that are officially recorded. This incurs a small fee like 10€ and it is totally worth it (although not everything is on record) to get an idea.
If you want your car to be inspected before the purchase by an experienced mechanic, you may do so by scheduling an appointment with the nearest mechanic or use a service like mijnautocoach.nl for some fee that’s quoted on the website.

These are the common expenses that you should be aware of before buying a vehicle.

Hope this list gives you an idea before jumping to purchase a vehicle in the Netherlands.