Buying a car in Germany

Buying a used car always incurs risks. If you don't have a good knowledge of cars, bring a friend along who does or have an independent workshop check the car you intend to buy.
When buying from dealers, you automatically get a warranty - even for old and used cars. Therefore better don't buy from private sellers if you dislike surprizes.
Buying a new car is safer, but costs more.

After buying, you need to register the car, get insurance and number plates. The dealer will help you do this (for a fee). To do it yourself, you need to go to your local "KFZ Zulassungsstelle" with somebody who speaks German and all paperwork you can think of. You can only drive the car after it has number plates.

To drive a car in Germany, you need to convert your driving license to a German one. Depending on your nationality, this might involve only paperwork, a written test, or even a practical test and a number of driving lessons.
All cars must also pass a technical check-up (called "TÜV") every other year.

beppi wrote:

To drive a car in Germany, you need to convert your driving license to a German one.

Unless you have a driving license from another EU country, or an International Driving Permit accompanied by your valid home country license.

Also, it is worth mentioning that to drive in Green Zones around many cities and metro areas, a environmental badge (Feinstaubplakette/Umweltplakette) is needed that must be placed on the windscreen.  These can be obtained online and also at TUV inspection stations with the car identity/registration document.  This also applies to tourists/visitors even transiting the designated areas which are marked with signs.

Romaniac