Jahreswagen
Mar 8th 2015, 10:06 am
#1
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Jahreswagen
Can anyone tell me what Jahreswagen as a term for a car actually means?
I would have thought less than a year old. which is what my dictionary says, but looking on car manufacturers' websites it seems to include cars three or four years old too.
Can anyone shed light please?
I would have thought less than a year old. which is what my dictionary says, but looking on car manufacturers' websites it seems to include cars three or four years old too.
Can anyone shed light please?
Mar 8th 2015, 10:36 am
#2
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 6,148
Re: Jahreswagen
Can anyone tell me what Jahreswagen as a term for a car actually means?
I would have thought less than a year old. which is what my dictionary says, but looking on car manufacturers' websites it seems to include cars three or four years old too.
Can anyone shed light please?
I would have thought less than a year old. which is what my dictionary says, but looking on car manufacturers' websites it seems to include cars three or four years old too.
Can anyone shed light please?
You are absolutely right and anything over 12 months is a Gebrauchtwagen.
Mar 8th 2015, 12:23 pm
#3
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Joined: Dec 2011
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Re: Jahreswagen
The origin of the term is that German car manufacturers traditionally enabled their employees to buy their cars at a hefty discount and sell them again at least one year later. This was a good deal for the manufacturer, the employee and the new buyer. "Jahreswagen" was the term used for these cars when they were sold after a year.
The term gradually came to be used more widely and is now often used for any car less than 12 months old. Firstly, this is in fact a contradiction of the original meaning, since the car manufacturers sold cars to their employees at a discount on condition that they keep them for at least a year. Secondly, there is a lot of confusion about the actual age of a car, since in Germany, the age is usually counted from the point in time of the first registration, which in some cases can be long after the car was manufactured.
Although it doesn't define the term "Jahreswagen", the "Richtlinie zur Förderung des Absatzes von Personenkraftwagen" uses the term to describe a car that has been registered for no more than 14 months to a vehicle manufacturer, its sales organization, one of its employees, a car dealer, a bank owned by the vehicle manufacturer, a car-hire company or a car-leasing company.
In short, when you see the term used, don't read too much into it!
The term gradually came to be used more widely and is now often used for any car less than 12 months old. Firstly, this is in fact a contradiction of the original meaning, since the car manufacturers sold cars to their employees at a discount on condition that they keep them for at least a year. Secondly, there is a lot of confusion about the actual age of a car, since in Germany, the age is usually counted from the point in time of the first registration, which in some cases can be long after the car was manufactured.
Although it doesn't define the term "Jahreswagen", the "Richtlinie zur Förderung des Absatzes von Personenkraftwagen" uses the term to describe a car that has been registered for no more than 14 months to a vehicle manufacturer, its sales organization, one of its employees, a car dealer, a bank owned by the vehicle manufacturer, a car-hire company or a car-leasing company.
In short, when you see the term used, don't read too much into it!
Mar 8th 2015, 12:28 pm
#4
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Re: Jahreswagen
Thank you both. Very kind. I am looking at the Mercedes website - you would not believe the price of used cars in France - and it seems to be just about anything up to 4 years old.
Watchpost it would seem to say more about the ownership - i.e. that it was owned by a company and supplied for individual use. In the UK that might be a bit of a negative. Probably something to steer clear of then
Watchpost it would seem to say more about the ownership - i.e. that it was owned by a company and supplied for individual use. In the UK that might be a bit of a negative. Probably something to steer clear of then
May 27th 2015, 8:11 pm
#5
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Joined: May 2015
Location: Near the Black Forest and near Esztergom
Posts: 923
Re: Jahreswagen
It shouldn't be a problem if you buy a Jahreswagen from a Mercedes emplyoee - these people usually care diligently for thei cars, because they're doing this kind of business regularly!
I don't know if this is still done, but in times past Mercedes (or BMW) employees would order cars with specs (colour, extras, ...) from the potential buyer.
It was and surely still is a good way of making extra money - buying at a discount of around 20%, driving for a year and then selling at the same (or even higher ...) price!
I don't know if this is still done, but in times past Mercedes (or BMW) employees would order cars with specs (colour, extras, ...) from the potential buyer.
It was and surely still is a good way of making extra money - buying at a discount of around 20%, driving for a year and then selling at the same (or even higher ...) price!
May 29th 2015, 3:23 pm
#6
seenbeendonenocriesnowhys
Joined: Nov 2013
Location: Woellstein, Germany
Posts: 747
Re: Jahreswagen
The origin of the term is that German car manufacturers traditionally enabled their employees to buy their cars at a hefty discount and sell them again at least one year later. This was a good deal for the manufacturer, the employee and the new buyer. "Jahreswagen" was the term used for these cars when they were sold after a year.
The term gradually came to be used more widely and is now often used for any car less than 12 months old. Firstly, this is in fact a contradiction of the original meaning, since the car manufacturers sold cars to their employees at a discount on condition that they keep them for at least a year. Secondly, there is a lot of confusion about the actual age of a car, since in Germany, the age is usually counted from the point in time of the first registration, which in some cases can be long after the car was manufactured.
Although it doesn't define the term "Jahreswagen", the "Richtlinie zur Förderung des Absatzes von Personenkraftwagen" uses the term to describe a car that has been registered for no more than 14 months to a vehicle manufacturer, its sales organization, one of its employees, a car dealer, a bank owned by the vehicle manufacturer, a car-hire company or a car-leasing company.
In short, when you see the term used, don't read too much into it!
The term gradually came to be used more widely and is now often used for any car less than 12 months old. Firstly, this is in fact a contradiction of the original meaning, since the car manufacturers sold cars to their employees at a discount on condition that they keep them for at least a year. Secondly, there is a lot of confusion about the actual age of a car, since in Germany, the age is usually counted from the point in time of the first registration, which in some cases can be long after the car was manufactured.
Although it doesn't define the term "Jahreswagen", the "Richtlinie zur Förderung des Absatzes von Personenkraftwagen" uses the term to describe a car that has been registered for no more than 14 months to a vehicle manufacturer, its sales organization, one of its employees, a car dealer, a bank owned by the vehicle manufacturer, a car-hire company or a car-leasing company.
In short, when you see the term used, don't read too much into it!
to buy a "jahreswagen", when you know what you want and what you are looking for.
Some of these cars have had a good usage behind them, so beware, but there are quite a few bargains in this sector.When one is looking to buy from reputable
handlers. Anything from 10km to 10k km kilometers, look at the price and see if it fits
your value.Just common sense really.
