First rule: clear the car before it ships
StuttgartCitizen's guide is titled "clear your car before you ship it" for a reason. The VPC will not accept a vehicle that is still USAREUR-registered. The order is: final inspection if your registration is near expiry, then deregistration and plate turn-in at your vehicle registration office, then the VPC appointment. Stuttgart's office states that S and BB plates are turned in on departure; Bavaria and Ansbach work the same way.
Selling to another SOFA member
The easy route. The buyer takes the title and your last inspection sheet to the registration office, registers the car in their name and gets new plates; you turn in yours. The lemon lot and the Facebook groups are where the buyers are. The garrison's "How to sell your car" guide (DVIDS, last updated September 2022) walks through the paperwork; confirm current steps with the office because the guide is old. Our lemon lot guide lists the lots and groups.
Selling to a German
Possible, more work. A USAREUR-registered car was imported without German VAT and customs duty. Selling it into the German system means customs clearance, then German registration by the buyer at the Zulassungsstelle, which needs a German inspection (TÜV) and German insurance. Most private German buyers walk away when they hear the word customs, so price it accordingly or sell inside the community.
Disposal
A car that will not sell and cannot ship can be disposed of through the Auto Skills Center or an MWR auction of abandoned vehicles. Abandoning it in a housing area car park is not an option; the garrison tows and bills.
The paperwork you keep
- Deregistration receipt. It is what your insurer needs to close the policy without charging you for the next month, and what the VPC asks for.
- Bill of sale with VIN, price, date, both ID card numbers, if you sold. Keep a photo of the buyer's USAREUR licence.
- Fuel ration card. Return it; an open card on a closed registration is an audit question you do not want by email in Texas.
- Inspection sheet. Hand it to the buyer; it is worth a day of their time.
Mistakes that cost people
- Listing the car in the last two weeks. Everyone else did too; that is why the prices on the lot are what they are.
- Letting the registration expire before the sale. An unregistered car cannot sit on the resale lot and cannot be test-driven legally.
- Selling to a German buyer on a handshake without customs. The car is then stuck between two systems and the German registration office will send the buyer back to you.
Timeline that works
- 90 days out: decide ship, sell or dispose. List it now if selling; the lot is full of people who waited.
- 60 days out: book the VPC slot if shipping. Check the lien situation again.
- 30 days out: sell or hand over. Turn in plates at the registration office. Keep the deregistration receipt.
- Final week: cancel the insurance with the deregistration receipt, return the fuel ration card.
The version with none of this
We sell subscriptions, so read this as the pitch it is: with a SubYourCar car there is nothing to sell, nothing to deregister and no plates to turn in. You show us the orders, and the contract ends early with 14 days' notice. That is the PCS clause, and it is the reason most people pick us over a hoopty for a tour that might not run its full length.
Questions people ask
Can I ship a car home from Germany that is still USAREUR-registered?
No. Deregister it and turn in the plates at your vehicle registration office first. The VPC will not accept a registered vehicle.
How do I sell my USAREUR-registered car to a German?
Through customs clearance first, because the car entered without German VAT and duty. The German buyer then needs a TÜV inspection and German insurance to register it. Most private German buyers avoid this, so selling inside the SOFA community is usually easier.
Where do I turn in USAREUR plates in Stuttgart?
At the vehicle registration office, Bldg 2930 Panzer Kaserne. The garrison page lists plate turn-in as part of departure clearing.
What happens to a SubYourCar car when I get PCS orders?
You show us the official orders and the contract ends early under the PCS clause, with 14 days' notice. Then you hand back the keys. There is nothing to sell, deregister or ship.
Sources we checked
- Getting your POV registered and fueled in Europe (StuttgartCitizen)
- USAG Stuttgart vehicle registration (army.mil)
- How to sell your car in Germany (DVIDS, updated Sep 2022)
- Grafenwoehr auto resale lot (MWR)
Or skip the whole thing: SubYourCar cars arrive registered and insured. From €1,229 a month.
Insurance, German registration, road tax, maintenance and seasonal tyres are in one monthly number, with 3,000 km a month and a PCS clause. You still need your USAREUR licence, and a subscription is not cheaper than a €2,000 hoopty. What it removes is the waiting, the buying, the registering, the insuring and the reselling. Pickup in Weiden is free. Delivery costs €399 within a 150 km radius of Weiden (straight-line distance). Farther bases: Places farther away we deliver on request only, and we quote the price by email beforehand. See all 12 locations.