Car Network Europe

B2B car trading terms, explained simply

From blind auctions to rest-BPM: this glossary explains, in plain language, the terms you come across when buying and selling cars on Car Network Europe, including across borders. Car Network Europe buys the car from the seller and resells it to the buyer, so buyer and seller remain anonymous to each other.

Buying and selling on Car Network Europe

  • Blind auction – An auction in which nobody can see anyone else's bids. You bid what the car is worth to you, without knowing what others are offering.
  • Buy Now – A sale without an auction. You either buy the car straight away at the fixed price, or you make an offer from the ‘bid from’ price upwards.
  • ‘Bid from’ price – With Buy Now, the lowest amount you can offer. The seller decides whether to accept your offer.
  • Minimum price – The lowest amount for which the seller is willing to sell the car in an auction. The seller sets it when listing the car.
  • Accepting a bid – After the auction ends, the seller has 48 hours to accept a bid. Until the seller has decided, your bid as a buyer is binding.
  • Fee – The fixed charge of € 289 excl. VAT that you pay as a buyer for each accepted bid. Transport comes on top: € 160 excl. VAT within the Netherlands, with a surcharge for destinations abroad. Sellers pay no fee.
  • Inspection on receipt – As a buyer, you check the car when it arrives; by default you have 48 hours to do so. If something is wrong, you report it.
  • Reversal guarantee – If the car differs materially from its description, the sale can be reversed. You report the difference during the inspection on receipt.

VAT and taxes

  • Margin car – A car sold under the margin scheme: VAT is only charged on the seller's profit margin and is not shown separately on the invoice. The invoice states ‘special scheme – second-hand goods’. Your bid is the margin amount; no VAT is added to it.
  • VAT car – A car sold under the standard VAT rules, with VAT shown separately on the invoice. Your bid is always the amount excluding VAT.
  • Intra-Community supply – The sale of a car to a business in another EU country at 0% VAT. The conditions are that the buyer's VAT number is valid in VIES and that there is proof the car was transported to that country, such as a CMR.
  • VAT reverse charge – The seller does not charge VAT; instead, the buyer accounts for the VAT in their own country. This is how an intra-Community supply works.
  • VIES – The European database for checking whether a VAT number is valid. A valid number in VIES is required for a 0% VAT supply.
  • New means of transport – A car that is no more than 6 months old or has driven no more than 6,000 km. If such a car goes to another EU country, the VAT is paid in the buyer's country.
  • BPM – The Dutch registration tax on passenger cars and motorcycles, paid when a car is registered in the Netherlands. It is included in the price of a Dutch-registered car.
  • Rest-BPM – The part of the BPM still included in the price of a Dutch-registered car. On export it can be reclaimed under certain conditions; the refund goes to the last registered keeper in the Netherlands. You can see the remaining BPM for every car.

Documents and registration

  • RDW – The Netherlands Vehicle Authority, the Dutch government agency that keeps the vehicle register. It records, among other things, the registered keeper, the APK and the odometer readings.
  • Registration card (kentekenbewijs part I) – The Dutch registration certificate of the car, in credit-card format.
  • Kentekenbewijs part II – A printout you receive on export. You need it to register the car abroad.
  • Tenaamstellingscode – A code that belongs to the Dutch registration certificate. It is needed to register the car in a new owner's name, so keep it as safe as a password.
  • Vrijwaringsbewijs – Proof from the RDW that the car is no longer registered to the previous keeper, for example after a transfer or deregistration.
  • COC – Certificate of Conformity: the manufacturer's EU certificate showing that the car meets European requirements. It is useful when registering the car in another EU country.

Condition of the car

  • Damage report – Every car comes with a damage report with photos. It shows the condition of the car and is the starting point for the inspection on receipt.
  • APK – The mandatory periodic roadworthiness test in the Netherlands (Algemene Periodieke Keuring). You can see the APK date for every car. Elsewhere it is known as TÜV or HU (Germany), contrôle technique (France and Belgium), ITV (Spain), revisione (Italy) or przegląd techniczny (Poland).
  • Odometer judgement – The RDW's assessment of the mileage, based on the national odometer register (formerly NAP). The judgement is ‘logical’, ‘illogical’ or ‘no judgement’.
  • Driving ban after damage – A car with serious damage can be banned from the road (formerly ‘WOK’). It may only be driven again after an inspection by the RDW.

Transport and export

  • Export plate – A white number plate for a car that has been deregistered for export. It allows the car to be driven on Dutch roads for a maximum of 14 days.
  • CMR – The international consignment note for road transport. It shows that the car was transported abroad and therefore also serves as proof for a 0% VAT supply.

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2026-10-09

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