• Is it worth bringing a car from the USA to Poland?
• What is a good car in Poland?

Auto USA to Poland

If you want to bring a car from the USA to Poland it will cost about 1500 USD after all things are paid.  The rule is you have to own it for 6 months before you can bring it to Poland VAT free. Also you can only do this twice a year.  Therefore, you can not import cars from the USA to Poland, unless you are a professional on a large scale.  Why would you want to do this? Simple, its cheaper in the USA.  Things in Europe tend to be expensive.

That was true even five years ago. That is cars in Poland were relatively more expensive than in the USA. All roads lead to Rome, Rome being the USA. Therefore because of economies of scale it is cheaper to buy a car both relatively and absolutely in the USA than Poland.

However,today that is the case unless you want a model of car in the USA that they do not offer in Poland.  Further, you might have to alter the car once in Poland and this will cost another 1000 usd.

Still not a lot if you can find a deal. However, perhaps it is better to buy a car in Germany or just look harder and you will find a deal in Poland.

Things are cheaper in the USA than Poland

This is not true.  If you can shop around with globalization from cars to computers you can find things, apples to apples in comparison cheaper in Poland.

Of course housing and food and everyday items are about 1/3 the price of the USA but that is a different story.

The purpose of this post is to talk about cars.

What is the most popular car in Poland

I do not know but I would have to say Fiat.

Fiat Panda is a good car

Fiat, an Italian company makes the an amazing car.  It is actual made in Poland. Tychy (I am an American that lives in Poland). It is amazing with performance, cheap to insurance and a low priced.

Many people who have bought a Fiat in the past and who were unhappy with their old Fiats are very happy with the Fiat Panda.  Why? It is something else.  It is not only one of the longest running models of cars but also one of the most popular (I think the name ‘Panda’ does not hurt).

It comes with many features in the basic model that are extras in other models.

Besides a major upgrade in safety from the first Panda’s on the road the Fiat Panda has under gone some great stylistic changes.  It is basically a cheap, safe, cute little car that out performs many of the higher grade models. For acceleration this is a great car.   In fact the Polish police have purchases a number of these.

Jeremy Clarkson an expert gearhead and author rants about the Fiat Panda, and this is Clarkson’s life, to test drive cars.

It also does not need a lot of parking space, which is good in Europe but on the other hand, its roomy inside for a family.

Panda in weather

The Panda is a bear so its good in cold weather. Poland like Italy (in the north) has very difficult weather. However, in snow and ice Panda performed better than, I would say the BMW.  Heating works very well and quick.

This Fiat and car insurance

To insure it is a deal.  You will save a lot of money over the life of the car if you choose a Fiat Panda just on insurance.  Auto insurance is a big factor in choosing a car.

If I get a Fiat I will get a Panda

The bottom line is I am looking for a car.  If I get a Fiat I will purchase a low cost easy to insurance Panda. I might also look for a bigger car as I have a family and I do believe bigger is better with safety but a Panda is one of my top candidates.

Fiat as a car maker

Fiat in my opinion has done a very good job of transforming its business in the last 10 years. I personally think the cars have gone from cheap to cars for the everyman. Here in Europe many people like Fiat not only for their performance but the gas and insurance savings. As cars, they are cheap to buy and cheap to own. I think they are well run and am considering a Fiat Panda.

Will Fiat play to win

Now the big question will be is, will Fiat have the strength of will to shut down inefficient American and German lines of production. In Germany for example, workers get fat bonuses and payments, while in, Poland Fiat operates lean and efficient operations. Why would a worker get paid 500% more just across the river(Germany – Poland). I hope that Fiat does not cave to German and American political pressure to keepinefficient plants open. I think Fiat expand operations in Poland and closed shops in German they will do well.

If anyone else has anything to add about cars and Poland let me know.

Polish stock market

I am an American that lives in Poland. I also have been in and out of the investment – stock market world for most of my life. What is my opinion of the Polish stock market? Very good. Now if you want to know if stocks are going up or down. However, if you want to know about the Polish stock market as a whole, it is very stable, solid regulations, even more than in the US as Polish GAAP is more conservative than US GAAP.

Polish stock market and currency risk

If you want to invest in the Polish stock market there is a foreign currency risk of course. I usually do not hedge currency, and take as part of the investment risk. However, if you are more conservative you can.

Overall about the Stock Market in Poland

No problems investing in the Polish stock market and there are values there that are not picked though in the US stock market.

The following are some photos from a Polish farm.

Polish farm earth

This is not just any farm mind you, but rather my wife’s parents place north of Krakow and south of Warsaw. These photos do not do it justice because did not take photos of the nice buildings and structures and beautiful homes but just normal countryside things.  I would have also liked to get some nice landscape photos from a hill, but maybe another time.

Polish farm road

Polish agriculture

Poland field

In Poland something like 20% of the entire population are farmers or closely connected to farming.

Polish farm sign

This is compared to less than 1% in America and 5% in western European counties. I actually like this, although many people would call this inefficient. Why do I like this?

Polish farm cow

I get fresh organic home grown produce from local farmers. Can you image how much this would cost in a Whole foods shop, or even a farmers market.  Lets be honest unless you live in Vermont the food in America is not that great.  I am American and love America, but agriculture is big business.

Polish farm bread

In the States everything is from commercial farms in the West or Mexico and the food has little taste.

Polish farm cart

In Poland from the Polish farms food taste indescribably good.

Polish farm grass

Please leave a comment and let me know what you think of my photos, you can use my photos as long as you give me a link back. Thanks.

Polish farm pigs

The Polish countryside is so peaceful. It is like going back to some romantic European novel most people only dream about.  It has rolling hills and streams and old, no ancient stone buildings and walls.

Poland farm sheeps and goats

I hope that too many people do not discover the beauty of this place, because you know how it is, once people find it, it is lost forever.  It is a magical place. But for now the Polish farm beauty still exists.