As a dedicated car enthusiast and content creator for cardetailinguk.com, my passion often leads me down exciting automotive rabbit holes. Recently, that path was paved with the allure of the Mercedes R63 Amg. The idea of owning this powerful and somewhat rare beast was captivating, especially as a practical yet thrilling family vehicle. My search began online, browsing listings and imagining the roar of that V8 engine. However, as an American living in France, I was about to encounter a uniquely French obstacle on my road to R63 ownership: the infamous “powerful car” tax.
Before diving headfirst into viewings and negotiations, I decided to do my due diligence and investigate the registration costs in France. Having owned cars in the US across multiple states where registration was typically a straightforward and relatively inexpensive process, I anticipated a similar experience. France, however, operates under a different system, incorporating taxes into the registration fees. In the past, I had encountered registration fees of a few hundred dollars, which were manageable. But this time, the simulation tool on the official French government website revealed a shocking figure.
It turned out that on January 1, 2018, a new tax was implemented, effectively replacing the former wealth tax. This new levy is specifically targeted at “very powerful cars” and is directly integrated into the car registration fee. The system is based on “administrative horsepower,” a metric unrelated to actual engine horsepower. For vehicles with an administrative horsepower rating up to 35, there’s no additional tax. However, for each horsepower point above 35, a hefty 500 € ($565) is added to the registration fee, capped at a maximum of 8000 € ($9038). While this tax is likely aimed at ultra-luxury cars like Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and Bugattis, it unfortunately also impacts high-performance “regular” cars from manufacturers like Mercedes and Audi, even when purchased used at significantly depreciated prices.
The Mercedes R500, another model I considered, has an administrative horsepower of 23 and thus avoids this “powerful car” tax. But the object of my desire, the Mercedes R63 AMG, carries an administrative horsepower rating of 45. This translates to an added tax of 5000 € ($5650) on top of the regional registration tax, which in my region amounts to 990 € ($1120) for both the R500 and R63. The total registration fee for the R63 AMG soared to almost 6000 €, for a car that, while desirable, is still a 12-year-old vehicle with a market value of around 20,000 €. This tax alone increased the cost by a staggering 25%, and when factoring in the regional tax, the registration fees added a full 30% to the overall cost. Suddenly, the R63 AMG became 5000€ more expensive than the R500, regardless of the initial asking price of the vehicle itself.
To truly understand the disproportionate impact, consider this: a 2008 Bugatti Veyron, listed for 1,150,000 €, has an administrative horsepower rating of 118. Theoretically, the “powerful car” tax should be a massive 41,500 € (83 hp above 35 x 500 €). However, due to the 8000 € cap, the Bugatti owner would only pay 8000 €. This means the tax per horsepower above 35 is effectively reduced to just 96 € compared to the full 500 € for the R63 AMG. The 8000 € tax on the Bugatti represents a mere 0.7% increase in its cost, while for the R63 AMG, it’s a crippling 25%.
This tax revelation was a significant blow. The Mercedes R63 AMG was already pushing the boundaries of my budget, requiring careful negotiation to reach an affordable price. Now, the French government had seemingly transformed a minor hurdle into a major obstacle. What initially seemed like a simple registration fee had become a financial mountain. And as is often the case, this wasn’t the end of the story. There were more challenges to come in my pursuit of the Mercedes R63 AMG dream.
