Sticker prices here sit noticeably above those in Germany or Poland for the identical model, and the gap comes from a tax folded invisibly into the price rather than from dealer margin. Understanding where that cost lands, and when, explains why the new and used markets behave so differently.
Mostly because of BPM, a registration tax charged on every new car based on its CO2 emissions, and it scales steeply — a mid-size petrol car can easily carry several thousand euros of BPM baked invisibly into the sticker price, which is a big part of why the same model costs noticeably more here than in Germany or Poland. Electric cars dodge most of that since they land in BPM's zero-emission bracket, though battery costs keep their new-car price up anyway. The used market benefits from a quirk: BPM is paid once, at first registration, and doesn't get re-charged when a car changes hands domestically, so used prices reflect ordinary depreciation rather than a fresh tax hit. That makes used generally the sharper deal for anyone not fussed about warranty or the latest model — though EV subsidies, financing terms and how long you'll keep the car can occasionally tip the math the other way.