The Dutch are buying their second-hand cars across the border in Germany and Belgium, with purchases rising a record 20% in 2013 to nearly 100,000, the AD reports.

In the first quarter of 2014, the import of second-hand cars from the two countries rose 25%, according to figures from car sector organisation Bovag quoted in the AD.

The reason can be found in the shortage of nearly-new second-hand cars on the Dutch market, Bovag says. The Dutch new car market has on the slide for years. In 2013, 416,000 new cars were sold, 25% down on 2012.

‘Many of these cars operated on diesel,’ Bovag’s Paul de Waal told the AD, ‘as a result of incentives to drive more energy-efficiently. And diesel cars are of less interest on the second-hand car market. Families want a petrol-driven car.’

The Dutch are therefore looking across the border, particularly to Germany where there is an enormous selection and often at a much cheaper price.

For instance, anyone looking for a 2012 VW Golf station wagon with a maximum 40,000 km on the clock, has a choice of 15 cars in the Netherlands. In Germany there are 900 on the market at an average price that is €6,000 less than in the Netherlands, the AD says.