Under The Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) British military personnel and civilian support staff serving in Germany are entitled to purchase a new car (New Means of Transport) free of VAT. Once the car is at least 12 months old the servicemen sells it back to dealers in the UK without any VAT liability and theoretically gets a years motoring free of charge.

Under the scheme, I bought a Volvo XC60 for £25,300, expecting to get the money back upon reselling. But I have been offered no more than £20,500, despite the fact that UK Volvo dealers are advertising these cars for £25,000 - £28,000. I worry that many low-paid servicemen, having been lured into the scheme, now face a loss of £5000 or more that they can ill afford.