which is better,

We will be replacing our car in the next few months and are considering this being the vehicle that we bring over when we finallly move ( 12/18 months ).

How do we estimate the costs of matriculation ??

If we did not matriculate what are the rules for keeping a UK registered car in Portugal.

Or is it just better to buy a LHD on arrival. thinking of medium size people carrier ???

Well if Portugal is going to be scrapping the tax they put on new cars in a couple of years then it might be worth waiting and getting a car here. Used car prices should also fall.


J

well for example one couple i know bought a 2 litre opel 100 thousand on clock about 5 years old for two thousand eight huindred pounds...to "matriculate" this vehicle which is still lhd and in essence means sticking a number plate on has cost 6000 euros,

so BUY HERE for heavens sake!!!!!

Yes but you don't have to pay that if you become a resident as you're allowed to matriculate one car tax free. But if its a RHD then how are you ever going to sell it afterwards?

J

Having just spent most of the day in Faro trying to help some friends start the procedure to matriculate their UK car at the Alfândega (customs), I would say buy a car here and be done with it. The procedure to import a car is a pain in the rear end and as driving here is a blood sport, why make it even more dangerous by driving a RHD car?

Be warned too that the police are clamping down on UK plated cars and investigating things a lot more thoroughly. Do you really want this hassle?

The period you can have a UK car here is 6 months I believe.

By the way, another friend of mine got fined 150 euros the other day for driving whilst wearing flip flops. You have to have backs to your shoes!!!

exactly well said.....those who think its easy to import will soon realise the folly of their ways..anyway theres loads of good offfers on cars here as car sales are down...if buying please buy a brand where there is a multiple dealer network so if the service is bad or they fiddle ( eg renault in portimao)
then you have a choice....also petrol is now 1.21 a litre so buy a small car..save the planet and your wallet. portuguese tax on cars is weighed against large petrol engines (1.6 plus) with car tax and iva and annual road tax very high..also 4 wheel drives have now been priced out of the market

happy motoring

Bruxinha wrote:I would say buy a car here and be done with it. The procedure to import a car is a pain in the rear end and as driving here is a blood sport, why make it even more dangerous by driving a RHD car?

haha
yeah come on tbbr …. what are you thinking of????? you wanna live in pt? get a pt car!

Must agree with most of whats been said. I brought my UK car over and started the matriculation process, which is tax free for the 1st car as long as you apply for Residencia, but it was going to cost me over 800 euros just to change the headlights over so it was cheaper to send my car back from here on a car transporter and sell it back in England. So be aware that you might be able to import your car tax free but you may have other expenses i.e. IPO (Portuguese MOT) New Headlights and administration charges approx 250euros. Once I sent my car back to the Uk, I hired a car for a month so I could take my time and shop around for a 2nd Hand Portuguese car - might be worth trying?

Many thanks for responses, my gut feeling has always to buy locally, particulary as driving a LHD takes a bit more conentration less instinct and is therefore safer.

Are there long trem rental deals available while we look for the right car ???

I know somebody who tried for a long term rental of 3 months, but there wasnt much of a discount. They bought a car locally instead.

Paul

If it is expensive to buy a car in Portugal or to convert RHD headlights etc what about buying a LHD car in another EU country where they are cheaper than Portugal and then importing that to Portugal. Vehicle would be set up correctly, first matriculation would be free and warranty has to cover all of EU by EU law.

I think you would still need to go through the matriculation process to get Portuguese plates, and would still have to pay import tax, unless you had owned the vehicle in your country of origin for more than 6 months.

They check the whether you have been living in that country by asking for utility bills etc (bank account's not good enough) and if they decide not to accept the evidence then that's it - no appeal, no arguing - just tough!

yes it is much cheaper to buy in spain...as many portuguese in lisbon were doing untill...the gnr started confiscating them,..so nice to be a single euro market where there is the "free" movement of goods and services

whatt a joke it all is

Yes, we've been renting for months, trying to find a suitable car. Problem is, do we pay the extortionate prices for the vehicle of our choice or get a banger - anyone know a good car sales place?

In the UK you can get a bargain by buying direct from the large rental companies or failing that buy one of their ex fleet through one of the large auction houses.

Does anybody know if either approach is possible in Portugal?