I am moving permanently to Lagos in the future. I want to buy a new car. I have looked at some web site re prices, but I would love to know the reality...can you haggle...especially if it is a straight cash buy, no trade-in, loans, etc.? Are some regions cheaper than others, i.e. Lisbon-v- Faro/Portimao? Can anyone advise?

You say permanently so I assume that means taking out residency. This means that you can import a car without paying Portuguese tax. You need to have owned the car in another EC country for 6 months and paid all tax on it there. It will be cheaper to buy new lhd in Ireland and drive it there for 6 months before bringing it down than to buy here. The main dealers will offer discounts on slow moving models but for some makes there will only be one dealer for the whole region so they do not have the need to be particularly competitive

For those of you with cars in Portugal .... smile

Petrol round by me just hit 94.9 pence a litre
with diesel at 96.9 pence a litre

I have already done my homework on this...they are not cheaper in Ireland, and also the technical specs are different, which would mean more form filling, etc. and a lot of frustration. So in order to minimise stress I am buying in Portugal...can you haggle/negotiate down?

dont bring a car in for matriculation..its a nightmare...cars here are expensive..caused by the almost combined sum of vat and car tax which adds on average 30 per cent to the cost....also the larger the engine the more the tax on purchase and annually.

therefore buy a small car under 1.6...and also buy a car where you are not stuck with one garage and subject to their sole supply of spare parts...for example renualt in portimao are terrible but at least you can go to renault in faro or silves or messines

Can't comment on prices in Ireland but all EC supplied cars now carry a "Certificate of Conformity" which means that the specs are valid throughout the EC.

I recently raised the question of new car prices, but didn't generate any interest. I was referring to the recent EU survey, which gave pre-tax and post-tax prices. The tax in Portugal added 50% to 70% to the car prices. We plan to spend about half our time in Portugal, so would we still be able to bring in a car (left hand drive) without paying tax? Would we have to go through matriculation, since that would certainly put us off?

Aardvark wrote:Can't comment on prices in Ireland but all EC supplied cars now carry a "Certificate of Conformity" which means that the specs are valid throughout the EC.

We were looking to buy a Renault...so would it be better to buy in France, then bring into Portugal? Is not the C of C in the UK differnet to the rest of Europe??
We are not taking up residency and will still be residing in the UK for business reasons.

Many thnks

The EC now sets the standards for all cars sold in Europe and so a manufacturers Certificate of Conformity is valid Eurpe wide. It confirms to the authorities here that all components of the car meet the appropriate specs.
On first registration here all car tax must be paid. The tax is included in the Portuguese price but must be added to imports. It is based on engine size and age; not value. On a new 1.2litre it would be €2600 and on a 2.0 litre it would be €8,500. Some people buy lhd and register in the UK taxing there but driving here for 3 yrs until an mot is due and then matriculating here. This saves about 35% of the car tax. There are conflicting views of the validity of this and insurance can be a problem.

If you want to import and register here you need:

Original vehicle registration docs from UK or wherever.
Proof of ownership including that vat has been paid
Proof of payment of the Imposto Automovel (car tax) from Customs
Certificate of Conformity
Your id/fiscal number

There are incidental charges for the paperwork; probably about €100

Barry You can drive a foreign registered car here for up to 185 days without importing it but to keep it here for longer than that legally you need to matriculate it. If you have a residencia and had the car for six months before moving here you can import the car free of taxes on a change of residence concession but this is laborious and not without expense.

Some people simply keep a foreign car here all year and lock it out of sight when they return to the UK for six months. You do however need to keep it MOT'd and taxed and this is clearly going to mean bending the rules if the car stays here all the time.

The GNR are not likely to be too bothered if a car is not visible all the year round but if they stop you for a check by Customs it will be a different story

Hi Cainteor, If you go onto the Manifactures webb site, you can obtain left hand drive vehicle to euro spec. ie, Vauxhall diplomatic and military vehicles, and get a discount as well. also some good advice from them. All the best with your venture.
Johnny Boy
Lagos

We were looking to buy a Renault...so would it be better to buy in France, then bring into Portugal?

Whatever you do, don't go to Renault Portimao for repairs or servicing - complete nightmare!

Are there any signs of car prices in Portugal coming into line with the rest of the EU.
The UK had to eventually but this was mainly market pressures as enterprising import companies broke the stranglehold of the main dealers.

Are there any local companies entering into this market place.

Ie Given that you cannot avoid import tax can you buy a car from a Spanish dealer much in the same way that we in the Uk used to buy from
dutch or belgian suppliers.
These sold RHD UK specs at prices when even with UK taxes added were still very competative.

We do not expect to have this issue to face for at least 18 months but as cars are a major purchase all information is valuable.

For Portugal new and used prices try http://www.autohoje.com/index.aspx
and click Precos novos or usados

looked at suggested site, its clear that UK car prices are now LOW in comparison.
Has any one done the sums of importing a UK spec ( 307 hdi ) and then fully matriculating it and then comparing it with a locally purchased LHD.

What is the difference. ??

Also , what happens to all the ex hire cars at the end of the season.
Where do they go , is there a ban/limit on selling them in the second hand markets ??