Foreign registered cars - whats the downside?

[widge]

Tin hat time

Very perceptive, looks like WW3 time ,do you do the lottery?

[Bruce Wallis]

Octupus....I have to assume that you are just trying to be provocative....and succeeding

I make that flattering assumption, because otherwise I would have to agree with the less than flattering description, Mattoserro99 makes of you.

[alf1956]

just to add another slant on this topic if the portuguese goverment was to stop applying the totally illegal "matriclation tax" the cars would be more affordable&most people would im sure buy a portuguese registered car. they are fined every year by the eu for applying the "matriculation tax"but they choose to ignore the fine&the order to stop the tax but choose to ignore the eu because they make farmore money than the fines that are imposed.i would hazzard a guess that if you was to do a similar thing you would no doubt end up in jail !

[EMM]

Sorry Alf but you are wrong, Portugal is NOT breaking any EU rules, tax raising laws are the province of every EU state.
Portugal is not fined as it does NOT prevent foreign reg cars being imported, the taxes Portugal levies are legal.

[Octopus]

Octupus....I have to assume that you are just trying to be provocative....and succeeding

I make that flattering assumption, because otherwise I would have to agree with the less than flattering description, Mattoserro99 makes of you.

Well the original post was genuine curiosity as to why people are buying Portuguese cars when clearly they don't have to.

2006 Ferrari f430 - 125k euros in Portugal - http://auto.sapo.pt/Carros/Ferrari-F430 ... -4354.aspx red/cream leather, automatic, 50k km

Now heres a better spec one, same age and miles, for 78,000 euros in Italy - http://suchen.mobile.de/fahrzeuge/showD ... geNumber=1

Plus the Italian one is VAT qualifying! If you're VAT registered the Italian car is now only a couple of thousand euros away from being half the price of the worse car on Portuguese plates

[widge]

Your point is well made, Portugal taxes cars disproportionately highly compared to UK. However, your assertion that you can break the law with impunity and get away with it is misguided. I think that anyone who who flaunts the regulations will eventually get caught and if that happens after a tragic accident the consequences could be very serious.

[Octopus]

I suspect the police / government are deliberately not cracking down on things like this, as they don't want to cause an exodus of all the Brits. Or more importantly, an exodus of all the Brits wallets...

If the choice was buy a car for twice its value, or leave Portugal... then I'm out of here.

[sunman]

I don't think anyone would argue that driving around uninsured is outrageous but it seems that Octopus is insured and I know that Lloyd & Whyte as were in Bouliquieme insure non Portuguese registered cars so I think it's wrong to assume that foreign reg = no insurance,

and I take it that all the high horse riders on this subject pay full IVA on all goods and services done for them here?

[Aitch]

a good friend has been driving UK reg cars in the Algarve for 25 years without any problem at all; he thinks that as long as you have off road parking and don't use the vehicle for business you're fine

oh, and I think EMM must be on holiday

Dont you believe it......

The first time they stop him and find that he has no valid tax or insurance they will throw the book at him!!

He's just been very lucky...probably avoids main roads, and certainly the airport!!

Sunman's friend is a friend of mine also, and he didn't say he had no valid tax or insurance.

(BTW I am not getting at you)

[ron5000]

Tin hat time

Very perceptive, looks like WW3 time ,do you do the lottery?

It is going to get worse, probably fracture a bit into Iceland then the tolls then have a go at the loule handy man. Bet I get the last word in

[widge]

Vehicles brought into Portugal temporarily may only be driven by their owners, their owner’s spouse or common-law spouse, their owner’s parents or children or their registered keeper, provided none of these individuals are resident, employed or carrying out paid activity in Portugal.


For the purpose of the legislation on the temporary admission of motor vehicles into Portugal, a resident is defined as spending a period of at least 183 days or more, consecutively or otherwise, in any one calendar year, in Portugal, or whose source of income from paid employment is in Portugal, or whose headquarters or established business activity is in Portugal.[/quote]


It would be hard to even apply those rules to cars that are not owned by a person. Technically I don't own my own car... my company does. So the rules about only being able to be driven by the owner and their spouse/children etc are now useless.

And with the 183 days in a year thing... unless you have a cop specifically out to get you then how can they possibly enforce this? With no borders around Europe and us being so close to Spain here its going to be a nightmare job to prove your car was or wasn't in Portugal at any specific time.[/quote]

OK so you own a company and the company owns the car, you are not the registered keeper. You spend less than 183 days a year in Portugal (or nobody can prove otherwise) & your source of income is not from paid employment in Portugal. You're a holidaymaker on extended vacation, enjoy !