violets'n'vanilla

Car - to buy or not to buy - that is the question...

Whether it is better to buy a PT car with no slings or arrows,
or will it end in tears and misfortune?

I'll let you have some fun with this one, as I bet there are quite a few stories and fathoms of experience for you to pass onto us greenhorns...

Difficult deciding on whether we should be selling our UK car in the UK before departing and buying a LHD car in PT.

Or would you import your 4 year old car into PT, ours is a nice big auto Kia.

Or can you buy one in Spain and bring it over the border?
What are the PT cars available - I know nothing about PT cars?
Do they have their own makes, or is it like some other Euro countries, you can buy any make in other countries.

What advice do you give?

ttfn

Mattiespeople

Hi Vi
Sell UK car in UK and buy PT car in PT
I have a few pals trying to matriculate (import UK cars total nightmare just keeps going on and no one has yet managed all the red tape and hoop jumping.) Most cars available in PT yes they are more expensive than in the UK but so many other things are cheaper.
Good Luck

zel

I would only ever take your RHD vehicle to a LHD country if it's worth relatively little and has been reliable to you as it's handy whilst you're getting everything set up out there to be able to purchase a new vehicle. This way at least you will be mobile and can drive it legally on UK plates for up to six months (as long as your insurance covers you)

Why? Driving a RHD car in a LHD country long-term is a complete pain in the backside, especially city driving and of course overtaking can be very dangerous too.

A word of warning make sure you purchase a car from a dealer who has the prices of the vehicles on show as we had a client just before Christmas come back to the UK from Portugal to buy 2 vehicles from us as he said not only are the vehicles more expensive the price can go up once they hear the British accent!

Two other bits of advice, always buy diesel as running costs are much cheaper and resell values higher and also Skodas seem very popular with the expat community, they're by far the most popular marque of vehicle we export over there, they love the huge boot for the Golf Clubs

As the above person has mentioned getting a RHD vehicle registered in Portugal can be problematic, this is mainly down to the alterations that need to be carried out, but there are official Kia dealer/service in Portugal so getting the work done shouldn't be too hard.

A LHD UK registered vehicle is a very simple task to gain registration, in fact the clients I mentioned above already have their 2 vehicles registered in Portugal.

As far as purchasing in Spain ; you need a Spanish N.I.E number to purchase a car and to be honest it doesn't make a lot of sense as in both countries prices are rather similar.

violets'n'vanilla

Bom dia ~
Thanks for the answers.

The notion to hold onto the UK car until settled into our new home is good, and cheaper on the purse strings when we 'tootle' to and fro. Makes good sense.

I am a little concerned changing a RHD car to a LHD car, even tho' you mechanics probably think that I'm daft, however, she's a really good car. Mind you, I had a flat tyre the other day, and it's a good job that I have RAC membership because in all my life I would be unable to change the tyre/wheel myself, she's built like a tank!! Even the RAC man said it was hard going.

I have driven LHD a little in France, and would not intend to overtake etc unless absolutely required, yes, I'm a 'little old lady driver' , sorry. But I know exactly what you mean, and have yet to experience the race-track.

Anyway, the notion to look at the latest Skoda cars was niggling in the back of my mind, I know nothing of comparison betwixt the Kia and the Skoda, should I compare even , after all, I may have country roads to shake the chassie and a tough 'donkey' will be needed on rough track. I'm not intending to be a city dweller.
Point noted re diesel, thank you.

I know that the EU has spent E'millions on new roads in Spain, [some of which are quite amazing] what is the condition of the 'normal' road network in comparison to Spain or UK?

zel

I'm not really the right person to ask as I think Kia's are appalling vehicles

All I would say is that for a number of years Skoda has been owned by the VAG group (VW & Audi) and so you can imagine they are quite refined and a lot of thought has gone into their production.

The best thing for you to do if you were interested is to test drive one and make your own mind up.

Road Quality; yes you're right Spain has some very good quality motorways, but when you get down to local level they are worse than the UK by far in my opinion as they are in Portugal.

violets'n'vanilla

Zel, what a good idea !

And if I test drive one in this country [UK] using our RHD, I will be able to 'feel' the difference between the two cars, very sensible.

I had a feeling that VW were associated with Skoda but was not sure, I'll have to do some research. The Kia has been great for me, I had someone go into the back of my car 10 years ago and I lost my nerve after that, in my BMW too , and the security that I get from being inside the Kia is great. If you are talking mechanics and performance, I cannot help one iota because I don't have a mechanical bone in my body, 'I know nothing' of the science of cars and their engines, it's all Greek to me. So I have to go by how a car feels to me for my needs, and of course I need to believe what I'm told by those who know better.

So I shall start looking at the Skoda's to do a Test Drive, how exciting....

ttfn

zel

Hehe good luck and have fun!!!

Depending on what Kia you have it may be a very false feeling of safety, from memory some of them have appalling crash test ncap results

http://www.euroncap.com/ take a look there and be prepared for a possible shock

violets'n'vanilla

WOW!!

Zel, I have to thank you, but that was indeed a shock. I have been driving around in what I thought was a very safe car, "my protective tank".

Now, with your link, I shall be able to take a close look at what would be better for us.

I am stumped for words!!!!

ttfn

gedscottish

Since you are giving up the UK and moving to Portugal you will not have to pay the import tax (imposto automovie I think its spelt), you can only do this once with one car and it must be already in your name for at least six months before transfering to Portuguese plates. So if I were you I would be on the look out for a LHD in the U.K. Cars here are much more expensive and the bigger the engine the greater the difference from the UK (bigger engine= more tax). Diesals are the best option here.

Im surprised matties said no one he knows has managed to marticulate a UK car here, unless these people are trying to do it themself?! If you pay an agent 500 euros they should have it sorted out within a month!(although you may have to change headlights if car you buy has RHD ones) If it all sounds like to much hassle run your KIA here into the ground....

omostra06

hi, we had a portugese reg lhd car here for one year but have now replaced it with a rhd uk reg car as we saved approx £4,000 by buying in the uk. we go back know and again so no probs for mot and so far have found no problems with rhd.
cars here are very expensive to buy and difficult to import from what ive heard. bring your own uk car (with new mot) then you can use it for one year. worry about changing later.

zel

Incorrect I'm afraid you can only use your UK plates vehicle in another EU member state for no longer than six months at a time.

So unless the person is prepared to bring the car back to the UK twice a year (Once before the six months is up and then when the MOT needs renewing) then it's 'illegal'

The Spanish police are certainly clamping down on this and have been for about a year now, scrapping vehicles that are found to be illegal. It's only a matter of time (if it hasn't happened already) that the Portuguese police start to do it too.

And I'm afraid it's not as simple as saying "well my car has been over <country> border last week" as with the Spanish police they ask for a copy of your ferry/tunnel ticket to prove when the vehicle left the country it is registered in.

omostra06

you are of course strictly speaking right about the six month rule. however depending on where you are heading in portugal i dont imagine any problems with the police from my experiance. i have been stopped a couple of times normally in built up areas like lisbon, never in rural areas and they have never asked me how long i have been in the country with my car. this may change in the future. so you can happily use your car for six months without thinking about changing it, then a further six months if you want to take a chance, that is of course down to you. also i have been stopped less in the uk reg car than my previous portugal reg car.

not sure if you said allready..what Kia do you drive?

violets'n'vanilla

Hi all,

I'm reading and 'listening' to all your advice and information.

Kia Sedonna.

Bensafrim

There are so many interpretations of the importation of a car and even speaking with reputable agents you can get different views of the laws.
Easy to do it if you have residencia seems to be the common theme, and as said in an earlier reply, it can be done once only at no cost if you are a resident.
My dilemma is to find a reliable agent that can act quickly and not charge a fortune to achieve residencia and car importation.
Has anyone got personal recommendations?
Trekking back and forth to the UK every 6m is a pain and it is mandatory to go to get your MOT and tax.
I see many UK reg (old) cars around the Algarve and I am certain that many of the owners do not make the journies to the UK so how do they get around the taxation issue?
Can you get a legally standing UK MOT done in Portugal?
We bought a LHD Golf in the UK and after two years of Santander/Plymouth ferry trips we still think we made the right decision.

omostra06

you can get your car tax on line now, and no a pt mot is no good to a uk reg car