Helen248

Hi,

Can anyone recommend a good car sales place who speak English. We will need to buy a car ASAP and are purchasing a house near Arganil. We don't mind travelling to Coimbra or Porto.

Also any recommendations re car insurance. I have heard that car insurance is usually 3rd party only as too expensive for full comprehensive. Also I understand that second hand cars cost a lot more in Portugal than the UK. We just need a reliable second hand car and our budget is 3000 euros or under.

Many thanks.

liveaboard

I've been paying 300 for comprehensive on one car, and 60 per year for 3rd party + breakdown on a second car.
Medal in Portimao, Afpop group rate.

I'm going to downgrade from comprehensive to 3rd party + breakdown for both cars.

Helen248

Great, I will check them out.

Pilou

We also have a car insurance with Medal in Portimao and we pay 162 EUR per year for 3rd party + breakdown. 60 is really really cheap?!?!

Woodstore

You might try the website standvirtual.com

It's an online used cars for sale across Portugal. It will give you an idea of what is available and prices.

macliam

Don't expect to get much for €3000.

I have a car for which I paid almost €2000 a couple of years back - it's low mileage and (was) in good condition, but it's a 1999 Seat Arosa. There's no rust, of course, but the sun really starts to eat paintwork and plastics at that age and the electrics become suspect too. In the time I've owned it, the lacquer coat has started peeling away and various bits of trim have broken - the latest is that the glass in the front indicator just "disappeared" (like most, it was glued on). When I bought it I looked at a 5 year old Golf with over 100k on the clock - and they still wanted €18,000 for it!! More recently, I looked at used 2008s in the Algarve - but at 2 years old the stands still want close to the "new" price for them.

The Arosa runs like a rocket, but one window no longer opens (I've had to repair both sides before - and it isn't cheap) and I'm continually chasing bits that wear out - so I'm looking to bite the bullet and buy new....... maybe a Kia or Hyundai with a 7-year warranty, etc.

liveaboard

I was pretty surprised too.
Insurance is weird, the machine notes your place of residence, occupation, age, the type of car, even the color sometimes.

And in this case, it's a second car so usage is low.
A 1998 Mercedes CLK230k, 200hp coupe. Maybe people who own this sort of car drive it carefully...
I have claims for breakdown cover but not for any accidents.
My main usage car is 19 years old.

Rorypens

Do you think car insurance in Portugal is generally cheaper than in the UK? I was looking at buying in the UK and using for my first 3 months in Portugal but have been somewhat taken aback by some of the UK insurance quotes I have received (cars are cheap enough though!) because I can't find a well known UK insurer who accepts an overseas No Claims Discount letter in the UK. The quotes were so high that I decided to rent for 3 months instead and have the benefit/safety of LHD.

Is vehicle insurance generally cheaper in Portugal you think?

Helen248

Can anyone recommend a second hand car sales place near Porto? We have booked a couple of nights in Porto before we buy our property and hope to view cars in a couple of weeks.

Rorypens

I can answer my own question now, the UK rates were not that bad at all. As I have been away for so long I did not realize that now 3rd party F&T is now about 3 times more expensive than Comprehensive.

One lives and learns.

coleio

There's also some other randomness, adding another driver (or 5) can reduce the premium, going online through a "cashback" account got me 60 pounds cash back, companies like PostOffice and SAGA sometimes do a "we beat any quote by 50 pounds". Got mine down to under 100 pounds last year with a couple of hours inter netting.

gedscottish

Lot's of factors to take into account that affect the price of car insurance, drivers age and years with a licence, the amount of no claims bonus is very important, as is the vehicle itself and vitally what cover you have. Regarding the latter, often people are comparing apples to oranges. Something that it seems that's totally overlooked is the driver protection, I see cover as low as 5000€ for death or incapacity and 500€ for medical expenses. If the accident is your fault, that's what you're depending on! Don't just look at the price!

Fully comp as an absolute rough guide is usually around double what you'll pay for 3rd party, again there's different factors like excess. Older cars can be difficult to get fully comp for with some companies only allowing cars with 6-8 years old to subscribe. It is possible though with one Portuguese company up till 20.

Sure I am biased, I sell insurance but my advice is use a Portuguese company that has a proper network of support and avoid the damn banks! Oh and don't forget the "driver protection" (some companies may list that as "occupants" but really the passengers are covered under the 3rd party cover which has total minimum cover of 7.2 million, it's the driver who's not covered by this if they're at fault in an accident)

Helen248

I didn't think our no claims discount would transfer to Portugal from UK. Is there anything we need to do before we leave UK to obtain evidence of our NCD? Do I ask my current UK insurer to email me or send me confirmation of my NCD?

gedscottish

Helen, the only way we are guaranteed to have NCD accepted from abroad with our company (Fidelidade) is if the client imports their car from abroad and then insures here with proof from their previous insurance company in the UK or wherever. It is worth you asking for it though, costs nothing and worth a try. Your previous insurance company should automatically send you that when your insurance abroad cancels

liveaboard

When I was moving here I asked my old ins co about it, and they issued a nice looking document.
It was worthless here because it's not in Portuguese.
but look, anyone can understand it... not the point.
They gave me 5 or 10 years no claims bonus anyway.