JakeC

Hi guys,
I am very new to this site so if you could bare with me that would be great
I have a few questions for you guys that I could do with clearing up, I'll start by giving you a little bit of background information.

I am 21 years of age and am looking to join my best friend in Portugal where he is staying at his parents holiday home (for how long were not sure). I have two options available to me, I can fly out there and be boring about it... Or I can drive my car out there with the intention of selling it over there.

The reason I wanted to opt for the latter was mainly because I've been told I'd get alot more for my car in Portugal than I would in England, also because I really fancy the drive over there.

Basically what I need to know is :
- How easy/difficult is it to sell a UK registered car in Portugal?
- How would I go about selling it? (I assumed there would be a site simliar to Autotrader)
- How much extra do cars actually sell for over there?

I am aware that I can only keep my car for 183 days before I have to matriculate the vehicle, however I don't think I will be there for that long anyway, and even if I was it wouldn't be a big deal to drive it back to the UK and fly back over.

Finally, the car I own is a BMW 320D 2004 registered, a very very well looked after car, folders and folders of paperwork and over 6k worth of receipts so I cant see the car being a problem at all.

I really appreciate you guys reading my post and (hopefully) replying with some useful information for a young boy in need

Once again Thank you

gedscottish

If it was a LHD on a Portuguese plate, for sure you would get 10-12k euros for it! However it is not so you will get UK value for it(around 2.5-3.5k??) that is if someone is perhaps looking to move back to the UK(so a very small market). Failing that you will have to drive it back again or sell it here for spares(should fetch 2k)

Whoever told you, tell them they were talking pish!

p.s all values mentioned are in euros.

JakeC

Hi,
Thanks for your reply mate!
I know it's probably me being stupid but what is an LHD?
So basically I will probably come back worse off if I sell it over there compared to England?
If that's the case I'm disappointed

Once again thanks for your reply! And I'll get onto the bas**rds that fed me useful information

AliceCaroline

As I understand it you won't get a lot for it unless it's been matriculated and has it's Portuguese plates, and you can't matriculate a car unless you are a resident. And unless you could prove you'd owned the car in the UK for twelve months you'd have to pay alot of tax on it.
If it was as easy as bringing a UK car over and selling it for a big profit then we'd all be doing it. If something sounds too good to be true it usually is.

AliceCaroline

LHD = Left Hand Drive.

JakeC

Hi Alice! Thanks for your reply,
Yeah I guess I was being a little bit hopeful if I'm honest but I had to ask.
So if I was to sell it out there as a RHD UK registered car it would sell for the UK value?
Because as long as I'm not going to lose money on it I'm happy to sell it out there for a similar price to what it would fetch in England?

mikelincs

Advice from people who 'knew someone who did it' or because they have seen the prices of second hand cars in Portugal and made, erroneous, assumptions is the sort of advice you really should not heed, always ask where someone is likely to know the answers. I knew someone who decided to take his Spanish reg car back to the UK and re-register it there, he found the cost of the re-registering and getting the correct paperwork was more than the car was worth in the UK, so he had to drive it back to Spain, sell it quickly for what he could get, and then fly back. Cheaper than re-registering, but not a great deal.

Fredbargate

No

You would be lucky to get peanuts for it and not many either

mfesharne

Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings but I reckon you'd be very lucky indeed to even get UK value.

gedscottish

Only way this would have been worth the risk is if it was only worth 1.5-2k in uk as you would get that for it selling it to someone who wanted to break it for spares.

peterfc

Or you may find someone moving back to the UK, but then again if someone is going back it's probably because they have run out of money.

Or keep it and drive back yourself.

Peter " If you can dream it you can do it, Just believe "

MrBife

In summer its going to cost you €500 + euros a month to rent a Renault Clio so if you drive down, use your car for up to 6 months and drive it back again you will have saved more than €3k

However do bear in mind that Portuguese roads are terrible and Portuguese drivers can be, lets say, unpredictable. The chances of driving it home again in the same condition as when it arrived are slim. Don't forget to advise your insurance company if you do drive down and make sure MOT and Tax don't run out whilst you are here. For insurance to be valid you have to be street legal for the UK

Best place to sell a UK registered car will always be the UK.