Nobby J

Hi all,
New to the forum, and have just received my MM2H conditional approval.
I'm looking at buying a car in the UK under the "Personal Export Scheme".
I have not lived in the UK for some years but I am British, and it seems I can do that. Plan to keep it there for just over 6 months and then export to Malaysia.
Has anyone done this?
Even bits of the process would be of interest.
I plan to get myself a 6 month extension to the Conditional Approval so that I have time to get this organised.
Thanks
Ian

InVinoVeritas

Hi Nobby and welcome. I think what you propose to do may be a bit tricky as the country from which you import the car should be your last domicile but I've no idea what proof is required for that. My main concern would be whether any car you bought would be suitable for Malaysian conditions (fuel quality, cooling system etc) and whether it has an international warranty.

JC3

Hi Ian,

Congratulations on getting your CLA.

I looked at buying new and exporting from the UK too. In the end I decided against for some of the reasons IVV mentions, and bought an MM2H car once here in Malaysia instead.

It's important to realise that the 'benefit' of tax free import or purchase of a car in Malaysia under the MM2H scheme is not all that it seems. You will have to re-pay the duty/tax saved once you sell the car or re-export it.

What you will have to re-pay roughly reduces in line with depreciation of your car, although there seems to be no official 'table' available for public view.

I saved about 1/3 of the purchase cost of my car using the MM2H scheme, and think of the tax-saving as an interest-free loan, a large chunk of which I will need to re-pay at some point, unless I run the car into the ground.

I don't think there's much to be gained by importing a car unless it's something very very special.

Good luck whatever you decide.

JC3

Gunnar45

I agree with JC3, in 2009 I bought a CR-V here for appr. 100k instead of list price 150k.
So, unless there are some personal reasons, why go through the hassle of owning for 6 months and all other procedures, freight charges, etc....
Not to mention that as IVV says, the cars are built according to specs in the destination countries. (Like that there is no need for heated seats or anti freeze in the cooling system)

bakedbean

Hi Nobby and welcome to the forum. I've shifted your topic over to the Retirement and MM2H section

Nobby J

Still getting quotes from a bunch of sources. Will update the forum once I have all the info.
Thanks for the comments so far...
Ian

JC3

Hi,

Something else to think about is tinted glass.

My 'MM2H' car came with tinted glass as part of the deal, fitted for free by the manufacturer. In fact it's a film that's on the inside of the glass. Its purpose is to reduce glare and heat, and also to stop the glass breaking in a theft attempt. In Malaysia it's quite common for cars stopped at traffic lights to have a passenger window broken (e.g. by someone swinging a motorcycle helmet at it) and a briefcase / handbag or whatever snatched in seconds.

There are laws in Malaysia about the permitted level of tinting. It's probably worth checking these out if you want to import a car with tinted glass already fitted.

JC3

NeonHippy

Another thing to bear in mind is spares and servicing if the car manufacturer does not have a dealership network in Malaysia.

Nobby J

Hi All, Finally got some quotes together for import vs local assembled purchase.
I looked at a Volvo V40 T4, (the MM2H price is about 37% off the normal list) at RM108762 or approx US$32,168
The quote I rec'd from the UK (VAT Free for export) was US$28,900 with the same transmission offered in Malaysia, (but I assume with heater etc etc all of which would not be much use).
Shipping was quoted at RM10500, or US$3105 bringing the total (not including shipping insurance) to US$32,005
As far as I can see there is no advantage (may even be a financial penalty) in doing this for a bog standard car.
Thanks to all for the comments.
Ian