# Cars - import or buy



## W800 (Jun 21, 2014)

Can anyone advise please:

If we were to import a transit van worth around £2000 does anyone have any info on costs of importing to Portugal?

Or should we buy something in Portugal - if it's cheaper to do this can anyone recommend second hand car dealers around Alvares? Or can anyone recommend websites to look at please?


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

If you can meet the criteria of importing tax free as a new resident then it might be worth doing but if you can't then it probably isn't...... esp if it's RHD.

You'll get a good idea of car values at Standvirtual - O Nº1 em Carros Usados, Carros Baratos or .com


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## In 2 bikes (Apr 18, 2013)

Transit van - definitely by a left hand drive here. When you come to round-a-bouts or 'offset' junction lines, ( T- junctions which angle to the right ), you will not be able to see to the left because of your van's panelling.

Imagine being in your van in the UK and coming up to a give way line at 45 degrees to the main road to turn right. You know that experience when you can't see to the left because all you can see is the passenger seat. Well that difficulty is magnified here because you're on the other side of the road permanently in a RHD vehicle.

Plus lane changing on the motorway presents you with massively limited views to the rear too.


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## SpiggyTopes (Feb 1, 2015)

I've done a fair amount of research into this and the issue seems to be not so much the actual importation, where the rules are clear, but the legalisation.

It appears the the vehicle has to homologated in Portugal - which means that, basically, the type must be or have been available to buy in Portugal. I think.

So, for example, we cannot bring a Volvo XC90 petrol model because it has not been approved for the Portuguese market ...

I would love someone to contradict me on this.


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## canoeman (Mar 3, 2011)

A major consideration people also ignore, would your imported vehicle last 5 years because that's the length of time before you can legally sell or dispose without repaying pro rata ISV saved


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## SpiggyTopes (Feb 1, 2015)

Hadn't spotted that one!

Cheers.


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## canoeman (Mar 3, 2011)

Totally wrong, you can import any vehicle, regardless of if ever sold in Portugal, it's about having correct paperwork & ECC or similar for car in question


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## SpiggyTopes (Feb 1, 2015)

This is very interesting (to me, anyway).

What I understood is this:


* The vehicle has to be type approved in Europe, meaning it complies with standards including emissions, noise, safety etc.
* That the Portuguese authorities have in the past (and maybe still do) levy a tax or duty when importing a vehicle from another EU state.
* This being against EU rules, the PT government pays a fine for each act, but retains the tax levied.
* The benefit from the tax is greater than the fine imposed by Brussels.

Is this just a story that has grown, or is there any truth in it today?


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

A new immigrant can import 1 vehicle tax free within 6 months of his/her arrival if he/she has had said vehicle registered in his/her name for 12 months prior.

If the owner and vehicle do not meet that criteria then import tax has to be paid and the amount of tax payable is dependent on engine size & emissions etc not on value of vehicle. 

As C/M quite rightly says, if it's imported tax free then the owner must repay outstanding tax if it is sold within 5 years and the amount of tax to be repaid is decided on a sliding scale depending on when it was imported/sold.

If import tax is paid then it can be sold at any time without penalties.

FWIW, I imported my car 3 years ago and according to the traffic dept it's the only vehicle of it's type in the country. 

Noise: There are noise standards but basically, if the car if fitted with an EU approved silencer then it's fine. As an example, my car was fitted with straight through Cobra side pipes (which were VERY loud) when it came in and I had to fit an EU approved silencer between the manifolds and the sidepipes. - It's not as noisy as it was but it is still noisy but gets through the annual inspection every year without comment. 

Mine is a classic but those rules apply equally to all cars whether classic or not.


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## canoeman (Mar 3, 2011)

NO truth to that statement, most EU countries have some autonomy, in Portugal's case they levy ISV perfectly legal under current EU Law, it's another of those urban myths


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