# Cars...buy or take with you?



## sambacasual (Oct 25, 2007)

can anyone tell me,from experience,the pros and cons of both buying a car in greece and driving one from the UK?


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## sambacasual (Oct 25, 2007)

Sorry should of said hi aswell,so hi!

Thanks in advance


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## Wils & Nance (Dec 31, 2007)

Hi I know this post is a few months old, but, if you take your own car that is fine, the big but is, if you have a bump or your car is old and needing to be scrapped, you can't.........you have to pay to get it back to the uk !
They will not crush or scrap a uk registered car "FACT" !
I have worked in various parts of Greece and I know this to be true of any of the Islands. And there is no way you will be bump free, it's totally wacky races everywhere you go !


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## paulmallatratt (Mar 6, 2008)

*Buy Greek*



sambacasual said:


> can anyone tell me,from experience,the pros and cons of both buying a car in greece and driving one from the UK?


Hi Guys

I am new to the forum and spotted your question, so sorry if i am too late but! by all means take a car to Greece if you dont intend to leave it there for more than 6 months, because thats all the Law allows for here. There have been several instances of English cars that have been in Zakynthos for some years having been stopped by Police and as the cars cannot be insured Taxed or MOT'd then they have been seized and taken off the road and their owners fined or charged storage fees. Be warned the Greeks are taking these things a little more seriously these days. You can legally import your car to Greece but you must visit the Greek Embassy in Londan first and fill in the papers before you leave UK. Buying a car in Greece is quite easy but you should be aware that second hand cars do not depreciate to the same extent in Greece as they do in England so new cars are probably the preferred option.

Best Wishes
Paul M


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

paulmallatratt said:


> Hi Guys
> 
> I am new to the forum and spotted your question, so sorry if i am too late but! by all means take a car to Greece if you dont intend to leave it there for more than 6 months, because thats all the Law allows for here. There have been several instances of English cars that have been in Zakynthos for some years having been stopped by Police and as the cars cannot be insured Taxed or MOT'd then they have been seized and taken off the road and their owners fined or charged storage fees. Be warned the Greeks are taking these things a little more seriously these days. You can legally import your car to Greece but you must visit the Greek Embassy in Londan first and fill in the papers before you leave UK. Buying a car in Greece is quite easy but you should be aware that second hand cars do not depreciate to the same extent in Greece as they do in England so new cars are probably the preferred option.
> 
> ...


Cant you matriculate it on to Greek plates? Thats what you do to a car in Spain, and then it meets all local requirements with local insurance and road test


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## paulmallatratt (Mar 6, 2008)

*Greek Cars v English import*



Stravinsky said:


> Cant you matriculate it on to Greek plates? Thats what you do to a car in Spain, and then it meets all local requirements with local insurance and road test


Hi there - yes its possible - thats what i meant by visiting the Greek Embassy before you leave UK with your car, I understand that you must have owned the vehicle for more than 6 months have all the paperwork and then obtain papers from the embassy too. When you get to Greece you should visit the Customs authorities and they will advise you on the cost of transfering your car to Greek plates, however if the vehicle is more than five years old - there could be an extra cost as Greece is trying to resolve its pollutions problems and so a car that it over 5 years old is not considered to be environmentally friendly and attracts extra taxes as a consequence. Before anyone asks, there are no published figures for the amount of duty charged for importing used cars to Greece so i cannot tell you what the costs would be but maybe its just easier to buy a Greek one, that was my option and to date i dont regret it.


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## Toto (Feb 25, 2008)

You may find the info below useful. I'm going through the same process myself so wish me luck!

DUTY AND TAXATION EXEMPTION FOR PERSONS GOING TO GREECE FOR PERMANENT SETTLEMENT

Greek and foreign nationals who are permanent residents abroad may be issued with a certificate of transfer of normal residence provided that they have been residing permanently in the United Kingdom for at least the last three years before they transfer their normal residence to Greece.

In the event that the above persons are in Greece for any reason and they later express their wish to transfer their normal residence to Greece, they may be issued with a certificate of transfer of normal residence not later than 24 months after the date of their arrival in Greece.

In order to take advantage of duty and taxation exemptions Nationals of European Union member states MUST produce to the Greek Customs authorities at Customs clearance their five years residence permit for a national of a European Union member state issued by the Aliens Department or the local police in Greece.

In order to be issued with the certificate to which they are entitled allowing them to clear their vehicle, mobile home or motorcycle (over 250cc) the above persons must produce to the Consulate General of Greece the following:

a) any passports they may have (Greek or Foreign) covering the previous four years. If married, spouses passports are required for the same period.

b) vehicle registration document. They must have been keeper, owner and user in the United Kingdom of the specific vehicle, mobile home or motor cycle for more than six months prior to their entry to Greece. ALL UNITED KINGDOM TAXES must have been paid in total and a full driving license for at least the same period (i.e. over six months). The entitlement is one car per family.

c) P60 Forms or Tax Assessment Forms for the last three years and the last P45.

d) Council Tax for the last two years or if in rented accommodation a rent agreement contract.

e) If a new boat over 7.5 metres long is imported to Greece it must be declared to the Customs authorities and V.A.T. must be paid there.

f) Personal effects brought into Greece are not subject to Customs clearance.

g) Families may import only one vehicle, mobile home or bicycle.

Vehicles remain under the legal status of temporary importation for a period of six continuous months. If after six months vehicles are not re-exported they must be taken off the road that is, number plates must be handed in to the appropriate Customs office for at least six months but not more than twelve months.

Vehicles which have been taken off the road, the following year cannot be driven if the person with the right to drive has been out of Greece for less than 185 days.


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## synjones (Aug 12, 2008)

Yes you can do it.By taking your car there you should pay additional tax in that country and you can drive.Most of them who are living they country and going for abroad at the same time they can't take they vehicles.But most of them will prefer to buy the cars there itself.
=======================================================
synjones


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## billysrhodes (Aug 26, 2008)

As of today I have lost 2 vehicles that I will not pay the excessive amount of import duty demanded by the Greek customs people. If you are registered as a resident of Greece ( ie you have a blue card ) you cannot come in to the country and drive your UK registered vehicle for the 6 month period that is allowed to "tourists", you are GREEK and as such when the vehicle reaches Greece it is subject to normal Greek customs law. The values attached to any vehicle are magiced out of thin-air and then have "other expenses" added to the final amount. My 2 Secma Q-pods that cost 1650 pounds each would have cost me a minimun of 1500 euros each to import and then a further few hundred to have Greek plates put on them. My advice to anyone thinking about cars going to Greece is simple, dont do it and dont bother getting a blue card.


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## little duck (Oct 30, 2009)

*Duty and taxation exemption for persons going to greece for permanent settlement*



Toto said:


> You may find the info below useful. I'm going through the same process myself so wish me luck!
> 
> DUTY AND TAXATION EXEMPTION FOR PERSONS GOING TO GREECE FOR PERMANENT SETTLEMENT
> 
> ...


Hi Toto,

I have noticed that you tried to import a car to Greece February last year. How did this work out for you? Did you come across any issues along the way? I am asking because I am trying to do the same thing in about 6 months time. I am in the process of purchasing a left hand drive car in the UK to drive it for the minimum period of 6 months. I am hoping that I can have the car registered as a greek vehicle and not have to pay the excessive registration fee I hear so much about. If you or anyone else has had any experience with this, I would appreciate the help on this matter.


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## Toto (Feb 25, 2008)

little duck said:


> Hi Toto,
> 
> I have noticed that you tried to import a car to Greece February last year. How did this work out for you? Did you come across any issues along the way? I am asking because I am trying to do the same thing in about 6 months time. I am in the process of purchasing a left hand drive car in the UK to drive it for the minimum period of 6 months. I am hoping that I can have the car registered as a greek vehicle and not have to pay the excessive registration fee I hear so much about. If you or anyone else has had any experience with this, I would appreciate the help on this matter.


Hi all,

I successfully managed to complete the process a few months ago. It is rather long and complicated but if you follow the steps correctly you should have no issues.

Here is a brief description of the process:

1) Get in touch with the Greek Embassy in London and ask them to give you a list of the documentation you need to submit. They'll say 'go to our website' but don't listen to them - the list on the site is out of date and incomplete. Ask to speak to the person dealing specifically with this matter and doubke and triple check that it's correct.

I had to provide the following *original documentation*:
- Transfer of permanent residence to Greece - fill out the form provided by the Embassy. 
- Passport
- P45 from employer (more about this later)
- P60s for the last 3 years
- V5 car registration document (you need to have the car in your possesion 6 months minimum in the UK)
- Council tax statement for the last 2 years showing you don't owe to the council
- Utility bills for the last 3 years (one for each year)
- Bank statements of your current account for the last 3 years. These must show real transactions such as payment of your mortgage or rent.

All of the above must show name + home address.

Actually visiting the Embassy in London requires lots of patience and time. To put it bluntly it's a cr*p set up. I've been there 3 times in total and there's always a minimum 3 hour wait and people fighting and arguing with staff about various issues. Half the people that work there shouldn't even have a job! Arrive early (like 7:30am) to ensure youy are one of the first to be seen but there's no guarantee.

If you're lucky and your 'permanent move of residence to Greece' application to Greece is successful they'll post the certificate within a few days.

2) The next step is to ship the car to Greece or personally drive it here. Keep the documentation that proves when the car came into Greece as this will be needed later.

3) Make sure that your car has an 'Emissions certificate of conformity'. If it's a fairly recent model the manufacturer will include this as part of the documentation that came with the car. If you don't have it talk to the DVLA/Ministry of transport in the UK as getting here in Greece will be a bit of a nightmare as I found out.

4) Once in Greece take all of the above documents, and the car to a customs specialist who will prepare all appropriate paperwork to take it through customs. If you're settling down on an island you will have to put the car on a ferry and take it to one of the main customs offices as your local one does not have the authority to clear it. I am in Kefalonia and had to travel to Patras.

5) You will sign various papers at the customs office who will keep some important original documentation such as the UK V5 document as this is no longer needed in Greece.

6) Once back in your hometown/island you will need to take the car through MoT (KTEO) and then go to the Ministry of transport to get your Greek plates. Remove your British plates before you go to the MoT station. I stronlgy advise that you find a professional (there are lots specialising in this) who, for a fee, will take your car for MoT and deal with Ministry of Transport on your behalf. My friend did the whole thing in 2 days - it would have taken meseveral days. Just make sure you go to a local KEP office to give him/her authorisation to act on your behalf.

Once your plates and registration document are issued you are ready to insure the car before legally driving it.

Notes:
- If you are self employed or own your LTD company do not mention this when you go to the Greek Embassy. Just issue yourself a P45. Otherwise the process of proving you no longer have any outstanding issues/debts with the UK tax authorities gets rather complicated.

- Be aware that if your car is over 10 years old you will not be able to insure it full comp in Greece - just 3rd party.

- Ensure your car is still insured in the UK until the above process is completed. Your insurance company should still cover you for a period of up to 6 months if you are driving it in Greece. Check your UK insurance policy.

- Before you go ahead with the above make sure that it's worth the headache. In my case my car cost £6,000 in the UK whereas in Greece it was more than double that. The total cost of importing the car into Greece and taking advantage of the tax free benefit did not exceed £1,500.

- I strongly advise you do not import a right hand drive car purely on safety grounds.

- Duties and taxes change all the time and are based on your engine's capacity although this will soon be changed to reflect CO2 emissions and age.

Hope this helps 
Toto


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## Cairokid (Sep 15, 2009)

Well done for getting through all that and thank you for posting it.

I should say that what you experienced is likely to be fairly typical of any dealings you will have with bureacracy once you are here, so it will have been good practice!!


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## Jane&Jack (Apr 1, 2008)

Hi All

Whilst all the above is correct (and thanks for posting it!) I would like to add.......

For a newish car ie Toto's was £6000 and cost to him was approx £1500 then it is worth doing...however if you have an old car as we do then you are out of luck, our estimate for our 12yr old Vectra (in very good condition with fsh) was 20,000 euros for the classification tax (no longer called import registration)

So the older the car the more expensive it is, what you can do and this is what I also learned....2 things

1) drive your old car over to greece run it until you get stopped...if you do get told it has overstayed its welcome you are given two choices ...pay a huge fine and take the car back to UK....or you can give the car up to the police and waive the fine (this bit they dont tell you but it is true and apparantly legal)

2) drive your car over, if you have not been stopped in the 6 months of being in Greece then drive out of Greece and make sure you get a stamp or ticket to prove when you entered the country so you then have another 6 months from that date...and so on

Jane


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