# Import a car or buy on arrival



## RMcC (Dec 31, 2013)

As we get closer to our move to Cyprus in just over 2 months, I am trying to decide if I should ship my car with me or sell it in the UK and buy a used car on arrival. I note that used cars on the island appear to be pretty expensive and there are lots on the market. 
I own a pretty good car which is less than 3 year old and I have owned it from new, Toyota Avensis Estate with 27000 miles on the clock
I would welcome the thoughts of the forum members and in particular anyone who has recently been faced with a similar decision to make.
I have already made Contact with Simon at Deal on Wheels as he has received a number of recommendations on the forum, he does however tend to deal in older cars.
Has anyone had dealings with SC Motors as they appear to have a good selection of used cars - pity they don't display the asking price on the website!!!
SC Motors - Cyprus Car Dealer | Cars for sale in Paphos > Home
or can recommend any other good dealers 
At the moment I feel my best option is to ship my car but I would welcome any comments to help in the final decision making process.


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## Baywatch (Mar 30, 2014)

RMcC said:


> As we get closer to our move to Cyprus in just over 2 months, I am trying to decide if I should ship my car with me or sell it in the UK and buy a used car on arrival. I note that used cars on the island appear to be pretty expensive and there are lots on the market.
> I own a pretty good car which is less than 3 year old and I have owned it from new, Toyota Avensis Estate with 27000 miles on the clock
> I would welcome the thoughts of the forum members and in particular anyone who has recently been faced with a similar decision to make.
> I have already made Contact with Simon at Deal on Wheels as he has received a number of recommendations on the forum, he does however tend to deal in older cars.
> ...


Because you have owned it for so long time I would recommend to bring it with you. There will be no Excise Duty because you can bring it as personal property. Only the costs for shipping and customs clearence to pay. Then you will have a car here that you know well

It ias a little paper work but customs are very helpful


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## Hudswell (May 14, 2010)

Refer to the sticki by David who has recently imported his car.....all you need to know in an easy to understand read....


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## Steve & Julie (Oct 11, 2014)

In a similar position to yourself, just over 4 months for us before we move, our car is 2 & half years old, after much deliberation, we have decided to bring it with us....in comparing the loss of selling to retaining & shipping, it is more cost effective to keep the car. We understand the full history of the car, have no issues with it, is a low emissions car thus minimal import costs, thus,decision was an easy one for us...bring it with us....Good luck on your move


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## raprog (Nov 23, 2014)

We are bringing our Citroen C1 with us.....£472 price given from Southampton.


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## RMcC (Dec 31, 2013)

Hudswell said:


> Refer to the sticki by David who has recently imported his car.....all you need to know in an easy to understand read....


 thanks, have read this in detail and it is very helpful if I decide to bring the car with me.


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## RMcC (Dec 31, 2013)

Steve & Julie said:


> In a similar position to yourself, just over 4 months for us before we move, our car is 2 & half years old, after much deliberation, we have decided to bring it with us....in comparing the loss of selling to retaining & shipping, it is more cost effective to keep the car. We understand the full history of the car, have no issues with it, is a low emissions car thus minimal import costs, thus,decision was an easy one for us...bring it with us....Good luck on your move


 many thanks and like you I suspect we will bring the car with us, just a few more facts to confirm before the final decision.


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## RMcC (Dec 31, 2013)

raprog said:


> We are bringing our Citroen C1 with us.....£472 price given from Southampton.


 that sounds like a pretty good quote to ship your car, much less than our quote.


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## ratty2828 (Nov 5, 2014)

I am following this post and wonder if I can have some advice,i am planning to come to Cyprus next year for initially 3 or 4 months to see how I like living there,i am planning to drive from UK can anyone tell me about cost, ie will I have to pay import tax etc thanks in advance


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

http://www.expatforum.com/expats/cy...13-importing-registering-car-uk-cyprus-5.html


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## Baywatch (Mar 30, 2014)

ratty2828 said:


> I am following this post and wonder if I can have some advice,i am planning to come to Cyprus next year for initially 3 or 4 months to see how I like living there,i am planning to drive from UK can anyone tell me about cost, ie will I have to pay import tax etc thanks in advance


If you plan 3-4 months you can use your car on the original plates up to six months. No tax, only customs clearance fees. Remember MOT from origin country and insurance must be valid. You need to get a form C104 from customs to be allowed to drive on foreign plates in Cyprus


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## Hudswell (May 14, 2010)

If you are planning to drive to Cyprus...have you actually planned how you are getting your car onto the Island?....there are no car ferries so to speak...so,at some point you will have to "fright" your car in..unless of course you plan to stay in the occupied area...


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## Baywatch (Mar 30, 2014)

Hudswell said:


> If you are planning to drive to Cyprus...have you actually planned how you are getting your car onto the Island?....there are no car ferries so to speak...so,at some point you will have to "fright" your car in..unless of course you plan to stay in the occupied area...


The Athens -Limassol line with Salamis lines are very OK nowadays. Or you only ship the car with Salamis and take a cheap flight from Athens to Paphos, there are many to choose from


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## ratty2828 (Nov 5, 2014)

Thanks for all replies,really helpful,think it might be UK to Athens to Limassol then,next question anybody ever done that route? if so what pitfalls should I look out for and any timescale would be good,thanks again


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## Baywatch (Mar 30, 2014)

ratty2828 said:


> Thanks for all replies,really helpful,think it might be UK to Athens to Limassol then,next question anybody ever done that route? if so what pitfalls should I look out for and any timescale would be good,thanks again


I have done Germany to Cyprus using that route many times at work. The best is to drive to Ancona in Italy, take the ferry to Thessaloniki and then drive cross Greece to Lavrio, the little harbor outside Athens. The ferry from Ancona is super, take 18 hours. 

From UK must be best Dover Calais, then through France via Reims Metz and then via Stuttagart Ulm Munich in Germany to Insbruck in Austria. From Insbruck over Brennerpass to Italy and then straight to Ancona. Very nice route all the way, but not possible in one day


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## ratty2828 (Nov 5, 2014)

Thanks for all your replies,special thanks to Baywatch very helpful


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## Jam1ee (Mar 1, 2015)

Sounds a good price. Who was the quote from, as we might be interested in importing a vehicle.
Thanks


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## zach21uk (Jun 26, 2014)

ratty2828 said:


> I am following this post and wonder if I can have some advice,i am planning to come to Cyprus next year for initially 3 or 4 months to see how I like living there,i am planning to drive from UK can anyone tell me about cost, ie will I have to pay import tax etc thanks in advance


I drove from Serbia in Europe to Cyprus last year, via Lavrios/Athens in Greece so I can comment extensively on this subject. In addition, I have driven from Paris to Serbia as well, so I have pretty much driven the entire route you are talking about driving.

As others have mentioned, the shipping company you will/should use is Salamis Shipping. I chose to travel on the ship with my car. From Lavrios Port, which is just outside of Athens, it took around 34 hours to get to Limassol. I paid 510 euros for the car and an extra 210 euros to travel on board the ship. I chose to do this primarily because the car was packed floor to roof with valuable personal possesions and I felt more comfortable travelling with it.

Arriving in Cyprus, there was a process to go through in Limassol before driving away with the car. You also have to pay port fees of around 70 euros if I remember correctly.

Regarding the drive, In Feb 2014, I also drove from Belgrade, Serbia up as far as Paris, France and then back again, so I can pretty much comment on the entire route you would take from the UK to Cyprus with the exception of getting from the UK to France. 

Paris to Belgrade in Feb 2014 took me about 13-14 hours, and Belgrade to Lavrios/Athens in Aug 2014 took me 12 hours. In both cases, I split the drive into two parts, so in your case, you'd probably do it over 3 days, perhaps 4 or even 5 if you want to sightsee along the way.

I can recommend decent places to stay that are along the highways/motorways if you like.

From Paris, the route you take should go through Germany, Austria, Hungary, Serbia, Macedonia and then Greece.

In Germany, I did not encounter any road tolls, nor in Austria, but the police in both countries are very "on it" when it comes to enforcing speed limits. In Hungary, there are road tolls and they DO enforce them with random stops and checks at almost all of the petrol stations you might stop at along the highways. Tolls in Hungary shouldn't be more than around 7 euros in total. 

There are no border checkpoints at any of the country borders until you hit Serbia, which is a Non-EU country, as is Macedonia. You'll have border stops at the Hungarian/Serbian border, then Serbia/Macedonia, and Macedonia, Greece. You won't spend any more than 30-40 minutes at each border. 

Its pretty much all highways until the south of Serbia, where you wind through some mountinous regions and the road does regularly go down to single lanes A/B roads here with much slower speed limits. Total tolls driving through Serbia should be no more than 8 euros.

Macedonia is a tiny country that you'll pass through in a couple of hours from one end to the other. All highways again and tolls total around 3-4 euros.

Once you get into Greece, between the border and Athens, you are going to pay about 25-30 euros in tolls, and no, I am not kidding when I say that. It'll feel like you are stopping every 20-30 minutes to pay another toll because, guess what, you are!

Lavrio itself is around 20-25 minutes outside of Athens. I chose to stay at a hotel outside of Athens, on the way to Lavrio so that I could relax before driving a final 10 minutes to the port the next day. Salamis ask you to get to the port early, and will take your car from you almost right away, but then do not let you onboard the ship (if you are travelling with your car) until 1 or 2pm. There are very limited facilities at the port. No wi-fi internet. One tiny cafe that serves drinks and snacks at average prices.

The cabins on board the ship are basic but nice, quiet, and to be honest, I found the 36 hour disconnect from everything else to be quite relaxing!

From the port, a taxi back to Athens Airport for example is around 30-40 euros I was told, so if you fly from Athens to Paphos, its not too difficult, though you do have to make your way to Limassol to pick up your car if you fly, of course, and being without a car yourself, your stuck with a taxi or public transport to get to Limassol.

Thats all I can think to write for now. If you have specific questions or want hotel/motel stops that I would recommend along the route from France to Greece, let me know.

Best,
Zach

P.S. Forgot to mention about Petrol. Paris to Belgrade used up 3.5 tanks of Petrol in my car, and another 2 tanks from Belgrade to Athens. Average fuel economy was 7.8l/100km. Definetly need to factor that into your costs as it does add up!


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## Baywatch (Mar 30, 2014)

zach21uk said:


> I drove from Serbia in Europe to Cyprus last year, via Lavrios/Athens in Greece so I can comment extensively on this subject. In addition, I have driven from Paris to Serbia as well, so I have pretty much driven the entire route you are talking about driving.
> 
> As others have mentioned, the shipping company you will/should use is Salamis Shipping. I chose to travel on the ship with my car. From Lavrios Port, which is just outside of Athens, it took around 34 hours to get to Limassol. I paid 510 euros for the car and an extra 210 euros to travel on board the ship. I chose to do this primarily because the car was packed floor to roof with valuable personal possesions and I felt more comfortable travelling with it.
> 
> ...


I would still recommend going via Italy and using 2 ferries. You are then inside EU all the time and it is easy to get help if something happens to the car f.ex. Also check the car insurance how it cover if something happen

However one thing in Zachs text is wrong. You should pay roadtax in Austria in the Petrol station by the border. You can buy for seven days, it is cheap. Zach was just lucky to not get caught, because all cars are checked by camera and stopped by police. normally.


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## David_&_Letitia (Jul 8, 2012)

To answer the original question, I recommend bringing your car rather than one buying here. This is primarily because you know the history of the car, it has low emissions and it will command a better price here than the UK if and when you decide to trade it in. Buying a second hand car always entails an element of risk and the cars here are generally more expensive.

In your specific case, the emissions of your car will mean that should you decide to bring it to Cyprus, your import duty will be minimal. The shipping costs will therefore probably be the deciding factor for you.

Driving through Europe from UK sounds like a great adventure and if that appeals to you, then you may wish to consider it. However, paying for the channel crossing, fuel, overnight accommodation and food along the way and then shipping from Athens to Limassol sounds both exhausting and expensive when compared to shipping direct from Southampton and flying over via a low cost carrier!


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## Baywatch (Mar 30, 2014)

David_&_Letitia said:


> To answer the original question, I recommend bringing your car rather than one buying here. This is primarily because you know the history of the car, it has low emissions and it will command a better price here than the UK if and when you decide to trade it in. Buying a second hand car always entails an element of risk and the cars here are generally more expensive.
> 
> In your specific case, the emissions of your car will mean that should you decide to bring it to Cyprus, your import duty will be minimal. The shipping costs will therefore probably be the deciding factor for you.
> 
> Driving through Europe from UK sounds like a great adventure and if that appeals to you, then you may wish to consider it. However, paying for the channel crossing, fuel, overnight accommodation and food along the way and then shipping from Athens to Limassol sounds both exhausting and expensive when compared to shipping direct from Southampton and flying over via a low cost carrier!


I think there will be nil duty, because it can be taken in as personal property.

Driving here must be seen as an adventure and vacation in it self. The route is not like anything available in UK. But it will for sure not be cheaper than a ship/flight from UK solution


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## zach21uk (Jun 26, 2014)

Baywatch said:


> I would still recommend going via Italy and using 2 ferries. You are then inside EU all the time and it is easy to get help if something happens to the car f.ex. Also check the car insurance how it cover if something happen
> 
> However one thing in Zachs text is wrong. You should pay roadtax in Austria in the Petrol station by the border. You can buy for seven days, it is cheap. Zach was just lucky to not get caught, because all cars are checked by camera and stopped by police. normally.


Had no idea about the Road Tax requirement for Austria. I was actually going to post a similar warning about Hungary - you are required to stop at a petrol station once you cross into Hungary and buy road tax. I made the mistake of not doing this and in my defence, it was NOT sign-posted at the border and a cursory google search prior to the drive did not reveal this. They do not care of course and I did get a 50 euro ticket.

Anyway, I suppose the Italy route might be an advantage if you really do not want to leave the EU, however, I personally think the route I mentioned is a lot nicer, ESPECIALLY if you want to sight-see along the way. You pass through a heck of a lot more cities of interest: Paris, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Munich, Vienna, Budapest, Szeged, Novi Sad, Belgrade, Nis, Skopje, Thessaloniki & Athens just to name the bigger ones.

Your European Insurance Policy should cover Serbia & Macedonia - mine did when I initially moved to Serbia and their road side services do provide full service if you breakdown.


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## Baywatch (Mar 30, 2014)

zach21uk said:


> Had no idea about the Road Tax requirement for Austria. I was actually going to post a similar warning about Hungary - you are required to stop at a petrol station once you cross into Hungary and buy road tax. I made the mistake of not doing this and in my defence, it was NOT sign-posted at the border and a cursory google search prior to the drive did not reveal this. They do not care of course and I did get a 50 euro ticket.
> 
> Anyway, I suppose the Italy route might be an advantage if you really do not want to leave the EU, however, I personally think the route I mentioned is a lot nicer, ESPECIALLY if you want to sight-see along the way. You pass through a heck of a lot more cities of interest: Paris, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Munich, Vienna, Budapest, Szeged, Novi Sad, Belgrade, Nis, Skopje, Thessaloniki & Athens just to name the bigger ones.
> 
> Your European Insurance Policy should cover Serbia & Macedonia - mine did when I initially moved to Serbia and their road side services do provide full service if you breakdown.


Yea also Hungary I forgot. But Austria is more dangerous because the video cameras.


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## RMcC (Dec 31, 2013)

Hi All - Many thanks for the input to my original question about " To Bring the car or buy on arrival"
All the information received has been very helpful and I have now decided to ship my car along with my other goods.

Good to hear spring appears to have sprung on the island, I type this during a very typical Scottish day - 10 mins ago we had heavy snow showers, the sun is now shining through the window!!!

Less than 10 weeks to go before we arrive and very much looking forward to it.


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## wizard4 (Feb 3, 2013)

As one fellow Scotsman to another good luck with the move.
Cheers


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## wizard4 (Feb 3, 2013)

Forgot to say checked the value of my car in Cyprus, its worth almost double what it is here, plus insurance, is half the amount I pay and road tax is cheaper as well!
Cheers


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## RMcC (Dec 31, 2013)

wizard4 said:


> As one fellow Scotsman to another good luck with the move. Cheers


 wizard4, many thanks for your best wishes. Although I live in Scotland I am not a Scotsman as I was born and raised in Belfast. I expect after living in Scotland for the last 20 years with the last 13 working for Scottish Rugby, I might be considered an honorary Scotsman!!!!!!


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