# Should we buy car in England for Portugal?



## beverleyp

Hi everyone

Have heard that cars are v. expensive in Portugal. Should we buy in England for Portugal? Can you buy lefthand drive cars in England? Are cars perhaps cheaper in Spain? Thanks for any advice.

Beverley


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## silvers

Me again.
To matriculate a foreign car to Portuguese plates for free-ish, you must have owned the vehicle for at least 12 months. And be able to prove this by supplying many documents, you must also do this within 6 months of taking residency. If you decide to pay the matriculation fee, this can run into many thousands of euros. Our neighbours would have been 14,000 euros.
Cars here are not cheap and you are better buying new, if you can afford it.


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## John999

*Car from uk*

Hi Beverleyp
It is true that the cars in Portugal are a lot more expensive than in the UK. In first place VAT is 20% and Portugal still charge “car tax” already abolished in many EU countries. If you have to pay the normal fees, they will be depending on the size of the car engine and value. There is many ways to go around this if you keep the car for 12months before you apply for Portuguese reg. plates. Another thing you will have to have in consideration is, if the vehicle or vehicles, (you are allow to bring one for every person in your family, who moves in the country, with a driving license), are left or right hand drive. A right hand drive will not worth a penny, if you want to exchange in the future, unless you find a buyer who wants to go back to the UK as some expats are doing. To finish, the 6 months period for registered your vehicle will start counting from the day you get a Portuguese residence certificate
John999


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## omostra06

I would suggest bighting the bullet and buying here in PT, it will cost more but when you resell its still worth more, its easier than the stress of importing a car, and if you dont get the free import (free ish) then the import tax is huge, normally the tax is much more than the value of the car.

The price of LHD cars in the uk has also gone up a lot recently, so you will probably pay more anyway,


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