Is It worth bringing my car to malta from uk

have pmd you

Thank You

The answer to your question Alfie97AA is a definate NO!

Having just shipped my car from the UK to Malta and still working on the bureaucracy, I'd agree with Terry and Rob. Don't do it.
all the best
Jeannie

As I mentioned in an earlier post, last month I think. A 30 day permit will be required for imported vehicles to drive in Malta as from January 1st 2016. Transport Malta have warned that vehicles without this permit will be towed away and forfeited.The permit in the form of a licence disk affixed to the windscreen will allow owners to drive imported vehicles on Maltese roads for 30 days before registering them.A resident who imports a used vehicle into Malta has to inform Transport Malta by taking the vehicle to Transport Malta Offices in Floriana by the first working day after its arrival and they will issue the 30 day permit for a 20 euro fee. the owner needs to submit an insurance policy and the log book. The importer can opt to register the vehicle immediately. They will also check the chassis number of all vehicles. They will also check the value of the vehicle and charge a tax against it which is approximately half the value of the vehicle. That is what they did with me anyway, therefore I wasn't prepared to pay it so after importing my vehicle which was valued about 5500 euros they wanted a tax of 2600 euros plus I would have had to pay for Maltese plates plus the Road Tax plus the £2500 for bringing it over on a ship in a container I said no and sold the car to an Arab who bought it off me for 2000 euros so it wasn't worth all that hassle and in the end I was glad to get rid of it even though I lost quite a large amount of money.So I would not recommend bringing a car here. Sell in the UK or whatever country you live in and you will get what it is worth. Also the Maltese change the rules every 5 minutes

Yes but only if you are a resident, so until you apply for your EID you are still a tourist and as such can bring your car in without the permit.

Plus its a registration fee not an import tax ( import tax is against EU rules).

Terry

Yes Terry I am a Resident. And it may well be the Registration Fee and not a Tax. I never mentioned Import Tax. I just mentioned Tax. I just got the wording incorrect. But it is still a Bloody Rip Off

I imported my car from the UK, granted it wasn't an expensive car. I got it shipped over by a Maltese company on a Transporter for €700 euros, paid the Registration fee of €800 euros, still far cheaper than buying the same car in Malta. Having said that, circumnavigating the Transport Malta system was time consuming, now I've done it once though it would be much more straight forward if I decided to do it again.

€1600 euros plus the £1000 the car was worth in the UK it still paid off but was a pain as I said.

I can see why cars are so expensive in Malta as the registration fee really does push the costs up for Importers and Car Dealerships..

I would do it again but only because I know the system now, if I knew it was going to be so tricky I would have thought twice originally

If you do decide to go for it, PM me and I can help you with registering it. If you have owned the car for over 2 years and you are setting up home in Malta you can get Exemption from registration tax.

Tom

Tom. My car was worth around £4000 in the UK. What I have said in my post was factual. I actually arranged to meet a man named John Bilocca who is one of the top people in Transport Malta, the meeting was arranged through a government person and although my car was 7 years old he would not wave on the registration fee telling me that as from January.1st. 2016. everyone has to pay it and would not listen to me, if you or anyone else wishes to phone him his number is *** and they will get the same answer. I appreciate your offer of help and assistance but like I sad in my first post I sold my car at a great loss but that now is water under the bridge and I now have no desire to drive on Maltese roads again. I an quite happy using my 60 plus Tallinja card in the future

As far as I'm aware you can still apply for exception if you have owned the car for more than 2 years, this I believe is still the case as I met someone who had also gone down the same route. I understand your situation and we all make our own choices that suit us.
I spoke to 3 different people at TM and different answers each time I spoke to someone and I've had his experience through all government services, different people have different answers to the same question. One of the niggles of malta it seems.

My offer of assistance was yo Alfie. . The original poster, you have obviously done what suited you but if anyone is concidering importing heir car I could maybe offer decent advice from experience and possibly help someone avoid what I went through

Tom. Why is it worth chancing when anyone has had to experience what I have. Like you say  you can get in touch with different people at Transport Malta and they all have different opinions and views on rules and regulations, the man I saw was the main man down there that is why I threw a bag over it and I wasn't prepared to go any further because I had been trying to sort it out for 14 months

All the information for registering your vehicle is on the TM website, complete with links to the forms costs etc.
Nothing complicated and very easy to understand.
Imported our car from France when we moved here,  applied for and got our exemption.
Took all the paperwork to Floriana and the vehicle was inspected ,fee paid and paperwork done in under 2 hours.

The downside to the exemption is that you cannot sell or scrap the vehicle without paying the import fee ( on a sliding scale dependant on length of  time in Malta).

Terry

Agreed. My exemption was unfortunately refused on a 2 day over sight on owning the vehicle (my fault). Probably could've appealed it but as explained I can now legally sell my car if i choose now that the tax is paid and its actually worth far more than what I have paid out on it by importing it.

Sorry you had so much trouble Terry but I still believe importing a car is worthwhile as long as you do ur research before hand and are willing to put in the effort in. It can save you from having to pay maltese the high car prices. If you are happy on the bus then good luck to you, not for me thanks.. with a young family and a beautiful island to explore the bus is not the way we roll.

Not really sure what your " top man at tm" said but if you researched the vehicle and process prior to shipping the car you surely would've found the registration fee calculator and exemption requirements etc before hand ..

I don't now need a car any longer to travel the Island. My kids and grandkids are all grown people now and that is why I say as far as my Wife and I are concerned it wont be missed with the large volume of traffic on the roads and lack of parking spaces especially in the summertime. I have been coming here for 30 years so I have seen everything that I want or need to see and so did my kids and grandkids that is why the public transport will will suit us now because we are in our retirement. After all the island is only 16.8 miles long by 9 miles wide

Well I'm flying over for a week next Wednesday I've never been to Malta/Gozo but from what I've heard it sounds the ideal place to settle down. If all goes well I intend to drive my car down in April mainly so that I can bring as many belongings as possible. I know I'll probably have to pay tax as I've only owned this particular car 18 months. I found the tax calculator on the transport website and even with the tax calculated €600 and the low cost of insurance I think im probably better off. I plan to look for somewhere on Gozo to live (just me) with occasional visits from grand kids etc. the car I have is the oldest car I've ever owned 12 years so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. 

We sold our UK car, then bought a Maltese one when we got there!
Just a thought!
Debbie

Hi ya.

I've just come across this thread and it looks like you are in the know about Malta lol

Please can you explain to me about driving to Malta?
So it's not as easy as driving through Europe catch a few ferries, register your car once there ... Job done??? Please can you explain the procedure for me. I will be trying for residency once I'm there if this helps.

Thank you in advance!

Yes it is as easy as that, drive down to Italy (either the toe of Italy or Napoli / Solerno) then catch the ferry from Pozzalo to Malta.

Either make it part of your holiday and drive slowly or hit the motorways and do it in a couple of days.

This link gives you the ferry companies and websites...

http://www.cemar.it/ferries.html

and this link is for ferry from Sicily to Malta...

http://www.virtuferries.com/

You arrive as a tourist and apply for your EID when you decide to stay and have a long term rental agreement (more than six months) on a property.

Terry

I have just read about registration tax? What is that about?
Do I not just drive over. Get my residency then change the number plates? Why is it so expensive?
Thank you for ur help

Its about registering your car in Malta, its compulsory and its expensive to discourage any more cars being imported to Malta.
Insurance and road tax is also expensive.

Terry

Tubseytel.
                     Read my earlier post from the 11th. February.
                                                                                                         Terry

And I do not think that the car financing company is going to be too happy about you becoming resident in a foreign country and the car being plated with a Maltese number plate and handing over the necessary documents to register the car in Malta.

To register the car you have to be the owner  and pay the registration tax. Until the car is paid up the financing company is the owner of the car and will not be pleased to have to pay several thousand Euro's registration tax and loose control of the car because it is gone .... like left the UK !

You need to check these things , it is not that easy unless you just come and go as a tourist.

Cheers
Ricky

Hi

Can you offer any help in registering my 2004 Volvo estate. I'm desperate and was quoted 3100.00. Annual tax quoted as 1200.00.

Thanks

OinG wrote:

Hi

Can you offer any help in registering my 2004 Volvo estate. I'm desperate and was quoted 3100.00. Annual tax quoted as 1200.00.

Thanks

Have you owned the car for more than 2 years, if you have you can apply for an exemption from the registration tax.
I don't bother with a car here in Gozo but the annual tax sounds high but others will know I am sure.

Ray

I sold a 3-year-old car before coming. As a pensioner, the cost was not worth it and we rely on the busses. Not ideal, but OK and no parking problems, which can be a major hassle here. With my specialised area of activity, people come to me or transport me to their homes to do the business, but different criteria will apply to each individual. Given the standard of driving here, divine intervention is more relevant than insurance. Take this on board if you intend to drive during "rush hour" travel.

annual figures are here http://www.transport.gov.mt/admin/uploa … 091226.pdf

if you've had it that long (> 2 years) and can prove it with copious amounts of paper work you wont pay registration tax to bring it here - but will then pay it (the 3100) should you sell it later

sometimes the TM officer asks you to pay for the registration tax and you can apply for a refund after 3 years if you still own the car. There's no sense to discuss this matter with the government employee ... better leave for now and come back 2 days later and talk to another person.

You can also follow the procedure with payment, then send a complaint to the Director of TM (printed envelopes are available at TM offices) and you'll get a refund some months later (minus administration fee) :-)

Thanks, I've owned the car for a year and I'm considering SORN in UK and just keep it garaged here in Malta for another year. Evidently there is no reg tax if you have owned the car for 2 years. It's my big Volvo and I don't intend to sell it.

You have to have owned the vehicle for 2 years or more outside of Malta and prove it!
IE provide ferry details of date you imported it.
Terry

OinG wrote:

Thanks, I've owned the car for a year and I'm considering SORN in UK and just keep it garaged here in Malta for another year. Evidently there is no reg tax if you have owned the car for 2 years. It's my big Volvo and I don't intend to sell it.

That won't work, you have to have owned it for two years outside of, and prior to moving to Malta, and the car can not be brought in and stored.
You will have to prove when you bought it in the UK and the date you brought it in to Malta.

Ray

Good Morning,
I just joined as I am doing some research whilst applying for a job in Gozo from March -October 2018 (8 months) initially with a possibility to extend. Looking at options. Many thanks for your help to anyone who posts to me.

Can you point me in the direction of an easy to understand website re importing my car  or motorbike to see if it is worth it. I love the car and the bike, would like to be mobile and want to be able to explore and a road trip to Malta could be an adventure.
I have owned a Mercedes SLK 2.4L (2003) for 3 years and thinking of driving it down or shipping it or the bike which is also a  classic.

I can see that I have to register it with TM on arrival 20 euros for the month and then proceed to register it and myself as a resident for work purposes.

I can see that circulation tax is around 500euros for starters for the car and only 10 for the bike . I have to have a valid MOT (does the UK one count). If not ,how much is it and where can you get them done?
There is a registration fee to pay in Malta (Terry4646 quoted-50% of the cars value? does that count for bike too?)
What else do I pay?

Insurance - What's it like compared to uk?

What company does shipping of vehicles and possessions to Malta.

I can see that if I am a tourist I can drive for 6 months on UK insurance etc but if I work I have to have a residence permit and that changes things re the car doesn't it.

Lastly ...If I don't stay beyond October can I get any refund from the circulation/road tax as you can in the UK if you have full months unused?

Welcome to the Forum, please read all previous posts concerning bringing  vehicles into Malta as most of your questions have been asked before.

OK, I have a British car. It's in storage and sorned  in Malta once the 7 months of tourist use ran out. I have E-ID. We have been here since February 2017. We brought the car in May 2016. We can't apply for an exemption for the tax because this does not apply if you have been in Malta for a year. Registration is about 3,800. I don't really want the car anymore, it's a big Ford S-Max and was great for long trips in the UK but we don't really do long trips here!

Do I sell it in Malta and let the buyer deal with registration issue? 

Do I register it and sell it in Malta?

Do I take it back to the UK and sell it (quite a hassle, not only the cost of the trip but the time it takes; on the plus side I could fill it up with stuff if anyone wants to send a load of things to the UK and offset that cost).

Obvs if I do the first two I will take it out the country and bring it in again. I know this isn't  an ideal situation to be in!

In terms of prices we paid £5,750 for in in May 2016. I'd hope to get about €8,000 here to make it worthwhile to use the tax as I'd hope to get at least £4,000 in the UK (I appreciate my expectations in Malta are more but Malta car prices seem very inflated!)

You need to notify DVLA in UK that its permanently exported then try to sell it in Malta but  either you or the new owner should have to be prepared to pay the fine for not registering it in Malta when it arrived.

Terry

Thanks... I would try to avoid the fine by re-importing it...

I think you will find the the Maltese government have got wise to that little scam and now record all vehicles leaving and arriving in Malta, but good luck!

Terry

Thanks - good point.

As I understand it you are already breaking the law by not having registered it. Once you become resident you have to register it even if it is not on the road, I believe it is a very heavy daily fine of around €30!

Ray