Tips on buying a car

toonarmy9752 wrote:

my advice would be to buy a new one rather than a very expensive second hand one.. i spent more on two 10 yr old cars than i did on a new one

Yeah but even the new ones are over priced...

4x4 or 2x4?

Rocking Ken wrote:

Good advice guy's, regarding the penalties, how do you find out if the car has any against it. Stupid question but is there an app for it?

So no to 4x4's and stick to Maltese cars, sort of narrow's it down a bit, any decent makes/models would you recommend?

I need 4 seats and big enough boot space for shopping and my diving gear.

I'm pretty sure that both BILLY'S and DRIFTER car hire sell their cars off at the end of each year, both are in Mellieha and you can go  and browse, test drive the one that you fancy.

Terry

ricky wrote:

The outstanding fines could be a fair amount!

As I have just moved and saw how my agent parked I asked him how much he paid for fines during one year and he said .... 'more than 2000 € ' ! Which he only pays at the end of his car tax year !

I don't think you can find out yourself as it is a matter of data protection !

Cheers
Ricky

so in that basis then a buyer could land himself a car encumbered by fines he didnt know about as the owner lied.

tearnet wrote:

Rocking Ken wrote:

Good advice guy's, regarding the penalties, how do you find out if the car has any against it. Stupid question but is there an app for it?

So no to 4x4's and stick to Maltese cars, sort of narrow's it down a bit, any decent makes/models would you recommend?

I need 4 seats and big enough boot space for shopping and my diving gear.

I'm pretty sure that both BILLY'S and DRIFTER car hire sell their cars off at the end of each year, both are in Mellieha and you can go  and browse, test drive the one that you fancy.

Terry

Thanks Terry

toonarmy9752 wrote:

the TM dept should be able to tell you.... - or the insurance company when you try to get a quote for it - it should identify that there are outstanding penalties for the vehicle - whether they will tell you or not is another matter  - as tax and insurance (paid for at the same time as tax insurance and VRT usually all happen / fall due together) cannot be given until theyre paid - one of the good things ive found about life here..

You would think that someone would have developed an mobile app that charges the person €3 say to check for any outstanding fines etc.

Hhhhmmmm may be onto something here 

Rocking Ken wrote:

Right guy's I'm confused a bit.

Just been looking at a Honda Jazz 1.4 registered in 2002, I asked when the license cost and was told €200 but as it's an import it will be going up to €350 in 2017.

Now correct me if I'm wrong here but aren't all car's imported, so does that mean all the license costs will be going up 

Cars registered before 1998 (I think) are on what the locals call Maltese tax with the Max paid around 120€.
After that date they are on a sliding scale dependant on cc, emissions, age etc. and it goes up every year.
This is all subject to Government legislation changing at each budget but its not likely to reduce.

Terry

tearnet wrote:

Rocking Ken wrote:

Right guy's I'm confused a bit.

Just been looking at a Honda Jazz 1.4 registered in 2002, I asked when the license cost and was told €200 but as it's an import it will be going up to €350 in 2017.

Now correct me if I'm wrong here but aren't all car's imported, so does that mean all the license costs will be going up 

Cars registered before 1998 (I think) are on what the locals call Maltese tax with the Max paid around 120€.
After that date they are on a sliding scale dependant on cc, emissions, age etc. and it goes up every year.
This is all subject to Government legislation changing at each budget but its not likely to reduce.

Terry

Thanks Terry..

toonarmy9752 wrote:

it defo wont reduce ......

a friend of mine bought a non "ta Malta"  car a Vauxhall Zafira 1800cc and he pays €900 per yr for the road tax or circulation tax as they call it here

Bloody hell that's a bit extortionate, starting to have second thoughts now....

lambada wrote:

Rocking Ken, I suggest you refer to this document

Annual Circulation Tax due on cars registered in Malta on or before 31st December 2008 is based on age and engine capacity regardless of whether the car is an 'import' or not. ACT on cars registered after this date is based on age and emissions rather than engine capacity.

Technically all cars are 'imports' but the term is usually used to refer to vehicles which were originally registered overseas. 'Ta Malta' refers to cars which were bought brand new from the local agent.

Personally, I would opt for a brand new car and preferably not an Italian or French one

exactly where i started......lol

Rocking Ken wrote:

Seem like in 2017 there are going to be a lot of people who cannot afford to run their cars because of the increase and by then fuel would have went up...

That could be the real agenda as, let's face it, there are too many cars per head, on these islands.
'They' cannot come out and do anything directly as that would be far too unpopular.