Can anybody recommend a Car Importer then have used

Why dont you look at someone driving it over and you just cover the costs.

I know people who would be willing to do just that

Julian

Really? That migt be a possibility, only problem is I haven't bought it yet, am looking on autotrader and pricing up so that would need to be factored in. The other issue is handing over the keys of a car which is not registered to me to a stranger, not the most sensible of moves you might suggest in hindsight.

I'd probably feel more at ease with an importer where in the worst circumstance I would only lose a deposit if something dodgy was to happen

Hi, UKtoMalta arranged and transported my purchased car from Brighton (UK) to Malta with no problems whatsoever... they even arranged to collect the car (on a car trailer) from my UK address via their local agent and 7 days later I picked it up at their offices in Malta. No scratches, no additional mileage but it did cost me €1,000 all in ( I paid a €200 deposit (or something in that amount) and the balance in cash when I collected the car.

Would I use them again if I still was fortunate enough to still be in Malta... absolutely !

The driving down is a consideration but with tolls, ferries and fuel plus F&B enroute, the saving would not be massive but you will have the extra miles on the car plus arranging for the insurance.

Simply my opinion!

Mike

My first post here, though I have been reading this site for couple of years.

As we are getting ready to move to Malta, I am now planning the details, including car purchase. I have fairly specific idea what would suit us and having visited Malta in the past, I am concerned that I might not be able to find what I am looking for, considering that Malta is relatively small market (even though it is packed with cars already)

That said, I heard good things about UKtoMalta service... but what are the benefits besides having access to much larger selection? Does it end up being much cheaper vs. buying locally (considering that one would find their desired car in Malta)? Of course there is always the risk that the car selected on UKtoMalta website has issues that are only apparent when driven, but this is mitigated with low milage cars.

Hopefully I am not hijacking this thread, but it would be interesting to hear your pros and cons.

Regards,

n1kd0

Not only is choice a matter but also the vehicle condition! Remember that the roads in Malta are not quite what they are in other places and therein the used condition reflects this, hence many Maltese when purchasing secondhand will prefer to buy a recent UK import than a local registered vehicle. (and don't forget that Maltese local car prices are considerably higher than the same vehicle for sale in the UK)

With regard to UKtoMalta... albeit they operate their own UK Buy service you can also buy your own in the UK and have them ship it!

You do have excellent point about Malta's roads and consequently what it does to locally driven cars. It may be a good idea to simply pick a car online with low miles in UK, and have UKtoMalta bring it in.... even before I make it to the island.

That is exactly what I did but I also went onto the TM website and trial tested different makes and models to check the various Maltese import costs / taxes...

and the bonus was when I (sadly) left the island, the car sold quickly and profitably!