Car import query

id speak / message with tearnet if i were you he has done it before and i think he has a good idea of the pitfalls.

Thanks Toon just PM'd him...

you pay the reg fee if you sell not scrap or export.

It takes about 1 day to register and get it on Maltese plates.  You would have to pay the registration tax if you were to sell the car in Malta, but not if its scrapped or re exported.

It would be more beneficial to keep the UK car if you have owned it for more than 2 years, I brought my car from the UK but I happened to purchase the car based on the costings that I would have paid as I needed a new car in the UK before i came out here.

Is your car diesel ?? you will also need to look at the Annual Tax on it as well.

Julian

Hey guys,

Can someone provide some information about bringing a car to Malta in case of moving from another EU country and becoming a resident in Malta.

The thing is: we live in Luxembourg currently and although we own our car for more than 2 years, it is simply not practical bringing this car to Malta, because the driver sits on the left.

On the other hand, we were thinking of coming to the UK to buy a car and then drive down to Genova and put the car on the boat to Sicilia and then Malta... hence; it seems we need to pay a huge registration fee because we would not own the car for 2 years.

We also though buying a car in Malta and ship our stuff in container (I would say, there is a lot to move)... but, the thing is/ we do need some stuff immediately which we cannot wait to be shipped; so; ideally we would love to buy a car in the UK, drive down and keep the car in our new country of residence.

Is there a way to benefit from the exemption to pay registration fees due to the fact that the car we have here in Luxembourg is not in the UK/Malta standards for driving on the left?

Any help will be highly appreciated,
Thanks

Welcome to the Forum, if you look on the search button you will find a lot of posts about this subject.
The  one you have posted on is from eight years ago, good luck.

davidmax wrote:

Hey guys,

Can someone provide some information about bringing a car to Malta in case of moving from another EU country and becoming a resident in Malta.

The thing is: we live in Luxembourg currently and although we own our car for more than 2 years, it is simply not practical bringing this car to Malta, because the driver sits on the left.

On the other hand, we were thinking of coming to the UK to buy a car and then drive down to Genova and put the car on the boat to Sicilia and then Malta... hence; it seems we need to pay a huge registration fee because we would not own the car for 2 years.

We also though buying a car in Malta and ship our stuff in container (I would say, there is a lot to move)... but, the thing is/ we do need some stuff immediately which we cannot wait to be shipped; so; ideally we would love to buy a car in the UK, drive down and keep the car in our new country of residence.

Is there a way to benefit from the exemption to pay registration fees due to the fact that the car we have here in Luxembourg is not in the UK/Malta standards for driving on the left?

Any help will be highly appreciated,
Thanks

If you drive from Luxembourg to Malta with your car you can drive it here in Malta for up to six months provided you come as a tourist. If you want to be a resident over here you have to register your car within 7 days after arrival. In case you are not satisfied with your LHD car here in Malta you can exchange it or sell it and buy another car over here. I do not advice you to import a car. It is much easier to buy a second hand Japanese car over here or buy a new car right away. In this case you have nothing to do with all the paperwork Transport Malta is requesting. I know what I am saying. I came here by car from Germany and after 7 months I decided to sell my car and buy another car over here.
Besides getting information from Malta transport you can also contact the welcome-center-malta.
They inform you about all legal requirements you have to fulfill for such a transaction. Their email is info@welcome-center-malta.com and their phone number is 0035679334948

You cannot purchase a car here until you have your residence card.

Hi again, thanks for this very useful answer. But is it easy to sell an LHD car in Malta? It's BMW Serie 5 touring and not adapted to the Maltese roads who require more a jeep or similar.

We are afraid that it won't be easy to sell it because of the driving on the left... any thoughts?

Why not sell your car where you are and hire one here until you get your residence card or use buses.
Where are you moving  Malta or Gozo?

davidmax wrote:

Hi again, thanks for this very useful answer. But is it easy to sell an LHD car in Malta? It's BMW Serie 5 touring and not adapted to the Maltese roads who require more a jeep or similar.

We are afraid that it won't be easy to sell it because of the driving on the left... any thoughts?

The roads really are not that bad

I would not try to sell a LHD car here it would drop a lot in value.

As for bringing one from the UK, it's now even more complicated as its post Brexit transition - you're likely to also pay VAT.

If you are planning on driving back and forth to mainland europe via the ferry then a LHD car is ideal.  I have a larger LHD car and a small RHD for Malta.  The way the maltese roads are built it really makes no difference between RHD and LHD.  I switch back and forth all the time.  A bigger difference is small car vrs large car.  It is not like in Northern Europe where you need to see around the car in front to pass and it can be hard on narrow roads with hedgerows.  You just never have those scenarios in Malta.  Also the fastest roads in Malta have an 80km speed limit in Malta and 60 on Gozo.  You see lots of these big road cruisers here but they really dont make much sense.   If you keep your LHD car here you will be all set if you do road trips to Italy.

Great reply, thanks a lot

Malta

I have a big SUV and a small Suzuki Samurai (its really very small), sure the Samuarai is easier but the SUV really isnt a big pain