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Post by dick on Oct 6, 2004 14:24:01 GMT 1
Hi i understand cars should be under 5 years old to be imported into croatia. My collraugue has a french 106 lhd for sale. Its 13 years old, but hes had it from new. Is it worth while leaving it at our house in Pula, so its there for us to use in the summer or will it cost too much to register . The car is has don just 60,000 km and costs only 500 euros, so will the import tax be representative?
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Post by Karl on Oct 8, 2004 17:45:22 GMT 1
You cannot import this car and I do not believe there is any (Legal) way around the system.
If you buy this car, the plates have to be changed from French ones to English. (as you cannot import the car into Croatia) This means applying to the DVLA, getting an SVA form and it will cost you about £40, plus an MOT. That means you will also have to drive the car to the UK, before bringing it here.
Your problem will be car insurance. Once you have registared the car in the UK, you can insure it through the normal channels. The problem becomes the length of time you wish to keep the car out of the country. Legally if you keep a car in a country for more than 6 months you must get insurance in that country - therefore leaving a car in Croatia means you breaking the insurance rules. Some companies (Norwich Union I think) do offer 12 months cover for Europe (rather than the standard 90 days most policies offer), but it costs a fortune and you may have to take the car back to the UK periodically - mainly for an MOT and Road tax - remember you cannot tax a car with out an MOT and Insurance and your insurance is invalid without an upto date MOT.
Of course you could just take a normal policy and rely on the 3rd party only cover that you get for the whole of Europe (check you insurance company covers Croatia), but if the car is stolen etc, then you lose the lot.
You would properly have to store the car somewhere secure, like a garage. This would also help keep it out of sight from the local officials so perhaps they would not twig that it was being left here permenantly, but you will still have to go back to the UK once a year to stay legal with Road TAX and the MOT!
cars over here are d**n expensive. I know because I am looking at the moment. As an when I find out the alternatives I will post the details to this site. If your interested in any particular car, let me know and I will see whats available. Good luck
Karl
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Post by elsanddee on Dec 17, 2004 1:01:11 GMT 1
Along the same line realy, My colleauge has a 5 door lhd golf, registered on uk plates. How easy is it to import into Croatia and register it as a Croatian car? It pretty cheap to buy and he's had it from new, so i know it's reliable.
Yes it would be easier to buy one there, but my relatives are not that clued up or motivavted.
thanks vm
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Post by elsanddee on Dec 17, 2004 1:36:39 GMT 1
ps the golf is registered 10/99 ?
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Post by Graham - Bosmere on Dec 17, 2004 12:22:59 GMT 1
It is five years from the date of manufacture not registration. so you need to check the vehicle manufacturing plate, but in your case if it was registered in 99 it is certainly at least 5 years old and over the age limit.
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Post by elaine on Dec 17, 2004 12:51:49 GMT 1
I'm in the middle of the car importing scene - my Fiat Seicento is 6 (my solicitor, along with many others, says the limit is 7 years old). The biggest (longest-running) problem seems to be getting the temporary residency permit first - this should make the car import easier. I'm lucky enough to have a garage in which to leave the vehicle whilst I'm not in Labin. I am, however, running around without number plates because, in the only act of theft I've heard about there in 20 years, some idiot stole my plates - for souvenirs? Anyway, it's taking time, but I'm sure it will come right in the end.......although I've no idea how much Customs will charge me........
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Post by Graham - Bosmere on Dec 17, 2004 13:55:12 GMT 1
It might be 7 I am just going from memory, but I was fairly sure it was five. Check with the Croatian embassy as they should have the most recent info.
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Post by importing now on Dec 22, 2004 12:50:03 GMT 1
I'm importing a car now from Germany and there is no real age limit on the car. What they do look at is the Homologation standard. If it meets the Homologation standard it can be imported regardless of the age. You can only find out if your car meets this requirement by contacting the manufacturer's importer in Croatia and supply them with the chassis number. They will tell you then if your car can be imported or not and some importers charge a fee for this. Another way of importing a car is if you lived abroad for at least 3 years, have Croatia citizenship or permit to live in Croatia. In this case, you may import any car regardless of it meeting local homologation standards. Through this there is a drawback that you cannot sell the car within the first three years of importing it to Croatia.
In previous years, there was a system of limiting the age of car imports from 5 years to seven, then even that flew out the window. It all depends on the homologation standard now and only the importer can tell you if your car meets the standard. There are however some cars that can never be imported regardless of their age if you must meet the homologation standards. It is a very tricky system.
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Englishman in Zagreb
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Post by Englishman in Zagreb on Dec 22, 2004 15:07:55 GMT 1
I don't understand why older cars can't be imported, when you consider there are so many 20 year old yugo's driving around Croatia, these things blow so many fumes out is untrue.
I guess the government can't screw much money out of an old car! Watch out for the Yugo's with a VW badge ;D!
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Post by Karl on Jan 11, 2005 17:49:16 GMT 1
Sorry for not responding sooner, but I have been busy. Age of Vehicle - It CANNOT be over 7 years old from the date of Manufacture Homologation - It must have a EUR1 Form from the manufacture. If your car was manufactured OUTSIDE the EU then it may be refused or you will have to undertake expensive "works" to bring the car upto EU standards (things such as lights, seat belts etc) Importing a car - You MUST use the services of a Spedicia (I think that is the correct spelling). These act on your behalf in dealing with Customs. They are the only people who can tell you if your car can be registared in Croatia and the cost of doing so. They charge approx £50 for the service. COSTS - If you are a Foriegn Natonal wishing to import a car into Croatia and you are NOT taking residency then you will have to pay - Import Duty, PDV and Troscarina (this is spelt wrong) Costs and it makes cars expensive. The amount you have to pay is calculated on the age of vehicle and engine size and its current value. The Spedicia have a book in which all cars are listed and a new and 2nd hand value is given. If you are a Foriegn National or a Croatian citizen returning to Croatia (after being out of the country for 3 years) then you do not have to pay the Import Duty or PDV. You must though still pay the Troscarina costs. You will have to present your visa when importing the car or as a Croatian some paperwork showing you have lived abroad for the last 3 years. This reduces the cost of the car and there are no time limits on the length of time you must keep the vehicle (if you want to sell it). YOU CAN ONLY BRING ONE CAR PER PERSON INTO CROATIA USING THIS METHOD. BUSINESS VISA - If you are planning to work in Croatia for a period of time, either in your own property or rented property then you MIGHT be able to apply for a business visa. This means you can import a car into Croatia and get it registared on GREEN PLATES for NO additional costs. You can only keep the car in the country for as long as your visa is valid, but you can get insurance with in Croatia. This information has been gathered by me and you will need to verify it through your own sources. If you need the services of a Spedicia, I can put you in contact with some English speaking ones. Having looked long and hard for a car, it is defenitly cheaper to buy one in Europe and import it, if you can avoid the various charges. The best place to look is www.autoscout24.de. When searching, look for a car where you can claim the VAT back. This is available on some used cars, normally ex company or lease cars. Only buy through a main dealer, (unless your a competant mechanic), but DO NOT buy any extended warrenties as they tend to cease at the boarder. If you buy a car for EXPORT from with in Europe you will need to go through a few hoops to claim back the VAT. The dealer will issue you with EXPORT plates and you will have to get the Certification stamped at the Slovenia boarder to show that the car has left the EU. You then send that paperwork back to the dealer where you bought the car and they refund the TAX (VAT) element of your purchase. I have just gone through the whole process and bought a car in Germany. Its not to bad once you understand it and it did save me a fortune. On the plus side if I do not like the car, I can take it back the the UK in 6 months, registar it there and sell it and not have to pay any import duties for the UK. Left hookers in the UK seem to be fetching a premium at present! Good luck with it, contact me if you need any help. Karl
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Post by Graham - Bosmere on Jan 11, 2005 21:25:47 GMT 1
Karl if you export a car from the EU how do you get it back into the UK without paying import duty and car duty. Surely it would be classed as a Non EU vehicle and thus liable for full duty, unless you have found a loophole in the tax and duty system or I am missing something.
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Post by Karl on Jan 11, 2005 23:15:12 GMT 1
It is my understanding that if you as a UK citizen OWN a vehicle for more than 6 months and it is kept outside the EU you are not liable for import and tax duties when you bring it back to the UK. BFO personnel, embassy staff etc all qualify and I believe it extends to us "ordinary" citizens!
If anyone out there knows the exxact facts, please post them.
Karl
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Post by Pete on Jan 12, 2005 0:29:35 GMT 1
Does anyone know if American cars are usable in HR? Most of them have red rear indicators and yellow running lights at the front. Don't suppose this is permissable. Pete
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Post by Karl on Jan 12, 2005 1:17:48 GMT 1
Not permissable. You will have to get the car modified to meet Croatian standards. This can be done through a number of garages over here, but it will delay getting the car registared.
Karl
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Post by martalex on Feb 16, 2005 20:23:49 GMT 1
I moved from the UK to Croatia in 2002 and brought my, then 4 year old, Alfa Romeo with me. Not wanting to have to drive back to the UK each year for MOT and to pay tax to TEXT use the British Roads, I formally exported the car from the UK and got a Certificate of Permanent Export from the DVLA. I made enquiries at a Spedezia about importing it into Croatia. They told me that there was no need for any homologation check, as the car was manufactured according to European standards and the steering wheel being on the right is not relevant. They then said that I would have to pay import duty at the "luxury goods" rate of 60%, plus VAT at 22%, based on the "book" value of the car, which we established through HAK to be nearly £10,000 (I would very much like to sell the car for that much!). The bottom line would be about £6,000 for the privilege of having a Croatian registration plate. The advice of the Spedezia was to continue driving the car on my British number plates, without tax disc, but to ensure that it leaves the country at least every 6 months, which re-starts the clock. Since border controls do not stamp anything these days then the police cannot check the truth or otherwise. The car goes to Slovenia for servicing at a pucker dealership so I don't feel unsafe without an MOT certificate.
The remaining problem is insurance. I have insured the car locally, but the cost for Casco (Comprehensive) insurance is roughly double what I would expect to pay in England. The reason is simply that it is a foreign car, which I still don't really understand. Hopefully this will get easier when (if?) Croatia joins the EU.
martalex
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