How much less for a Malta car?

[DKL]

Spotted something for sale and buried in the bumpf is a note that the pdi was done in Malta. A year later it was serviced here and has been ever since.
I assume then this isn't a "UK" car and may have some spec differences. So does this affect the value?

[Peter-e2535]

Anything first registered outside of the UK is usually deemed less desirable / valuable than an original UK vehicle. Also worth bearing mind that insurance companies often penalize imports.

[SteBrown91]

I bought an 11 plate Golf GTD years ago which was registered new by Motorpoint as they had imported a batch from Malta/Cyprus.

When you did a VIN decode it came up with the Region of Malta/Cyprus and the spec was a little different compared to UK cars at the time.

However had no issues insuring it, part-exing it or getting warranty work done on it (I bought it at 2 years old).

[DKL]

SteBrown91 said:

I bought an 11 plate Golf GTD years ago which was registered new by Motorpoint as they had imported a batch from Malta/Cyprus.

When you did a VIN decode it came up with the Region of Malta/Cyprus and the spec was a little different compared to UK cars at the time.

However had no issues insuring it, part-exing it or getting warranty work done on it (I bought it at 2 years old).

Was it any cheaper than a UK car do you feel?

[SteBrown91]

DKL said:

Was it any cheaper than a UK car do you feel?

I did pay less for it but not for that reason. It was a part ex at a ford dealer who just chucked a modest margin on it to sell on.

It wasn’t declared as an import, and didn’t flag up on anything as was first registered in the UK. The only reason I found out was via VIN decoder, but the spec was a little odd which confused me until I discovered it was an import.

[sixor8]

Malta drive on the left, so no issue there, and it's not a place where high mileages will be done. With a car friendly-climate (mostly), it could be a great buy.

Edited by sixor8 on Tuesday 1st September 20:29

[Wacky Racer]

I'm in Malta at the moment, it's 38c.


Malta is only about 25 miles from end to end, so you can't really clock up huge mileages, although I used to know a taxi driver who worked from the airport, and his Mercedes had clocked up 300,000 miles.

New cars generally are a little bit dearer than the UK.

[South tdf]

From around 1996 to 2006!there were 10’s thousands of parallel imports brought into the UK and sold via large supermarkets etc.

[M.F.D]

Not the same, but I have had loads of Japanese imports, including my current F11 Touring, which have been no issue to insure. My touring is actually £300 per annum currently so can't be any more expensive than a UK model....

[SWoll]

M.F.D said:

Not the same, but I have had loads of Japanese imports, including my current F11 Touring, which have been no issue to insure. My touring is actually £300 per annum currently so can't be any more expensive than a UK model....

Yep. My daughter bough a Japanese import VW Up automatic earlier this year as a local run around after passing her test. Better spec than the UK models, far better condition for the age, slightly cheaper to buy and no more expensive to insure.