Why Are Cars So Expensive in North Cyprus?

One thing of concern to almost anyone contemplating moving to North Cyprus is the fact that apparently buying a car on the island is almost prohibitively expensive.  While public transport in the form of buses and shared taxis is very good and highly affordable in the TRNC, it is still a requirement for many people to have a car of their own - and so time and again people look at ways of getting round the cost of buying a car on the island such as importing one from the UK, registering one in the south or even renting long term.

However none of these ideas work particularly well or is a cheaper alternative to buying a car on the island.  So why are cars so expensive in North Cyprus?  Well, because there is such a huge tax on the import of motor vehicles - but there is something you need to know…it needn’t be prohibitively expensive to buy a car in North Cyprus, you may just be looking in the wrong place.

Those who decide to import a car into North Cyprus can only bring it in if it is a vintage car or if it is under three years old.  They will then have to pay import duty which is based on the Glass’s Guide book price of the car which takes into account make, model, engine capacity and the age of the car for example.  Tax is then upwards of 40% of this value which can make importing a car very expensive indeed.

This fact means that cars do not depreciate in value in the same way that they do in the UK for example - where it is said that as soon as you drive a car off the forecourt you’ve lost about 20% of its value!  Instead second, third and fourth hand cars in the TRNC exchange hands for silly sums of money as well. 

Naturally the fact that importing a car is expensive and second hand cars are not much cheaper means that people assume that buying a car in North Cyprus is prohibitively expensive.  Add to this the fact that you have to buy a second hand car for cash and that if you’re importing you don’t get payment terms with the government, they want the tax in a lump sum and you can see why many people would struggle to afford a car when living in North Cyprus.

Fuelling the stories of how exorbitant cars are in the TRNC are many of the expatriates already living on the island.  They tend to buy cars for cash from their friends, off expat forums or from second hand dealers who position themselves well for the expat market (e.g., in and around Kyrenia) and those who advertise in the English language weekly newspaper Cyprus Today.  They have to fork out a large lump sum up front and in full for a car, tax, insurance and registration and there are no bank loans to assist or credit facilities to make it less of a burden.

But, if only these people were to look a little further afield and travel just as far as Lefkosa (Nicosia) for example, and head for all the main dealers who have a base in the city…they would find that they can buy a brand new car from say, Toros the Suzuki dealer or Artesa the Seat dealer for just a fraction over the UK price with credit terms widely available. 

Some dealers offer interest free credit terms, others will take an old car as part exchange, some will throw in free insurance and all are willing to listen to and discuss sensible offers for their cars.  It’s a buyers market, these dealers won’t make a penny if you don’t buy a car and as long as you’re resident on the island, can make the deposit payment and prove you can meet monthly commitments to buy the car you will most likely be accepted for credit.

If you prefer to buy without the use of credit facilities then so much the better, negotiate a discount on the price – which as stated is often only a fraction above the UK price depending on the type of car you’re looking at – and you’ll be driving away in a brand new car that probably cost less than your neighbour’s second hand one.

There are Seat, Opel (Vauxhall), Citroen, Mercedes, BMW, Suzuki, Mitsubishi, Volkswagen, Ford, Renault, Peugeot, Fiat, Honda, Nissan, Jaguar, Chrysler, Mazda, Isuzu and Volvo dealers to name but a few in Nicosia…so before you decide that you can’t afford to buy a car in North Cyprus, consider taking a trip on the dolmus to the capital and visiting a few dealers to determine whether or not everything you’ve been told is true or whether you can actually afford to drive away a nice new car.