7 replies to this topic

[jon]

I would like to introduce myself and wife.
Jonathan and Louise.

I have researched on different expat forums before hand.

We just moved from Houston, Texas to Gundogan, Bodrum 4 days ago and have already experienced numerous problems. We went to Toyota dealership here and was told that the tax break used to enjoy by foreigners buying new car in Turkey is no loner applicable.

Can someone confirm the above?

Also, we are looking for car/SUV with All or 4 wheel drive and automatic transmission. Only car falls into that category is Toyota Rav 4 which is kind of pricey. Renault, VW and Ford are no help. May be Subaru but we have no clue where it is located at.

Any help on the above will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[Cukurbagli]

You've been told the truth, you are not entitled to a tax free car. Can't help with the other question as I don't know the area or car dealers there. If it's important then going to Izmir for a couple of days might be the answer, all the big dealers are there.

[sunny]

Yes, Cukur is right, Izmir would be your nearest big city to buy a car.
May I suggest that you might want to go for something smaller and more economic in view of the fuel prices (one of the highest in the world)as a SUV 4x4 is going to cost you and arm and a leg to run also with bigger engines the tax, paid in January and July, is a lot more expensive.

I've put a link to one of the websites that sell cars - it covers the whole of Turkey but will give you an idea of what's available.

Sahibinden

[Abi]

Hi Jonathan and Louise and welcome to our forum. Sorry to hear that you're running into problems already. It's not easy moving at the best of times but more so when it's a different country. I hope if you don't speak Turkish there is someone around to help you out. I agree car prices are high here even second hand ones. Apart from the problems how do you find Turkey compared to Houston. Did you spend much time in Turkey before you moved here as it seems Turkey seems to be attracting Americans now and was wondering why?

[jon]

You've been told the truth, you are not entitled to a tax free car. Can't help with the other question as I don't know the area or car dealers there. If it's important then going to Izmir for a couple of days might be the answer, all the big dealers are there.

C\Hi Cukur:

I have read many of your comments on this forum. Very informative.

Thanks for the clarification.
Can you advise when the Turkish government changed this law? Regulation?

Yes, we are planning to go to Izmir next week after submitting necessary documents for our Resident Permit.

Yes, Cukur is right, Izmir would be your nearest big city to buy a car.
May I suggest that you might want to go for something smaller and more economic in view of the fuel prices (one of the highest in the world)as a SUV 4x4 is going to cost you and arm and a leg to run also with bigger engines the tax, paid in January and July, is a lot more expensive.

I've put a link to one of the websites that sell cars - it covers the whole of Turkey but will give you an idea of what's available.

Sahibinden

Thanks Sunny:

We almost decided to ship my wife's Toyota FJ Cruiser to Turkey until we found out the annual tax cost for a 4,000 cc engine. Outta this world.

Yes, your advice is valuable. 1600cc engine for our need is sufficient. Still, my wife, after learning to drive in a stick shift car and used automatic transmission since then likes to get auto tran on account of all the steep hills in Bodrum Peninsular. We will make a run to Izmir and see what is available.

Hi Jonathan and Louise and welcome to our forum. Sorry to hear that you're running into problems already. It's not easy moving at the best of times but more so when it's a different country. I hope if you don't speak Turkish there is someone around to help you out. I agree car prices are high here even second hand ones. Apart from the problems how do you find Turkey compared to Houston. Did you spend much time in Turkey before you moved here as it seems Turkey seems to be attracting Americans now and was wondering why?

Hi Abi:
Thanks for the warm welcome.
We traveled a lot before coming to Turkey. What a beautiful place and people in general are friendly. We were in Greece 2 years ago for vacation and Bodrum last November for house hunting after seeing an episode involving someone from England purchased a condo in Didim.

The language difficulty is huge at present but will improve with time. We can handle it. No, we do not have anyone knowing Turkish helping us.

The new house we purchased, signed (POA) sealed but not delivered yet is a total disaster. We went to view the house a week ago and the state it is in can only be classified as uninhabitable. Roof is leaking, wall paint peeling off, commode either do not flush or leaking water after flushing. Finishes for most items such as trim, cabinetry, exterior wall are disasters.

I have read many horror stories in different forums. In my case, it just pi**** us off. Instead of moving to our dream retirement home, we will be staying in the hotel for a while to sort this mess out.

Sorry to air out our frustrations here.

[sunny]

Sorry to hear about your problems. That is the reason we usually advise people not to buy off plan but to buy finished houses where you can see any faults before you buy.
I hope you get your leaks sorted out quickly.

[jon]

Sorry to hear about your problems. That is the reason we usually advise people not to buy off plan but to buy finished houses where you can see any faults before you buy.
I hope you get your leaks sorted out quickly.

Thanks Sunny:

The house we bought was 80% finished when we went and looked at it with our realtor (UK expat) last November. Of course, promises were made that they will make good on all items.

We bought a broken down bridge in the middle of Arizona instead, I guess.

[sunny]

Hopefully it will all be sorted out quickly so that you can move in.