Cars arrive in the Algarve from the UK, Germany and Switzerland every week — relocations, retirements, second homes. Before one becomes your daily car here, it deserves a technical arrival check at the Loulé workshop: the underside inspected on the lift after transport, the paint measured for undeclared accident history, fluids, battery and air-conditioning brought up to Algarve reality, and the car prepared for its Portuguese IPO inspection. Technical preparation only — honestly scoped.
Transport and relocation are hard on a car in quiet ways: weeks on a truck or in storage, a battery that stood discharged, fluids at the age the previous climate forgave. The arrival check puts the car on the lift at the Loulé workshop and reads it honestly — the underside after transport, leaks, brakes and tyres judged by age and condition, the battery measured rather than guessed, the air-conditioning tested before the first Algarve summer asks everything of it.
The verdict follows the house rule: test first, price after. You get a plain-language list of what the car genuinely needs now, what can wait, and what it doesn't need at all — with repair prices quoted the same day, after the check, never instead of it.
“An imported car arrives with the story its seller chose to tell. The lift and the depth gauge tell the rest of it — and I'd rather you hear that in my workshop than at your first IPO.”
Underside, fluids, brakes and tyres by condition, battery measured, A/C tested — findings priced the same day, after the check.
Tested before any regas — a leaking circuit is found first, not refilled twice.
The correct specification for the exact car — coded on cars that require registration, BMW and Mercedes among them.
Final scope and price are confirmed at inspection — these are honest public anchors, not teaser rates.
A car bought abroad arrives with the history someone chose to tell. The paint tells the rest: a depth gauge finds filler and resprays in numbers even when they hide from the eye, and the diagnostic scan reads the error history — including errors cleared last week, which leave traces. On an imported car this matters twice, because pursuing a seller across a border afterwards is close to impossible.
It is the same method as our pre-purchase inspection, applied after the move instead of before the money — and if you are still choosing a car to bring over, the pre-purchase inspection is the better moment for it.
Imported cars end up at a Portuguese periodic inspection (IPO) sooner or later, and failing one costs a re-test. The pre-IPO check goes through the usual failure points — lights, glass, suspension and the rest — so the car passes first time. Where specialist mechanical work is needed, we coordinate it through trusted partner workshops and confirm parts, route and warranty before anything starts.
One honest boundary: JustCars is not a customs or matriculation agency, and we don't handle import registration paperwork. Our paperwork experience is specific and real — window-tint certificates with legalisation, and IMT registration of colour changes after a full wrap. For the import itself, we prepare the car technically; the registration process stays with you or your agent.
No — and we say so upfront. JustCars prepares the car technically: arrival check, paint reading, fluids, battery, A/C and the pre-IPO points. Our documented paperwork experience is window-tint certificates and IMT registration of colour changes — import matriculation stays with you or your agent.
Because transport and standing change a car: batteries discharge, fluids age past what a milder climate forgave, and the first Algarve summer is the hardest test an air-conditioning system has faced. The check tells you what is genuinely needed now — and sometimes the honest answer is 'nothing'.
We can read what the car itself records: the paint measured with a depth gauge to find filler and resprays, and the electronic error history — including recently cleared errors, which leave traces. You get a plain-language verdict of what the numbers show.
Oleg & the team did a fantastic job restoring my 1995 Jeep Wrangler — on budget, on time and exactly as promised, with regular photos and updates throughout. Excellent job. Wouldn't hesitate to recommend and use again. 5*
A huge thank you to you and your team! My car has never looked so clean! Just Cars did an amazing job making my car look brand new. It was full of sand, dirt, food — everything the kids could possibly put in it, and years since its last proper detail. Just Cars was amazing. A huge thank you!!
My wife and I have been using Just Cars for a while now and always find the service fantastic — very professional and helpful. They've done numerous things for us, from valet to fitting stereos and mechanical work. Would highly recommend them.
I've had a great experience with JustCars — definitely a place I'll be coming back to! A professional team with friendly, down-to-earth people who clearly care about the quality of their work. Keep it up, guys — wishing you all the success!
The guys did work on the Ferrari and they did a great job — thank you!
Oleg is great. I bought a used BMW X5 from a private seller and the aluminium centre console had a few scratches. Oleg made it look brand new with a flawless wrap. Highly recommended.
So glad I found Just Cars. Oleg and his team sorted a small issue with my car's finish within 24 hours — and they're specialists in every kind of car maintenance. Highly recommended.
We had a tricky problem — removing dried-out vinyl lettering from our van that even the signage company couldn't manage. Alek quickly came up with a solution and the work was high-quality and super fast. Recommended for excellent professionalism.
When you love your car, go to Just Cars!!! What they do is truly amazing. When you collect your car it's better than picking it up from the Porsche dealership — and far better protected. Steven
Just Cars is the right place for car aesthetic restoration! Detailing specialists who deliver impeccable work — polishing, ceramic coating and deep cleaning — leaving your vehicle like new. Professionalism and quality guaranteed!
Oleg & the team did a fantastic job restoring my 1995 Jeep Wrangler — on budget, on time and exactly as promised, with regular photos and updates throughout. Excellent job. Wouldn't hesitate to recommend and use again. 5*
A huge thank you to you and your team! My car has never looked so clean! Just Cars did an amazing job making my car look brand new. It was full of sand, dirt, food — everything the kids could possibly put in it, and years since its last proper detail. Just Cars was amazing. A huge thank you!!
My wife and I have been using Just Cars for a while now and always find the service fantastic — very professional and helpful. They've done numerous things for us, from valet to fitting stereos and mechanical work. Would highly recommend them.
I've had a great experience with JustCars — definitely a place I'll be coming back to! A professional team with friendly, down-to-earth people who clearly care about the quality of their work. Keep it up, guys — wishing you all the success!
The guys did work on the Ferrari and they did a great job — thank you!
Oleg is great. I bought a used BMW X5 from a private seller and the aluminium centre console had a few scratches. Oleg made it look brand new with a flawless wrap. Highly recommended.
So glad I found Just Cars. Oleg and his team sorted a small issue with my car's finish within 24 hours — and they're specialists in every kind of car maintenance. Highly recommended.
We had a tricky problem — removing dried-out vinyl lettering from our van that even the signage company couldn't manage. Alek quickly came up with a solution and the work was high-quality and super fast. Recommended for excellent professionalism.
When you love your car, go to Just Cars!!! What they do is truly amazing. When you collect your car it's better than picking it up from the Porsche dealership — and far better protected. Steven
Just Cars is the right place for car aesthetic restoration! Detailing specialists who deliver impeccable work — polishing, ceramic coating and deep cleaning — leaving your vehicle like new. Professionalism and quality guaranteed!
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