Cars from Italy: where to look, what to check and what delivery costs

The short answer, in figures

What the Italian used-car market looks like

Used cars changed owner 3,221,145 times in Italy in 2025, up 2.1% on 2024 (ACI data, AutoScout24 analysis, Teleborsa 2026-02-05). The choice is wide and the ads are in Italian, which a browser translator handles well enough.

The fleet is old: more than 17.5 million cars are 15 years or older — 42% of the whole fleet (same source). So the used market holds many old cars, and age, rust and service history deserve more attention than on a younger car from Germany.

Italy is a long country: a car from the northern mountains and one from the coast lived in different conditions. Ask in which region it was used and ask for photos of the underside and the wheel arches — they say more than the ad text.

Before you talk price, ask whether the advertised sum is the final price for export and which extra charges are added (paperwork, preparation). Get the answer in writing.

Where to look for a car in Italy

Searching starts on three sites: AutoScout24.it, Subito.it and Automobile.it. We only name them — we do not rate them, and every ad gets the same checks.

Italian words to know in ads and papers

• •“targa” — number plate; “telaio” — chassis number, the VIN
• •“Documento Unico di Circolazione” — the single registration document; “certificato di proprietà” — the ownership certificate
• •“revisione” — the roadworthiness test; “tagliando” — a service
• •“fermo amministrativo” — a ban on using the car imposed by an authority, usually over a debt
• •“ipoteca” — a mortgage on the car as security for a loan
• •“visura PRA” — an extract from the Italian vehicle register

Cars from Germany priced for Latvia

What to check before you buy

The Italian vehicle register is the PRA (Pubblico Registro Automobilistico), run by ACI. A “visura PRA” shows the owner, the technical data and the legal restrictions — an administrative ban, a mortgage, a seizure (SicurAUTO.it). Online (Visurenet or the app) one extract by plate costs €6.00 excluding the PagoPA charge, and the request needs a SPID, CIE, CNS or eIDAS login. For a foreign buyer it is simpler to ask the seller for a fresh extract or to order it through an agency.

Also ask about the last “revisione”: per the 2020 article a test falls due, for example, four years after first registration. Check the mileage and the VIN history yourself, independent of the ad. Ask for copies of the service book and the service invoices.

• •The VIN in the document matches the VIN on the car
• •On the PRA extract the owner is the seller, with no “fermo” and no “ipoteca”
• •The date of the last test and the mileage at that moment
• •Service invoices and maintenance history
• •Whether the car was imported into Italy earlier — compare the answer with the VIN history
• •Photos of the underside, wheel arches and interior — for rust and wear

VIN check · Mileage check

Papers and taking the car off the Italian register

Since 2020 Italy has had a single document, the “Documento Unico di Circolazione”, which replaces the registration card and the ownership certificate (SicurAUTO.it, March 2020). Ask the seller which set of papers this particular car has.

Before the car leaves, the owner has to file a “radiazione per esportazione” — taking the car off the Italian register. It is filed at an STA point, an ACI office or an agency. The conditions: no “fermo amministrativo”; a mortgage without the creditor’s consent blocks the deregistration; and if a test is due, a fresh “revisione” no more than six months old (SicurAUTO.it, 2020).

If you drive the car yourself, the owner can ask the Motorizzazione for a “foglio di via” and temporary plates (SicurAUTO.it). Agree in writing who files the deregistration, for what fee (ask the seller or the agency) and when you have to send the seller a copy of the Latvian registration document, if the seller asks for it.

What to take from the Italian seller

• 📄The Documento Unico di Circolazione (or the older registration document with the ownership certificate)
• 📄The original certificate of conformity (COC) — CSDD requires it
• 📄A sale-purchase contract with the VIN, price and both parties’ details
• 📄A fresh visura PRA
• 📄Proof of the last “revisione”
• 📄The service book and invoices
• 📄Proof that the “radiazione per esportazione” has been filed

Delivery to Riga

It is about 2,300 km from Milan to Riga and about 2,900 km from Rome. Ask the carrier for a delivery date in writing.

This page states no transport price for the Italian route — there is no verified published price list. Take two or three quotes from carriers that insure the load and sign a contract, and put the figures into the import cost calculator.

Car delivery — prices and times · Import cost calculator

Costs and registration in Latvia

There is no import duty on a car already in free circulation in the EU. CSDD fees, taxes and OCTA are payable; Latvian VAT applies only to a “new” car (up to 6 months or up to 6,000 km; VAT act, Article 1, point 9(a)). An ordinary used car leaves €208 at CSDD and €100–180 of OCTA, €308–388 together.

Show an imported car to CSDD for the unit-number comparison within five days of bringing it in. The operation tax depends on CO₂ and age — use the calculator or the tax guide.

CSDD registration · Import costs from any country · Vehicle tax 2026

Cars from Italy in the AutoPase showroom

Cars standing in Italy with a price for Latvia: see the available cars. In the AutoPase showroom delivery is included in the car’s final price (from Austria €600, from other countries €800).

Application for car search and delivery

If no suitable car is available yet, AutoPase accepts an application for car search and delivery: the history and the mileage are checked before the purchase, and delivery takes up to 14 days. What the service includes and what it does not is on the service page.

AutoPase does not give its own commercial warranty on the car. The consumer’s statutory rights against the seller remain.

Application for car search and delivery through AutoPase

Frequently asked questions

Where to go next

Sources

Prices and rates checked on 17 October 2026. Sources:

• Teleborsa / AutoScout24 (ACI data) — Italian used-car ownership transfers in 2025 and the share of cars over 15 years old in the fleet (2026-02-05). (2026-10-17)
• SicurAUTO.it — visura PRA — What a PRA extract shows (owner, technical data, fermo, mortgage) and what it costs. (2026-10-17)
• SicurAUTO.it — esportazione auto — The Documento Unico, deregistration for export (radiazione per esportazione), the inspection and fermo conditions, the “foglio di via” (article of March 2020). (2026-10-17)
• CSDD — The list of documents first registration in Latvia needs, including the COC and the foreign registration document. (2026-10-17)
• Pievienotās vērtības nodokļa likums (likumi.lv) — Article 1, point 9(a): a new land vehicle is one used for under six months or driven under 6,000 km. (2026-10-17)
• CSDD — The CSDD price list: registration certificate and two plates, unit-number comparison; the natural-resources tax and the test fee come from the code module. (2026-10-17)