What Clearing a Car Costs Now: Median 3,280 GEL — and Five Digits for Older Cars
Clearing an uncleared car in Georgia now costs a median 3,280 GEL — but 11,100+ GEL for cars from 2019 or older.
The reading
The advertised stock on 24 August counted 15,499 passenger-car listings with a median ask of $14,000, and 57.0% of them were still awaiting customs clearance. AutoBridge calculates the expected clearance cost for every uncleared advertisement from the duty formula now in force — the April 2026 excise coefficients, the import duty, and the fixed processing fee. Of the 8,828 uncleared listings, 8,501 carry a complete calculation; their bills range widely, from a few hundred GEL to the extremes of the upper decile at 13,853 GEL.
Median clearance bill by age band
Median expected clearance cost of uncleared advertised cars by age band, 24 August 2026.
The age cliff
The single largest divide in the clearance bill is the six-year line the April excise change drew: 1.5 GEL per cubic centimetre up to six years of age, 4.5 GEL beyond it. Calculated across the current stock, the median bill by age band:
A 2014 family sedan and a 2023 crossover can carry asking prices a few thousand dollars apart, yet the older car's clearance bill is three and a half times the newer one's. For the oldest band the bill is not an add-on — at the median it is half the car's own price.
The age cliff
The single largest divide in the clearance bill is the six-year line the April excise change drew: 1.5 GEL per cubic centimetre up to six years of age, 4.5 GEL beyond it. Calculated across the current stock, the median bill by age band:
A 2014 family sedan and a 2023 crossover can carry asking prices a few thousand dollars apart, yet the older car's clearance bill is three and a half times the newer one's. For the oldest band the bill is not an add-on — at the median it is half the car's own price.
Median clearance bill by age band
Median expected clearance cost of uncleared advertised cars by age band, 24 August 2026.
When the bill rivals the price
Across all uncleared listings, 977 — 11.5% — face a clearance bill of at least half their asking price, and 299 listings (3.5%) face a bill equal to or larger than the price itself. Concentrated in the older bands, these are the advertisements where importing and clearing only makes sense if the car itself is bought very cheaply. In the 2022-and-newer band the same situation touches just 0.1% of listings.
When the bill rivals the price
Across all uncleared listings, 977 — 11.5% — face a clearance bill of at least half their asking price, and 299 listings (3.5%) face a bill equal to or larger than the price itself. Concentrated in the older bands, these are the advertisements where importing and clearing only makes sense if the car itself is bought very cheaply. In the 2022-and-newer band the same situation touches just 0.1% of listings.
Engine size and fuel
Engine volume moves the bill almost linearly, because the excise is charged per cubic centimetre: the median rises from 2,341 GEL for engines up to 1.5 litres to 7,193 GEL above 2.5 litres. Fuel type adds its own discounts and surcharges: hybrids up to six years old keep the 60% excise discount and show a median bill of 1,800 GEL, petrol cars sit at 3,355 GEL, and diesel — typically larger and older — at 9,275 GEL. Left-hand-drive electric cars pay only the 150 GEL processing fee.
Reading the figures
The stock and bills describe advertised cars on 24 August 2026; prices are asking prices and the clearance bills are AutoBridge calculations from the duty formula in force, not seller-quoted figures.
Advertised passenger-car stock of 24 August 2026; clearance bills are AutoBridge calculations from the duty formula in force.
Methodology
AutoBridge proprietary database.
Over 128,000 unique listings published since January 1, 2026.