we were wondering whether we could bring our mondeo to spain when we come out. We do know that after 6 months you do have to have a spanish plate. Would it be best to buy a car in spain that already has a spanish plate, or buy one in england with a spanish plate?? Our car is an x reg and has been very reliable but as cars go it wont last forever. If we brought our car with us and applied for a spanish plate straight away how much would this be and how much are cars in spain are they very expensive. Would appreciate your views and advice please. Also i have british driving license would i have to apply for a different one in spain@@
We re-registered our 2-year-old Meriva here, as it had only done 14,000 miles. It is a ridiculously complicated process and you need the assistance of a gestor. The total cost for us was just over €1000, including €300 for new headlights.
Work out what you would get for it if you sold it, and what it would cost you to buy another car here. Second-hand cars aren't cheap in Spain. We worked out it saved us at least €5,000.
I don't think you can buy a Spanish-plated car in England, can you? Someone will put me right I'm sure.
Some people don't feel happy driving right-hand-drive cars in Spain, but I can't say it's ever been a problem for me.
Yes, you can. I did. I had the option of Spanish or UK plates on the Merc I bought from Mercedes Germany via a UK company and I chose UK...don't know why as I knew then we would be moving to Spain shortly.....
But my LandRover Discovery, bought from the LHD PLace, Basingstoke, was already on Spanish plates as it was three years old and was driven to the UK by the one careful lady owner from Mallorca.. It had all the necessary documentation to change ownership easily.
An X-reg vehicle would NOT be worth bringing and transferring to Spanish plates unless it were a classic or prestige vehicle.
There are various ambiguities between British, Spanish and EU rulings on this; but strictly speaking, once you become resident in Spain you should change your British licence for a Spanish one.
You can officially continue to use your British one if it is a pink plastic photocard - lots of people do - but if you lose it, the DVLC won't send a replacement to a Spanish address. Also there are reports of traffic police in some areas giving British licence holders a hard time, though that might just be expat whingeing.
We've just finished the import process of our Ford C-max. It is the top specification they make and I reckon that despite €1200 in total to import, I have "saved" €4000. The cost of second hand cars here is quite crazy compared to Britain.
As far as driving on "the wrong side" goes, out in the countryside I prefer it as when you meet oncoming traffic, I have an excellent view of where the side of the road runs out and the drop into the fields begins. Also for the use of the Autopista I am going to get one of the "telepay" things so I can pay by remote control and it won't matter that I can't reach out of the window (i think).
If you plan on keeping the mondeo for another year or 2 then why not take it n transfer it, even if it costs around £1000. What's the alternative ? by a 2nd hand car over there at much higher prices than the uk.
One thing I'm doing is sourcing left hand drive lights myself and taking them with me. For a mondeo of that age I wouldn't imagine they would be overly expensive.
As for folks saying it would't be worth it, maybe to those who can afford to go out and buy a newish car maybe not but if it's still a good running motor and will last another couple of years I say go for it. 1 of my cars cost £600 and is 18 years old but will be getting spanish plates, who's to say it's worth it or not other than me.
But surely the X reg Mondeo wouldn't be worth the cost of putting on Spanish plates?? The car wouldn't sell for £1000 in the UK, would it?
So..you spend the money on bringing it over and after a year it packs up.....money down the drain.
Why not investigate LHD cars from a reputable garage in the UK? Those already on Spanish plates?
I know that some people have cars that seem to go on forever...but in my experience they are owned mainly by people who do their own repairs and have some 'special relationship' with their old car.
There is also the problem of disposing of the RHD car if you decide to change to LHD....which you might if you found you didn't like driving RHD here. We brought a RHD UK plated BMW M3 convertible and decided it was too much hassle to change to Spanish plates and that the 1000 euros or more cosats of changing to Spanish plates would be better spent on other things.
It took quite a while to find a purchaser....
I would venture a guess that many people who bring RHD cars simply don't go through with the matriculation process and keep their cars on UK plates, eventually withn no MOT or tax.
They will be insured but are not entitled to drive such a vehicle if they have been resident officially in Spain for more than the prescribed time.
But it's up to the individual to decide.
As regards the driving licence there is an inter country agreement that UK photo licences are accepted in Spain, and there is even an official letter from Traffico floating around that confirms this and a statement on the DVLA site, although I cant remember where
In 4 years or so I have not had my licence queried, and I dont know anyone who has. You do need to get it registered to a UK address before you leave though. Photo licences expire every 10 years and you need to get a replacement. It needs to be sent to a UK address, although I have heard of one being sent to a Spanish address.
The only time you have to change it for a Spanish one would be when it fully expires ... I think thats 70 but I'm not sure. Its also useful as ID in Spain .. thats all I use here
This a subject I have been thinking about myself.
I dont want to hijack the thread, as this does relate to the original post.
What do I need to do to buy a car? I have my NIE as I bought my house last October but I am not yet resident and I have been told I need proof of residence.
I want to leave my Spanish car in Spain until I move over, as I have a lot of work to do on the house.
At nearly £500 for two weeks car hire it would be the best solution for me.
If you own a house and have an NIE number, are you sure that you dont have a residencia as well?? My NIE and residencia are on the same piece of paper and to not have residencia would have meant that my NIE number would have also been temporary - 3 months I think??? so would have cost more. In any case, you must have some bills etc to support and prove you have a property here. Altho I know areas in Spain have different rules
Just a mention about the lights - check with your ITV station because my car has beam benders fitted (stickers) on the lights to move the beam as it it were a left hand drive.
The car passed the lights test at the ITV with beam benders on - far cheaper than buying a new set of lights!
They're ok whilst it's on UK plates but not acceptable for re-registration , although occasionally one gets passed. I know a chap who re-registered his with them, they got picked up on his next ITv & new headlights had to be fitted.
Sorry to divert from the original post but does this mean you cant buy a car unless you own a property in Spain? We are renting and planned to buy a car there..
How long can you keep a car in Spain on UK plates before you have to register it in Spain? I read somewhere it was 3 months but I don't know if this is correct or for that matter where I read it
I wasn't intending to suggest trips to UK just for that, some people go over regularly so could time a visit accordingly.
RE Gib, it's only what I heard from a friend. No-one is likely to publicise this as a service, it's just that it was suggested getting the passport stamp as a souvenier, which could then serve the purpose for the car.
I wasn't intending to suggest trips to UK just for that, some people go over regularly so could time a visit accordingly.
RE Gib, it's only what I heard from a friend. No-one is likely to publicise this as a service, it's just that it was suggested getting the passport stamp as a souvenier, which could then serve the purpose for the car.
-------------------------------------------------
Why not just do as the regulations require?
If you can afford to come to Spain and enjoy living here, why not just obey the very reasonable rules , rules similar to those in force in the UK?
Why spend so much time, effort and money trying to 'sneak' round these rules?
Whilst I don't regard it as the crime of the century, disregarding these rules seems a rather petty thing to do.
It's like working on the black....taking without putting in.
We all moan in the UK at how foreigners flout our laws and rules.
What makes it different here?
Hi there,
We sold our Uk plated newish car before we came out here. We bought my old car with us to use whilst we looked for a Spanish car.It was the right thing for us to do as my old car didn't owe us anything and was cheaper than hiring a car.
Our friend bought a LHD car in the UK that was previously on a German plate. As he had not owned it for 6 months and as it was a 4 x 4 it cost him well over 2000 euros to get it matriculated and it was a very lengthy process.I see that driving a RHD car in Spain would restrict your view when overtaking? I have heard that the Spanish police like to pull over English cars to check that you have the correct documentation with you but we have not found that in the past few weeks that we used our UK plated car. All the best on your journey, it was certainly the best thing we ever did was come to live in Spain!
Your friend should have checked out the rules before buying a car on German plates. There are plenty of cars available in the UK from reputable garages already on Spanish plates with all documentation needed to change ownership. I think it cost me around 160 euros to do that with my Spanish plated LandRover bought in the UK.
For a year I drove in Spain a BMW RHD UK plated car which was fully taxed and had a valid year-long MOT. It was a second vehicle so it didn't get a lot of use. When the tax and MOT ran out I had the car checked over at our local garage.
I drove it when the LR was not available, i.e. when it went for an ITV or my partner needed it. These were rare occasions.
On each occasion I was fully aware that although I was insured and the car was roadworthy, I was in breach of Spanish law. I was quite prepared to face any punishment. No 'sneaking'.
A couple of months after the MOT and tax expired I managed to sell the car to an English woman who said she would immediately transfer it to Spanish plates. It was not easy to find a buyer although it was an M3 convertible, a rather nice car...(remember your nice red M3, Jo)
One year later and the car is still on UK plates...my personalised plate which I could have got a few ££ for in the UK!!!!
Everyone else does ! Only problem you might have is if you are stopped by one who knows that it should have a tax disc. What is it you're looking to get rid of ?
I think he was - PW is right though in that it's a hassle that is worth it IMO
the eye & so on tests take minutes & a Spanish licence is so much more sensible if you are staying here
I can see how it would cause problems for Johnfromoz upon returning to OZ though
my oh was advised by car rental co's in the US that it would cause him problems - a Brit with a Spanish address confuses the hell out them - just imagine if he had a Spanish driving licence
Hi, me again....
Going back a few weeks, we discussed buying a LHD car here or in UK. Today I was advised by a knowledgeable gent, not to buy a Spanish plated car in UK as there is no guarantee about previous debts on it and the previous owner has to be present to do the transfer. He says I should buy a UK reg car and import it here. Being resident I cannot get out of paying import duty.
Comments please - also.......what are the general costs on importing a car, say a 1.8, 6 yr old, costing about 6000.
You may have gathered from previous posts that the best option is to buy a car here. Always look at what the locals drive around in. If there is a preponderance of a particular type of vehicle then that is the one that is best suited to where you (plan to) live and will take into account the tightness of corners and the narrowness of streets. Here it is the Berlingo/Partner/Kangoo type of vehicle that is the most popular. This also has the positive side effect that there is always a secondhand demand for your car when you want to change.
Baldilocks.....I like your logic. Thanks
Playamonte....I only mentioned buying in UK as we are there in May so could buy and then have a car to bring stuff back with us.
hi guys I think that you probably covered this one but I been reading loads of things and I can't really find a precise answer.
I live in Uk but I'm Spanish, I never lived in Spain but I have a spanish Passport and a DNI. I'm meant to move to Spain as my work decided to send me there. I can see that I could get a better deal if I buy a UK registered LHD than buying the car in Spain particularly prestige cars; I would need to move back fairly soon if I buy the car next week and move there in 1-2 months would I have to pay import duty because the car hasn't been in my name for more than 6 months?
I'm aware I should be doing the reregistration in the first 60 days or if not I would have to pay the import tax but if you bought the car just before moving isn't that also an issue.
thanks in advance
hi guys I think that you probably covered this one but I been reading loads of things and I can't really find a precise answer.
I live in Uk but I'm Spanish, I never lived in Spain but I have a spanish Passport and a DNI. I'm meant to move to Spain as my work decided to send me there. I can see that I could get a better deal if I buy a UK registered LHD than buying the car in Spain particularly prestige cars; I would need to move back fairly soon if I buy the car next week and move there in 1-2 months would I have to pay import duty because the car hasn't been in my name for more than 6 months?
I'm aware I should be doing the reregistration in the first 60 days or if not I would have to pay the import tax but if you bought the car just before moving isn't that also an issue.
thanks in advance
You have to own the vehicle for 6 months prior to transfering it to Spanish plates in order to import it tax free. Obviously you are Spanish not British but I think the same rules will apply. I am British but live here, work here, pay my taxes etc and ALL my affairs are Spanish. I was thinking of doing the same as you but I was told that I would have to pay taxes (but for me it might be because I am already resident in Spain).... I thought I knew a lot about importing cars but the honest answer is I am not 100% sure but i think you would not be able to do it, regardless of nationality if you have owned the car less than six months (and they do check the date the vehicle was transfered to you on the UK car log book).
Try & find one that's still on spanish plates. There was quite a few about a few weeks ago when I was looking. That way you 've only got to pay the % for a normal transfer.
We are now in UK for a few weeks (lovely weather by the way) and started the car search. I discovered to my pleasure only last Sat, that I can own the lhd car for 6 mnths on UK plates and then import it free of duty, as the thread said just recently but only just seen it. I originally thought you had to reside with it in UK for 6 mnths. Trouble is, there's not a lot of choice for what we want at this time, so may end up buying in Spain on our return. Buying in Spain may be better as at least you can get a 1yr warranty for what its worth, buying in UK you get nowt!
You are all aware I guess that Spain is acting illegally in charging this import tax happily whilst that revenue outstrips the EU fines it pays.
I only hope I can sell my car before the end May. Ebay I am told should be worth trying.
cars are expensive in this part of Spain, a Spanish friend is hunting autotrader just now and reckons even with the cost of the ferry etc he will save 1-2000 euros compared with buying here and he is looking at cars for around 5000k. If you can find what you want on Spanish plates in the Uk they can be cheap and it would avoid the import but importing is fairly easy and cost me about 4- 500 euros if I remember correctly although I talked to a chap last week who had paid 1000 euros for importing an older and smaller car, be careful not to get ripped off. If you intend staying over 6 months I believe you should start the importation process with in two months. You need a technical sheet ficha technica I think it was from a mechanic, this cost me 70euros a year or so ago and lists all of the specifications of the car, then an ITV (MOT) for metriculation then I would advise get an asesoria to do the rest of the paper work. I was told that right hand drive cars are officially limited to 80kph but no one seem to bother about that. Your British licence should be an international one however you can not register a British licence to a foreign address so should sit the Spanish driving test and apply for a Spanish one unless you have an address in the UK, I think within 6 months although again that has not been a problem either. It does pay to keep your passport, paper and card licence, all insurance and registration documents with you at all times - if you are stopped and do not have a driving licence on you they will impound your car.
"Your British licence should be an international one however you can not register a British licence to a foreign address so should sit the Spanish driving test and apply for a Spanish one "
Hmmm am feeling quite qualified to answer this one as we bought a left hand drive in the UK before we came over. In fact our car was originally purchased in Malaga then the owner got sick went back to the UK and registered the car on UK plates. So a few observations we have found ........
You need to own the car for 6 months while you are in the UK to avoid paying an import tax (now there are plenty of people here who will tell me the Spanish call it something else but I am blonde and in effect it is an import tax). We purchased the car just over 6 months before we came to live here. So far so good
To get the car back on Spanish plates I needed my NIE number - long story here as I applied in London and it never arrived but after lots of help (thanks JoJo) I got a copy of my NIE number only to get the original arrive in the post 3 days later (after applying in London 7 months prior). Grrrr but so far so good.
You need a Gestor - I was recxommended an excellent one in Arroyo de la Mielb who quoted 600 including their fees, my road tax, new number plates and re-resistration in Andalucia. Again sounds straighforward ....
So I took all the paper work, filled in the forms paid €200 deposit and waited for traffico to give me adate for my ITV (MOT - if it passes I get the Spanish plates and job done) but I waitied and waited, went on holiday and still nothing ....
My Gestor said Traffico consider my car a Spanish car pretending to be an English car as it has to go back on it's original Spanish plate so therefore they vwanted all the fees paid in advance. So we thougt all been OK we would pay the fees - this was 8 weeks ago and still nothing.
The issues is we need a special dosument from Traffico to take the car for it's ITV and it would appear that as the car is Spanish (although pretending to be English) that Traffico has not done this before! Finally after my Gestor subitting my documentation up to 2 times a week in all the different formats that Traffico have asked for that finally they have accepted my documents. My Gestor ahs the patience of a saint!! So....... now I am waiting fora date for my ITV.
To give you an idea I started this process in January. It is frustrating , slow and at times unbearable but I am determined to get there in the end.
What you need to decide is whether your car is worth changing to Spanish plates. We have not had the expense of new headlights etc.. as the car is Spansih and ahs Spanish headlights.
Keep us updated and best of luck x
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