ITV or MoT for British Cars in Spain ?

[ESDavey]

Has anyone tried to get a British car through an ITV test in Spain ?

I'm guessing it would fail in light alignment but anything else ? My insurance needs the car to have either an MoT or ITV so this would save any hassle in getting the car to the UK, MoT's and back again. I have not had to get a new ITV for any car so done know the process.

[el romeral]

I am afraid your car will fail the ITV long before they look at the headlight alignment. The UK registration plates (which I assume it has) means that it is ineligible for the test in Spain.

[ESDavey]

Thanks ... back to plan A which is keep shipping or driving the cars to the UK each year for a MoT. Darn !

[rdjohn]

Back in 2005/6 I had an ITV on my 1990 BMW Conv. which I had left in Spain for 12 months, there was no issue with the registration, or lights as it was EU compliant. I think I had been advised to do that to demonstrate that the car was roadworthy, before I returned it to the UK.

I think that if I was Spanish resident for tax purposes then, that would not have been allowed.

This year local police in Marbella were hanging round junctions pulling in non-Spanish plated cars (not just Brits) and making them change to Spanish plates and ITV. We thought that a particularly smart move was to hang around school entrances. If your kids are at school, you are probably resident.

The local paper said that some hefty fines were being handed out, where expats had been resident for a long time. It's seems that if you want to be an EU citizen, you are now obliged to abide by EU rules. I guess it is all part of also ensuring that residents are part of their tax regimes.