Buying Spanish plated car in UK
Discussion
Anyone any experience of this?
We are relocating to sunny Spain later this year and will need a car. We have a dog so will be driving there from the UK. I understand that we can't drive our UK registered car there without going through the timely and costly route of registering it, so our only option seems to be to buy a Spanish car here and drive over to Spain, but not sure of the practicalities of this. Any thoughts?
We are relocating to sunny Spain later this year and will need a car. We have a dog so will be driving there from the UK. I understand that we can't drive our UK registered car there without going through the timely and costly route of registering it, so our only option seems to be to buy a Spanish car here and drive over to Spain, but not sure of the practicalities of this. Any thoughts?
Are you aware you can use your UK plated car for 6 months in Spain? Obviously insurance, MOT, tax need to be covering the period.
That gives you time to find something over there - if you aren't aware used cars in Spain typically have a lot more miles and are in worse condition than the UK, and far more expensive.
For us the most cost effective way when looking at 3 year+ ownership was a brand new Dacia / Kia / Hyundai on finance. Unfortunately the one in the family with TIE couldn't qualify for the finance.
That gives you time to find something over there - if you aren't aware used cars in Spain typically have a lot more miles and are in worse condition than the UK, and far more expensive.
For us the most cost effective way when looking at 3 year+ ownership was a brand new Dacia / Kia / Hyundai on finance. Unfortunately the one in the family with TIE couldn't qualify for the finance.
I looked at Spanish registered cars in the Uk, but they were mostly rubbish.
Buying a car in Spain is pretty painful unless you’re in a financial position to buy brand new. I bought a 1.0l focus when I moved here 3 years ago. 2015, 57k miles… cost me €9k from a Ford main dealer. The good news is you can get good back if you look after it… I’ve just sold mine with 65k miles for €8.5k.
There are some relative bargains out there… I’ve just bought a 2005 X5 to knock around in… 2 owners, 73k miles, original sale invoice, every mot and every service & repair bill… €6,500. But I looked multiple times a day for 2 months and bought this one less than 48 hours after it was advertised. 2005 X5’s are typically €7.5k with 130k+ miles.
There’s more choice and better prices if you’re based in Madrid/Barcelona.
Buying a car in Spain is pretty painful unless you’re in a financial position to buy brand new. I bought a 1.0l focus when I moved here 3 years ago. 2015, 57k miles… cost me €9k from a Ford main dealer. The good news is you can get good back if you look after it… I’ve just sold mine with 65k miles for €8.5k.
There are some relative bargains out there… I’ve just bought a 2005 X5 to knock around in… 2 owners, 73k miles, original sale invoice, every mot and every service & repair bill… €6,500. But I looked multiple times a day for 2 months and bought this one less than 48 hours after it was advertised. 2005 X5’s are typically €7.5k with 130k+ miles.
There’s more choice and better prices if you’re based in Madrid/Barcelona.
Old threat alert. As said earlier, the pain of buying a used car in Spain is high. In addition to what was mentioned, there is a transfer tax to pay, based on car’s value. Also any unpaid taxes or fines go with the car, so if not careful you could end up with these too. The only good thing is that, here in the south at any rate, cars do not rust. In 23 years here, with cars of all ages, I have never replaced one exhaust or part thereof. The downside is that every panel will be bashed and scraped and the paintwork, rubber and plastic trim will be degraded by the sun, on older examples.
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