Ceejay1566

Hi - when we move to Spain next year we will need a car. Is it better to buy in Spain or is it difficult to bring a LHD car from the UK or any other EU country? Any advice would or personal experiences would be welcomed.
Thanks

Loafing Along

Least hassle is buy a car when you arrive. Any car purchased outside of Spain will need to go through a comprehensive registration process when you are a Spanish resident. The process is not difficult just time-consuming and bureaucratic , not something to get into if you are without good Spanish so you end up paying a "gestoria" to do it for you, extra expense.

snikpoh

^^ Gestor surely?

You can buy both LHD in UK and even LHD, Spanish registered cars in UK from specialist dealers.

...but, as stated, may be less hassle to buy when you get to Spain

missile

Buy in Spain.

Ceejay1566

Thanks - looks like buying in Spain is best option - time will not be an issue for me but understanding local practices and language would be initially.

Fred James

No, a Gestoria is a place that offers the services of a gestor(s).

VFR

Or buy a Spanish car from someone heading back to the UK ?

discoman

I bought in the UK and drove over....but my advice? .......buy in Spain....more expensive, lower spec, more pitfalls, but worth it for a LHD and no further registration costs!

lurchio

You will still have to find transfer fees / gestor fees AND will have to be sure there are no ourstanding fines and/ or charges against the vehicle which all become yours on transfer if you don't check this!

Rotor

Buy in Spain.

snikpoh

Doh, really !!!!!

So you pay the gestor (not the building/office).

Loco Pedro

Buy in the UK.
The import process is not that difficult.
Second-hand cars in Spain generally have much higher mileage than English cars - for obvious reasons - and are far cheaper.
The Spanish car owners are notoriously cheap when it comes to servicing and repairs and will only spend the minimum cash to maintain the car.
The hassle of selling a vehicle here, and the purchase tax to buy another cause the shortage of good low mileage vehicles available.


Do the price comparisons of similar cars and it becomes quite apparent - if you can find cars with low mileage here to compare with.

Fred James

And don't forget that the cost of registering an imported car can be as much as 14.75% of the value, depending on the CO2 emissions.

snikpoh

Am I understanding you correctly?

In my opinion, second hand cars are FAR more expensive in Spain!

Fred James

I think they are more expensive because people keep them much longer. In the UK it seems that 90% are bought on 3 year leases or PCPs so everyone has a new(ish) car. As a result only “poor” people or bad credit risks buy old cars as a result they are cheap as the demand is low and you can get such an attractive deal on a new car.

It’s very noticeable that list purchase prices of new cars are rarely quoted, just the monthly cost.

It is ridiculous that a 3 year year old car with a reasonably low mileage should only be worth 40% of its new list price when it now has a probable life of at least another 10 years.

If all UK cars were LHD it would be crazy not to import one, as there would not be any expensive conversions required. However, I would be reluctant to import a RHD car. Also, although a second hand car is expensive in Spain, it will hold its price better.