Thanks for the last few replies regarding buying a Spanish registered car here. I considered it to be fraught with problems but maybe not? The one's I've seen are at dealers and they say that they have all the correct paperwork, but what paperwork should they have? Is there a Spanish equivalent of an HPI check for example?

Buying a Spanish registered car in the UK is fraught with problems , if a UK garage has it wheres the registered owner ? can they sign the necessary docs ? what happens if there's an issue and the previous owner is nowhere to be found ? What happens if the car breaks down , the garage wont collect it , ferry /hotel/fuel costs/AA membership / UK insurance then Spanish insurance will be a small fortune.

99.9% of UK car dealers would not have a clue what paperwork is req in Spain but knowing they are unlikley to see you again around 99.9% of them could convince you everything is in order

You can ask the same questions of buying privately in the UK. If the car breaks down then the previous owner isn't going to collect it, nor pay for any costs.

The paperwork side is a bit more complicated. You need to do your homework and ask the right questions, particularly if the garage is not the registered owner. Alternatively, buy a Spanish registered vehicle in the UK but from a private seller. Get a gestor to help with the paperwork.

When buying in Spain most people suggest getting a gestor to help, so what's the difference?

One or two people have heard that a friend of a friend had problems and that their car had outstanding taxes to pay or whatever. You hear the same stories about buying UK cars (OK, maybe not the taxes, but certainly clocked mileages, cut-n-shut, stolen, insurance write-offs).

Do your homework before buying any second hand car but don't blindly reject a bargain just because it's already on Spanish plates. It might just be a bargain because the person trying to sell it has been reading this forum and thinks all foreigners think alike.

Thanks Bill. Is there a definitive list of paperwork items a Spanish registered car should have?

Ask a gestor.

Yes , they are all reliable and know exactly what they are on about , transfer and registration issues never happen

OK, ask a reputable gestor.

You'd have the same issues with buying in Spain. Your gestor may well be useless and not check something - like someone already posted earlier.

Jeez, thousands used to come over here not too many years ago and buy the first house they could find without even checking paperwork or getting structural surveys done (and yes, I was one of them), trusting estate agents of all people, and everyone is now panicking over the extremely dangerous prospect of buying a Spanish registered car in the UK and the relatively minor chance of an outstanding parking fine to pay

Sorry to sound thick, but without the services of a gestor over here I was meaning was there a list of items I should ask the dealer over here for first? Or do I really need to hire a gestor and then ask them? My reasoning being that if I bought said vehicle over here with all the correct paperwork, I can then employ the gestor when I get over there. Or is this not possible?

The problem is many aren't , generally when you buy in Spain the vendor is living fairly local so they are easy to contact if there's an issue with the transfer , also vendors living in Spain want the car out of their name ASAP where as many in the UK could not care less as they've usually sold up and left, not only that they will tell you anything to sell it.

Another point to remember is a Spanish car cannot be driven on Spanish roads without ITV (MOT) , not even to the testing station like you can in the UK so if you buy one with expired ITV you have to get it tow trucked to a test station,expensive .

The question of car costs for Brits moving overseas occupies a great deal of space on many forums in many countries.

Whilst it is understandable that people want to get the best deal, the sensible answer that usually emerges is always buy locally.

I can't remember what paperwork was involved when we bought our car - the Spanish dealer did it all. And I realise that this might sound slightly hypocritical after going on so much about buying privately in the UK, but I was just voicing an opinion after all.

Anyway, I suppose the first question might be whether the car is registered to the dealer or still registered with the previous owner. Then you need to be sure that the registered owner will sign the transfer paperwork.
You will need to see the obvious stuff such as current ITV, technical data (sort of Spanish equivalent of log book), maybe most recent insurance policy?

After that, note the registration number and get a reputable (for Rotor ) gestor to check for any outstanding issues. He should then tell you what paperwork you require for the transfer and what forms have to be filled in and signed by the previous owner. Someone will of course, have to pay the transfer tax.

It can't be rocket science because as small as it is, there is a second hand car market here in Spain.

You sure about that Rotor?
I was under the impression that as long as the ITV appointment was booked then you could drive to the ITV centre. In fact I thought that I had read it on this forum.

I was told it by traffico a few years back , doubt its changed , even if it has what do you do if the car fails on a major issue like emissions in say Bilboa and you want to go down the CDS?