Hi
We are moving to Arboleas in August 2016 into a long term rental cortijo.
My question is...can we buy a car from a dealer or privately with just our passports and without having a NIE number?
What about car insurance in Spain, do we need an NIE number for that?
Thanks for your help!
Rose

Hi and a warm welcome to the Spanish forum on BE. Myself and Fred James are the moderators for the Spanish forums whilst BEVS moderates Europe. Moderators are there to ensure that the site runs smoothly within the rules of BE. This is so that members gain the information that they are looking for and find their experiences on the forums to be friendly and worthwhile.

Problems and complaints should always be addressed to a moderator who will look into the matter and deal with it efficiently and fairly. Our members who post in the Spain Forums are usually friendly and helpful with a wealth of knowledge about the issues of living in Spain. I hope that you enjoy your time participating in the forums.

Please let me know if you need any further help.

Rosemary

No.


You will need at least an NIE plus proof of where you live. Some companies (wrongly) insist on a copy of the padron but a copy of your deeds or a rental contract should suffice.

Even if we just flew into the country the night before?

Hi Snikpoh!
Thanks for replying btw!

Buying a car in Spain is not like buying a car in anywhere else I have been. You cannot see car, slap money on table, drive off.
You have to provide documents,these have to go to Trafico, ownership needs to changed, and then you can have the car. Takes time.
My recent purchase involved NIE, Empadronamiento, and Passport, for all of which except Empadronamiento I used Notarised copies.

This is putting me off! í ½í¸µ

I would arrive, rent a car for a couple of weeks, and look round for the car of your desires. Sort out the paperwork that dealer requires, they will differ, and go for it.
Balance the cost against a long term rental deal, if you are not stopping for years it may be a better bet.

We have a few bits like a sewing machine and a couple of guitars we want to bring over with us but I don't think you can hire a car in uk to drive in Spain... This is becoming a bit of a nightmare!

I think they meant hire in Spain ! As already said the paperwork required differs from area to area the joys of Spain. Just make sure YOU check it has no fines or back payments for non payment of sellers bills. Some debts are left unpaid till they sell something then the paper chain joins it up :-)

Yes hire in Spain.

We hired a car in Spain last week when we house hunting...Gold car! Perfect! No problem. I understand car rental in Spain is what we would call car leasing.
We don't want to do that because we have some fiddley stuff like sewing machine, golf clubs and guitars that we want to bring with us from UK to Arboleas.

Can we buy a LHD uk registered car in UK, load it up and drive it across to Arboleas, then pay to change the plates and have it matriculated? Or are we supposed to have owned the car for six months before we bring it over?

If you want to avoid paying the registration tax, then you must have owned it for 6 months. Depending on the car you buy, that can be expensive.

Surely even then you would still need an NIE etc to re register a vehicle as you would if you bought one in Spain?