Bartonboy

Buying a car in Spain sounds like it can be a pain as anybody got any advice please. Somebody told us secondhand cars are expensive.

spain

yes and yes

my advice would be to go to a dealer, there are more and more about now (depends on the area) and at least they will give you 6-12 months warranty and sort out all the paperwork for you

petew

go to a main (franchised dealer) for a used car. At least then you have some comeback if there are problems. There are some very dodgy dealers around in Spain. Many dealers here routinely "clock" their used cars - even some franchise dealers!

I have actually seen a used car I was interested in miraculously lose 30,000kms overnight!

jdr

They even advertise to clock, oooops sorry adjust milage on cars in the SUR.

mikelincs

More expensive compared with new prices than the UK, but then they don't depreciate as much, and car bodies don't deteriorate as much as the UK, at least not here on the coast. Go to a licensed dealer, not one of these where they just have cars parked side of the road, and they should do all the paperwork, I had no problems and my SUMA arrived correctly.

petew

Another thing to look out for on the Costas is that a lot of the "semi.nuevo" (nearly new) cars are ex hire cars, but don't expect the dealer to admit thats what they are. If you see rows of similar models, all with very low kms .......

I know some people say theres nothing wrong with ex hire cars but I would avoid buying one. Just take your time and look for a car with a history of private ownership and a service history.