Driving in spain
 

Im moving to spain in a month and will be needing to buy a car and get it insured etc, I wondered if there was anything I should be aware of and if there was anything specific I need before applying for insurance etc

Re: Driving in spain
 

You will need a NIE number and some will ask for one of the following:

• Residence Certificate
• Rental contract or title deeds to your proptery
• Padron certificate/evidence

You will also be liable for a transfer ownership fee which I believe is about 4% of what the gov says the car is worth, however if you're buying from a dealer you might want to haggle that into the deal.

If you take your own RHD/LHD car you will have to have owned it for upto six months to be able to bypass their 'import duty' more info can be found in the 'free beer' post/sticky at the top of the Spanish section.

As far as insurance is concerned you will need proof of residency and address and also a valid ITV (MOT) if applicable.

Re: Driving in spain
 

Hello, I've been told the cars are more expensive in Spain, than England, is that so? I thought it was the other way around. Not that I would take a car over, for one I don't fancy the 500 or so miles to Mijas after getting off the ferry and the other reason is I want a car with the left hand drive.

Re: Driving in spain
 

New cars may be cheaper here than the equivalent model in the UK Polly but second hand cars hold their value more here. As for the ferry and the drive down, it is a fantastic experience - done it a few times, but if you dont fancy it then so be it. There are plenty of second hand cars available but be careful if buying privately and use a gestor to do all the checks and paperwork for you. If the previous owner had any unpaid fine of bill, this can appear as an embargo against the car you buy and it could be seized against the dept. Also beware and try not to buy an ex taxi as they then require ITV (the equivalent of MoT) earlier than a private car.

Re: Driving in spain
 

About 15 years ago the UK was the most expensive place in Europe to purchase a car from (RHD) but due to a lot of pressure from joe public the manufacturers and the government had to take note and our prices fell in line with the rest of Europe. So the 'RHD Tax' as some people called it is no more.

Present day market as Brits love everything to be new a shiny and the fact that we're a tiny island means the second hand values are quite dire.

Pre-owned LHD cars are more expensive to buy in any part of Europe compared to the RHD versions, that's unfortunately a fact as LHD has a much bigger market than RHD.

If you're German say for example it's perfectly normal for people from 5+ countries to express interest in your vehicle. When was the last time you got interest from Cypress or some other RHD country when you've tried to sell your RHD car in the UK?

Sure there are some complete idiots who are trying their arm and day light robbing people on eBay for LHD vehicles (some are a good 8,000 quid more than what you would pay in the country it came from) but there are genuine people out there and well you would expect to pay a small premium ontop of their purchase price as you have to remember it's expensive to bring a car across Europe and then register it on UK plates.

But generally even taken that into effect you can still make a substantial saving buying a LHD car in the UK or anywhere else in Europe compared to prices in Spain and Portugal, especially if you're buying something near new or big and lumpy/expensive.

We've had clients in the past that have bought a car(s) from us and move to Spain to have a call a few weeks later asking us for 2-4 more as they want to sell them out there.

Hope this has helped explain the situation concerning price comparisons and the reasoning about it.

Re: Driving in spain
 

You've heard right I'm afraid, second hand cars for sure are more expensive and you have to pay re registration charges also. Not sure what deals are around for new though

Re: Driving in spain
 

And as for insurance, you can at least check out the company I use - Linea Directa - as they have an English speaking enquiry line and you can get the policy in English too. You can find them on the internet and a link to their English speaking phone centre.

Re: Driving in spain
 

All fully comp insurance here comes with European breakdown cover also

Re: Driving in spain
 

Just to point out that residence certificate or tarjeta de residencia, no longer exists for EU citizens, the only certificate you can now get is a NIE, which yes you will need for any taxable transaction such as registering a car in your name and of course you will need an address but not necessarily your own house (as you are just arriving).

Re: Driving in spain
 

Yup, I just needed my NIE number and my rental contract to purchase a used car from a Seat garage. I did purchase out right. Did a bank transfer and drove the car straight out. It was quite an easy process.

What i did find amusing was the lack of enthusiasm from the sales people here. Unlike England, where if you went into a car showroom they wanna bite your hand off and act like your best mates. Not here, they generally dont care :) hehe. I couldnt really haggle the price either.

But all in all, all good :)

Re: Driving in spain
 

Hi
thanks for the info, the only reason I don't fancy the drive is because I haven't mastered driving on the other side of the roads for one and not sure how long it would take me to drive such a long distance. Plus I will be traveling alone too.:huh:

Re: Driving in spain
 

Santander to Sevilla (my route) or to Malaga (your route) would be about 10 hrs drive. Possible in one go but make it 2 days for an easy trip. Are you saying that you have never driven on the right side of the road (as opposed to the correct side to the road)? To an extent, if your not used to driving on "our side", doing the drive down would be taking the bull by the veritable horn but could be a lot easier than starting out around Mijas where there is quite a lot of traffic.

Re: Driving in spain
 

Residencia card has gone but you still need a residencia certificate if you are here for more than 3 months.

Re: Driving in spain
 

Thank you, I'm going to print this off and take it with me when I move out in June! Karma on it's way, still new to this forum thing, never thought to send "karama". :o

Re: Driving in spain
 

:confused: Not sure now what you mean, I drive here in England (RHD) I have only driven round quiet avenues in Spain, so far, and been on the duel carriageway once for a couple of minutes at El FAro. I don't have the confidence yet:huh: I plan to work on my driving though as I was a "late starter" and have only been driving for 2 years here, I feel I have a lot of time to make up for. I was given a phone number for a "lady driving instructor" in Marbella, she deals with people who need confidence on the motorways etc. However her phone number is no longer in use, I do have a number for a similar type of service in Fuengirola and plan to contact them later. I'm over in Spain for 10 days in May before my move in June, hope to get some more driving practise in then. Can I use my driving license or do I need to have that altered?

Re: Driving in spain
 

You can still use/keep your UK license, some people get it stamped in Spain but I believe you then have to go for semi regular health checks (basic as they are)

Re: Driving in spain
 

The residency CARD dose not exist, but you do need a certificate now.

Re: Driving in spain
 

I would just like to say a thank-you to you ALL for your most helpful advise and say I will speak again soon, got a meeting to attend to this evening and need to sign out now to go and get ready. Just wanted to say thank-you before I left. thumbsup:

Re: Driving in spain
 

Hi again Zel, just before I go and sign off....You mentioned above "we've had clients in the past"? What is it you do? Do you sell cars then? Are they LHD?

Re: Driving in spain
 

Urm, this is sort of awkward :)

Yes I do but as per the forum rules I'm not allowed to advertise the company etc.

Re: Driving in spain
 

zel why don't you put a link i your sig mate?

Re: Driving in spain
 

thanks for all your replies, some really helpfull information here.

Re: Driving in spain
 

Its not kind of alkward ..... you were asked a direct question

Re: Driving in spain
 

ok so I failed my uk driving test today and only have 4 weeks left until I move over to spain, im trying to get a resit but Im not sure Im going to pass in time, so Im now considering plan B. Am I right in thinking that in order to ride a scooter you need to attend a motor school? does anyone know of one near Gib, la linea, Soto area, and how long it takes to get the permit, and also does anyone know roughly how much annual insurance would be (im 24). thanks in advance

Re: Driving in spain
 

Hi,

I bought a new car a month ago I needed,

My NIE (mines the new type on the green sheet)

My passport

My padron

And the stickers with the barcodes on? (no idea what they are called):o

Also had to have proof of insurance when I collected the car, that was easy I gave my insurance all the details about a week before (Direct Linea) then when I went to pick up the car, they just faxed it through

I did not need anything to show I owned my house, or that I rented

Garage was useless though, car was not ready, was not cleaned, they did not show me how everything worked, ok sounds stupid, but when its dark and you drive off, and realise its got no fuel in it,:mad: it would of been handy if they had shown me where the button is to unlock the petrol cap!
etc......... this is the 5th new car ive had (2 here- 3 in the UK) it was the worse service ive had

PS, if part exchanging an old Spanish car, they want all the old suma (road tax) bills, and for it to show its paid

Re: Driving in spain
 

I can see why the second hand car in Spain holds its value. I have a transit here that is red rotten with rust around the arches, door at the back etc.

Saw one in Spain last year, years and years older than mine and not a touch of rust on it!

Re: Driving in spain
 

Depends where you are ..... near the coast with the salt in the air you'll still find the results of corrosion on cars

Re: Driving in spain
 

At least tho they aren't basted in salt water like they are in the UK.

I liked what the French do, or someone, can't remember which country for certain, but all the crap wine is used as antifreeze spray on the roads.

In the UK, the road verges are so salty that the halophyte (or is it halophillic?) plant Dutch Scurvy Grass has spread all over the country, with the seeds spread by lorries driving inland from the coast.

Re: Driving in spain
 

Bil, we have our roads salted quite often up here in the North. But cars do not rust and they also hold their value too. The value bit we do not understand as we have seen what we would call scrapers for a lot of money.

Re: Driving in spain
 

Scrapers as in dragging on the ground??

Down in Cadiz, we are unlikely to see any risk of frosty roads!!!

Re: Driving in spain
 

Sorry that should have been scrappers------ forking spill chick

Re: Driving in spain
 

They are called Etiquetas:)

Re: Driving in spain
 

These "semi-regular" health checks are actually a simple eyesight and coordination test which you have to do at the same regularity as if you had a Spanish license. Until you are 45 it is every 10 yrs and between 45 and 70 it is every 5 years thereafter ever 2 years. Exactly the same test either to keep a UK license valid or to renew your Spanish license. They no longer stamp your UK license and they cannot insist you change to a Spanish one. Every EU state must recognise a driving license of another EU state but they can impose additional conditions on residents such as medical checks. In my case I did the test and got Trafico to issue a note confirming validity for 5 yrs.

Re: Driving in spain
 

That's the new Residency Certificate:)

Re: Driving in spain
 

Any idea if you get to a certain age then you have to do a complete re-test?

I only ask as I'm a qualified driving instructor in the UK (tho I don't actually do it for a living) so it would be one more string to ones arrow when I move over.

I assume you must also have the 'new' photo ID version of the UK license?

Re: Driving in spain
 

The fact that you are on the Padron indicates you either own a house here in Spain, or are long term renting with a contract, which is why they didn´t need that sort of proof. Also if you are on the padron now you have to have the residency certificate. All I needed the first time was my padron and passport, and bank account info for them to organise my insurance.

Re: Driving in spain
 

does anyone know about other rules about driving..I know that you have to have yellow vests in the car and carry spare bulbs for the vehicle you are driving..I was told when i was in spain that it was illegal to drive in flip flop or toe thong sandals??? as i wear this type of shoe most of the time because i have neuropathy [and have difficulty with foot wear.].I cant wear shoes and socks and tights i would like to know what others do.

Re: Driving in spain
 

Theres's a very comprehensive book on the subject, called, I think driving in Spain.

Just checked.

Motoring in Spain by Brian Deller.

Re: Driving in spain
 

Hi there,

That's a great book!

Re: Driving in spain
 

i have ordered it from amazon.. hopefully it will be here by the middle of the week..

thank you for the name of it
carole