jdr

Although they may give you unlimited ins cover in Europe you will find that host country residency rules may alter this.
As I have said before, UK insurance companies do not write the driving regulations in Spain or anywhere else.
If you are not a UK resident and you wont be because of the time you are in Spain, then the car will need to be matriculated onto Spanish plates etc.
Leave the car in the UK and buy one out here, then sell it when you return to the UK.
Also watch your health cover for being out of the UK for that long.

zel

Correct mate, a car can still be 'illegal' in terms of registration but can still be perfectly legally insured up to the point of the terms and conditions of the said insurance.

For example when you register an import in the UK you can not insure it on the plates it has, you have to insure it on the vehicles chassis number.

The point what people have made and has flown over the top of Rotors head is the majority of these "Insure your UK registered car in Spain" type insurance is not worth the paper it is wrote on.

No one has ever said (to my knowledge) that all insurance of this level wouldn't pay out under any circumstances, but if they REALLY wanted to not pay out they could quite easily just come up with a clause one is breaking and back out of it. Which for people who generally take this insurance up they feel is worth the risk as their car is only worth 400 quid. But what they don't think about is the value of the car they hit, or the personal liability claims they could follow.

As you've mentioned one of the popular ones is no valid UK road tax or MOT.

Like anything, if one is going to do it the "chav" way so to speak and cut corners and run the risks and break laws, the old "you pays your money you takes your chances" comes into play.

It makes my blood boil tbh as I've been hit by an uninsured chav idiot in Spain and ended up forking out my own hard earned cash to fix my motor and all he did was run off down the road as his car was worth 50 quid & a bunch of grapes.. Chavs the lot!

The simple FACT (not none of Rotors nonsense) is if the terms and conditions do not state that you are fully insured even if you do not have valid UK road tax and a valid MOT then if said company wants to pull out of the deal they are perfectly within their rights to do so.

Let's face it what Insurance company is going to be stupid enough to make it as black and white as that? as in most claims police are involved somewhere down the line and if they found out that a company is promoting insuring vehicles that are illegally registered their heads would be for the chopping block too.

jdr

They have been having a purge on UK commercials at the moment here, last month it was 4x4`s when the councillors were short of vehicles. ;-))
There was a guy in the Sur that had his UK car nicked twice, the second time it was used in a robbery and kept as evidence til the court case.
Now the judge is making a list of charges against the owner for non importing the car etc.

zel

It's because foreign plated cars are seen as easy pickings as not only are they extremely easy to give a false identity but seeing as they're not generally on any local systems, they're also a lot easier to do crimes in and then dispose of.

You've probably noticed a few UK cars parked up with expired tax discs and missing plates too as the plates get nicked to put on Spanish or eastern European cars so they can get up to no good on them too

Happens in the UK as well we've had a letter given to us with the last car we registered from the DVLA warning us about the increase in registration theft and car thefts with foreign plated cars.

I suppose with the increase in technology the police have now the chavs and people up to no good have to look elsewhere to do their "thing"

zel

Here here! Well said Ms G!

zel

With all due respect though Mitz, you had luck on your side somewhat

Not because it's a Jap import and one produced only for that market but because of the modifications you have made to the original spec

Though it probably helped your case a lot having a well connected Gestor do the work for ya! :P

But the fact (none of Rotors dodgy antics or "i've heard from so & so") is if your vehicle is original spec and is relatively recent (say 12-15 years) then it can be registered in ANY part of Spain. It doesn't matter if it's a proper EU vehicle, a Jap vehicle or a US vehicle. They can all be done at a price!

Of course an EU vehicle is by far the easiest and cheapest.

me me

Totally agree, this type of thing is what makes me feel ashamed of my Britishness. We complain in the UK when Eastern Europeans flout our laws in the UK. How many accidents involve these illegal drivers, most are hit and run, because they know that they will be caught with no proper papers. When the British came to live in Spain in the past they had standards. The Spanishness in me would like to say "If you cant afford or dont want to conform to the rules that the Spanish have to live by, then maybe you should not be here". Most British here have all in order, but the ones who dont always seem to be the ones bragging and calling the others stupid. So it gives the wrong impression to the native Spanish, you make me sick, where is your pride, you are letting your countrymen down.

bigglesworth

I have said it before and I will say it again. There is just so much helpful information on this site. Thanks everybody.

As a soon to be "newbie" we are indeed trying to work out what to do with cars. We do have two 5 or 6 year old cars - both reliable, but we know we really need L/Hand drive. We are debating buying a/ second hand or new and b/in Spain or in UK. We both have absolutely no desire to do anything illegal - in either country. Our concerns also include limited Spanish until I get up to speed - which I will do rapidly- and zero mechanical understanding.
Any thoughts welcomed

Rotor

If you think all Spanish abide by the rules and regulations your deluded, Spain led/leads europe for black money deals, has proberly the highest percentage of unlicensed drivers in europe,corruption is rife here,highest percent of illegal houses!!if you want to fit in with majority of locals go on the fiddle!!A spanish friend of mine says he can name 9 locals who drive without a license just in our valley of around 30 houses!! As a small business owner I despise it as it forces you to do the same to compete ,It`s getting better I must admit as the eu seems to be getting tougher,

Rgds

Rotor

me me

They sound like scumbags to me, Spanish scumbags. I never mixed with scumbags in the UK, and I am not going to start now that I am in Spain.

There are all kinds of criminals in Spain, but just because there are, does not make it ok for others to follow suit. It is like the drug dealers excuse " if he does not buy from me, he will only buy form someone else.

It is a bit like fiddling the dole in the UK, the there are enough Brits fiddling the dole, so the last thing the country need are a load of people entering the country and doing the same.

Yes there are the lower elements in every country, born and bred, but I object to non natives bragging about how they are taking their host country for mugs, be it here or the UK.

Disgraceful, the Del Boy life style is a laugh on the telly, but to follow their teachings in real life, is scummy. A lot of Spanish people read these sites, you are letting US ALL down.

My parents went to the UK for work, embraced the lifestyle and raised their children.
They never complained about the high cost of living in the UK compared to what they were used to. They obeyed the law, and they knew that if they objected to paying tax, TV license (no such thing in Spain, so were they mugs to buy one) etc, they had a choice and they could leave.

When you move to any country you dont have the choice as to which "laws" or systems you adhere to, it comes as a complete package.

You cannot go to a foreign country and decide that you will obey what is convenient to you and disregard what is not.

Reading the posts on here, most are about how to do thing the right way in Spain, very different to the UK, I know. People are asking because they want to live decently and not import a "shameless" lifestyle as in TV series.


I am really getting sick and tired of trying to defend Brits to the Spanish, because it is no wonder WE are all "chulo" you are.

trentino

Ok chaps, stupid here. We were planning on bringing two cars over, 1 left hand drive, sons right hand. Reason for bringing from UK is they are both on a fleet policy which will cover son (19) for insurance purposes as we thought it would be too expensive in Spain. Are you saying I need different papers to drive these cars in Spain??

zel

Karma+++

zel

If you're planning on staying in Spain for longer than 3 months and want to do everything to the law then yes.

You will have to re-register the vehicles and gain Spanish insurance.

trentino

Thankis for your comments onj me asking about UK insured cars. Know hubby would want to do the correct thing, funny thing is hes an insurance broker inthe UK. Regarding your quote, why is it that Spain seems to have its own rules totally with regard to corruption etc. I am not knocking Spain as I am moving out myself soon, and cant wait. Just everything seems to be so back handed.

poshnbucks

All I hear from most Brits is corrupt this and corrupt that, So then how many of you have actually paid a member of the town council or given the mayor a new car or envelope full of cash, Or left a 100 euro note in your driving documents for that corrupt Police officer who stopped you in your none taxed UK plated motor car in short I bet none of you. Because you just go with the flow and paint them all the same. There are corrupt officials who have been rooted out in Southern Spain, One of the London Mayors right hand men resigned yesterday
so don't paint Spain as a total corrupt system There many UK MPs who are milking the system dry. Enjoy the Country you are in and if you do not like it leave go back to the UK no corruption there eh Now about that black money you handed over to buy your cave.....