ButterflyDreams

Getting into real fix with our irish registered car- insurance company said they can insure us for a year and we can drive legally (it is motd til 2010) then we hear that it may only be for 3 months during which the car should be registered in spain. As we too are in between thoughts of beautiful Kerry and lovely sunny spain -dont really know what we should be thinking. Is there no other ways round this dilemma, anyone who has any ideas ?? Alternatively...anyone want an irish car or know what you do with an unused vehicle? Cant get just any insurance company here as they seem to only insure uk reg cars if anything, Thank you for any clarification,

michaleen oge

you don't say where in spain you are based. if you are anywhere near mojacar,you could try knights insurance, they are advertising in the english-language newspapers...try www.mojacaronline.com and there are some agents on that site who could help. the guardia civil,traffico section,are pretty funny about foreign cars. sometimes they ignore them,other times they target them. i ran my uk car in spain for four years,getting insurance was easy,getting the yearly itv(inspection)a bit harder. i do believe trafico are only seriously interested in insurance documents,if you have proper insurance,they will turn a blind eye to other things,mostly.the fact that you are irish could help too cos british registered cars are usually driven by unregistered workers,and a lot of them don't have documents of any description. you pays your money and you takes your chances. good luck. what are you doing in spain instead of lovely kerry? we are hoping to sell up here in spain and move to lovely kerry!!!!!!!!!! too bad we haven't sold, i could have bought your car off you and driven it over!! all the best anyhoo.

Mitzyboy

Traffic police may ignore you, on the other hand they may not. They may seize your car pending clarification.

Are you coming to live in Spain permanently?

If you look in the Spain section you will find all kinds of discussions. Using a foreign registered car as a resident in Spain indefinately is against the law here. The Guardia are beginning to get more serious about foreign reg cars

ButterflyDreams

Absolutely ! Cant you sell a bit quicker haha! Yes agreed beautiful Kerry how we miss her. There is in all my life yet to be a place to match it and we lived in Kells Bay a tiny tucked away place which has a view of paradise overlooking the Atlantic - people gasped when they came to visit and we dont think we will ever discover or be lucky enough to live in a place like it. Kerry was fun too and loads of nice kind of unspoilt areas, and can only give you the answer that it was time to move on a bit and give ourselves a bit of warmth in the old bones!! Trying to fit as much in before we cant so to speak! Mammy was irish and came from Clare and I managed to retrace right back so our time in Ireland was more than a reward - however, Spain is new experience and enjoying it so far, but not quite the same. Where do you come from in Ireland ? If you ever down Kerry way know lots of places for you stay (bit cheaper as well!) also try to visit to pet farm - cos thats where my ellie my sheep is -"queen of the place" so they say, I left her as well Anway you came over too so something must have drawn you to the sunny shores of spain - certainly not car regulations and helpful beaurocracy eh?? Thanks for reply and wish you luck !

ButterflyDreams

Thanks for replies! Have got car parked and not using now, bit concious of taking the chance, have still got dilemma but have bought old banger to run around in and know we could flog the irish one at the same price as we bought spanish one even though no comparison like a donkey and thoroughbred-its not that posh but you probably get the idea, what we have to decide is really is it worth the changeover to spanish plates - its a ford and not sure where to find out - spanish is of course terrible, although we try - they dont seem to understand us haha must be accents!

ButterflyDreams

Cant someone invent a site for ex pats becoming pats again??

michaleen oge

good luck with the car. as for registering your irish ford in spain, it would have to have the headlights changed to european ones(the little plastic stickers you put on when you came over(?) will not pass the itv.) the cost would be in the region of about e1200 - e1500 euros, so it may not be worth it. an old banger on the spanish roads is perfect,it will fit in. hope you are liking your time in spain, we have had eight years of it and are now ready to return to the ould sod.....i am from blackrock originally,but moved to england at age 12(am a pensioner now and ready for the quiet life).we decided to move to ireland after minutes of discussion!!! my family are still there, brothers and sisters in dun laoghaire and rosslare. have always missed the place,my holidays were always taken "at home". we are in no hurry to sell up here, we get lots of visitors all year round,but we dream of the move a lot now. we will be out kerry way and will visit your lovely sounding sheep(but will leave the mint sauce behind!!). good luck again,keep trying with the spanish, they do appreciate it. ole.

ButterflyDreams

Same to you and yours and you will not be disappointed (unless you heading deep into Dublin- where city is city) - there is not a place like it on earth - agreed and maybe one day when our adventures are finished who knows? I miss the eavesdropping most of all haha! And after all the world is big big place, but guess everyone knows when its time to go home or where their heart is x Best of luck, prayers and blessings xCome back to me if you sell in next month!!