Hi, We're hoping to buy a lhd car in the uk before we move ovre, and just wanted to know how to change it over onto spanish plates and roughly how much it costs.
Any info on this would be great, getting more excited about the move by the day.
Thanks.

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morning dylan




from florence

I dont recommend it ,oddly many dealers in the U.K ask more for lhdplus once its in Spain you cant take it back for warranty work,if you want a spanish reg car buy one here ,slightly dearer in many cases but will cut out the registration rigmarole which can sometimes go expensivly wrong,plus there will be no new headlights to buy which on some cars can be very expensive

sent you a PM - Im selling my car that you might be interested in - we are moving back to England in December

Buying LHD should mean that the lights are still LHD lights??? That point is certainly something to check before buying I suppose. If it’s been changed for UK use, maybe the original lights are available? Just a thought.

You can buy Spanish (or other nationality) plated cars in the UK.

A lhd UK registered car can only pass a UK MOT if it has UK spec headlamps ,if you buy a spanish plated car in the UK you are setting yourself up for big trouble/expense with the transfer of ownership if you come to spain with it,

why ?

Is it not a lot easier/cheaper to transfer a Spanish car ie one name to another rather than re-register a UK plate vehicle ??

I was speaking to a car dealer the other day, as I'm trying to sell my car, and he was saying that the second hand car market has really nosedived. People are walking into his showroom and offering half the screen price, they are obviously walking away empty handed for now but I think it shows where prices are heading.

I bought mine in the UK as a Belgian import but on English plates, drove it for a while before emigrating in it. At the time it was well worth it as the equivalent car over here was at least 25% more expensive.

If you decide to do it this way remember:
Make sure the car has a certificate of conformity with it as this makes matriculation easier and cheaper.
You have to have owned the car for 6 months (as a uk vehicle) prior to matriculation so as to avoid import duty. (Which is costly)
Matriculation costs are €400-€500 but the car has to be as described on the certificate of conformity.
Get a gestor to do it for you.

Good luck!

Ste.

Like spain, I’d be very interested to know exactly why you state ‘setting yourself up for big trouble/expense’. Turning up in Spain with the (fully documented) Spanish car, you won’t need to matriculate it, and effectively you’d legally own the car and just need to register a change of keeper.

It really depends on how long it has been in the UK.
Also can they legally sell a Spanish car to a UK citizen without a Spanish NIE number or does it have to be exported from Spain and imported to the UK first ?
How do you know there are no debts etc on the car in Spain ?

good point hmmmmm

you do draw up a contract which states that you are selling the vehicle free of debts and charges and that the new owner is only responsible from the date of sale - thats when you are selling in Spain so if I were to sell my car in UK I would make the same contract, assume K dealers would do a similar kind of thing ?

You will find the debt stays with the car until paid regardless of any names on paperwork, if your name is down as the car owner they can just take what is due out of your bank account, hence the need of NIE number to buy a Spanish car.

well my car is debt free so I dont have to worry about that