Afternoon everyone, this is my first message on the sit so excuse me if I don't get the in's and out's right first time round. We're moving to Madrid in August and I have a few queries which I hopy someone can help with. My questions / points are as follows :
1) can anyone give any tips on places to meet other expats / english speakers and my spanish is only so-so. Having been to Madrid a few times I Gather the (pseudo) Irish bars are popular with English Speakers - is this correct ?

2) any tips on buying 2nd hand cars in spain (ideally a newish car, say <18 months old) and the legalities of doing so with a british driving license.

3)in's and out's on car insurance. Do you have the same choice as in the UK, eg fully comp, 3rd party, 3rd party f&f etc..

I have loads off other stuff too but that will do for now.

thanks,

Cant help you with Madrid I'm afraid, long way away

But in short your UK licence is OK here under EU agreements.
To but a car I had to produce my NIE number and padron as well as passport. This was needed to register it in my name. I'd recommend using a gestoria to be safe so that you don't inherit any fines or end up in the car not being registered in your name properly

Not 100% sure about the different types as I wanted full ins cover but full insurance here comes with international breakdown cover included.

One thing, you might find that the difference in cost between buying an 18 month vehicle and new is not that great depending on what you buy as second hand cars are quite pricey here ... worth investigating

Check out this thread,in particular my answer - nº 4 - which should answer your first point adequately.
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=456138

Cars not really a problem although second hand market is not like UK and can be quite expensive.

Insurance - well, if you want piece of mind using a company you're used to try Linea Direct (Direct Line) - I use Mutua Madrileña but Direct Line gives you service in English so........

Thanks for the info....:thumbsup