new car

Old Mar 12th 2006, 8:45 pm
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Default new car

HI,
CAN ANYBODY TELL ME WHAT THE COSTS OF RUNNING A CAR WOULD BE IN SPAIN.
WE ARE LOOKING TO BUY A NEW ONE WHEN WE GO OVER IN SEPTEMBER AND WOULD LIKE TO KNOW ABOUT TAX/MOT/DIESEL/SERVICE COSTS. ANY HELP VERY MUCH APPRECIATED.
ANNE :scared: :scared:
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Old Mar 13th 2006, 4:35 pm
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Default Re: new car

Generaly petrol/diesel and servicing in cheaper than in any major British town.

The best thing to do (as second hand and new vehicles are expensive to buy in Spain compared to the rest of western Europe) is to purchase a LHD (new or pre owned) now, reg it in the UK straight away and once you've owned it for six months and 1 day in the UK you can then import it without having to pay the hefty Spanish car tax or their VAT (totaling approx 30% on 1.6L or above vehicles)

Last edited by zel; Mar 13th 2006 at 4:45 pm.
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Old Mar 13th 2006, 7:01 pm
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Default Re: new car

Originally Posted by zel
Generaly petrol/diesel and servicing in cheaper than in any major British town.

The best thing to do (as second hand and new vehicles are expensive to buy in Spain compared to the rest of western Europe) is to purchase a LHD (new or pre owned) now, reg it in the UK straight away and once you've owned it for six months and 1 day in the UK you can then import it without having to pay the hefty Spanish car tax or their VAT (totaling approx 30% on 1.6L or above vehicles)
i think that your advice is biased ZEL !

If anne is moving to Spain as resident then it seems pointless to have to go through the entire process of re-registering the vehicle onto Spanish plates. If buying from new, then get a new car at a Spanish franchise dealer for the vehicle that you want.
running costs are lower than UK. fuel is lower - see fuel prices on http://www.iru.org/Services/FuelWel.E.html
Diesel is cheaper than petrol !
It is definitely worth investigating the insurance aspects and deciding on what to do before you jump.
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Old Mar 13th 2006, 7:14 pm
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Default Re: new car

I think you will find the UK is the dearest place to buy a (left hand drive ?)new car.
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Old Mar 13th 2006, 8:58 pm
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Default Re: new car

Originally Posted by jdr
I think you will find the UK is the dearest place to buy a (left hand drive ?)new car.
from what I hear the cheapest place is Belgium
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Old Mar 13th 2006, 9:28 pm
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Default Re: new car

Originally Posted by zel
Generaly petrol/diesel and servicing in cheaper than in any major British town.

The best thing to do (as second hand and new vehicles are expensive to buy in Spain compared to the rest of western Europe) is to purchase a LHD (new or pre owned) now, reg it in the UK straight away and once you've owned it for six months and 1 day in the UK you can then import it without having to pay the hefty Spanish car tax or their VAT (totaling approx 30% on 1.6L or above vehicles)
Surely, if you buy a Spanish registered car in the UK then there is no tax to pay, I have found several companies that specialise in LHD vehicles, I would suggest they would be a good place to start, try a search in google for LHD cars, there is a company in Amersham that have been very helpful to me, they can supply new or nearly new.
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Old Mar 13th 2006, 10:16 pm
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Default Re: new car

I think if you buy a Spanish regd car in the Uk then of course you are fine (if you carry out the correct checks) but I think they were referring to buying a UK regd LHD car.

I've found a few sites also with LHD cars. I've been trying to source a LHD Pajero (Yes I know what that means in Spanish thank you) but to no avail
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Old Mar 14th 2006, 7:43 am
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Default Re: new car

Originally Posted by Mitzyboy
I think if you buy a Spanish regd car in the Uk then of course you are fine (if you carry out the correct checks) but I think they were referring to buying a UK regd LHD car.

I've found a few sites also with LHD cars. I've been trying to source a LHD Pajero (Yes I know what that means in Spanish thank you) but to no avail
Mitzyboy have a look on this site majority are LHD some have accident damage but alot have none. Seem to be ex US forces private vehicles bought over here in UK then sold on


http://www.cutmaple.com/cgi-bin2/cutmaple/search.pl
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Old Mar 14th 2006, 9:11 am
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Default Re: new car

Originally Posted by Nige
i think that your advice is biased ZEL !

If anne is moving to Spain as resident then it seems pointless to have to go through the entire process of re-registering the vehicle onto Spanish plates. If buying from new, then get a new car at a Spanish franchise dealer for the vehicle that you want.
running costs are lower than UK. fuel is lower - see fuel prices on http://www.iru.org/Services/FuelWel.E.html
Diesel is cheaper than petrol !
It is definitely worth investigating the insurance aspects and deciding on what to do before you jump.
Actually i'm not being biased I'm giving the years of experience in the vehicle import/export business throughout the world.

As mentioned the cheapest way to own any vehicle in Spain generaly is to purchase it outside of Spain, own it for 6 months then bring it with you.

Spanish second hand vehicles are on average 25% more expensive than say a German vehicle. Even a brand new Seat is by far cheaper to buy in Germany,Netherlands or Belgium than in Spain.

And as the majority of people who move abroad are doing it to a strict budget every euro counts thus why I gave the correct advice.

And as for the hassle factor of registering a vehicle in Spain a client of ours in Mallorca just converted his UK regged LHD vehicle to Spanish plates within 48hrs. Not a huge deal at all to save quite litterly 1000's of euros on the more expensive vehicles.

Last edited by zel; Mar 14th 2006 at 9:19 am.
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Old Mar 14th 2006, 9:41 am
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Default Re: new car

Originally Posted by steve in pago
Mitzyboy have a look on this site majority are LHD some have accident damage but alot have none. Seem to be ex US forces private vehicles bought over here in UK then sold on
Just as a general warning to anyone as it can be a nightmae purchasing a LHD vehicle, any vehicle from 1998 onwards sold to outside of the EU can be very expensive (£1000's) to register in the UK or the rest of the EU.

The US forces get around this by their special scheme for the forces have throughout the world. If the vehicles have private UK registration already then it's not going to be a problem to use in the UK obviously, but this does not mean it's going to be a simple process to reg them in any other EU country. Although saying that if you've owned it for six months I believe it should be ok.

The EU has a car registration scheme called the COC scheme (Certificate of Conformity) which is only issued to vehicles sold to the EU (if it's made in EU then sold to outside of the EU, it will NOT come with the cert)

It's basicly a certficate to prove it conforms to all EU policies regarding noise, emissions, steering, crash data figures etc etc etc.

This is not to say that if you went over to Germany and purchased a LHD vehicle you would be 100% safe, you have to be 100% sure a COC is available for the vehicle, if it doesn't come with the car straight away, put a refundable deposit down and get them to order a COC for it and do not pay the balance until you have it in your hand.

I say this as there are a lot of ex American vehicles in Europe that people have imported themselves not knowing the hassle & expense factor to registering them (they did it when the USD was weak) and are now stuck with them and trying to sell them to other people who don't know the situation also.

There is a scheme to register a non EU car in the UK known as the SVA/ESVA route which can cost upto £3500 (not including any modifications needed) and I'm not sure if this scheme is recognized in Spain or if they have similar schemes.

Last edited by zel; Mar 14th 2006 at 9:50 am.
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Old Mar 14th 2006, 10:10 am
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Default Re: new car

Originally Posted by zel
Just as a general warning to anyone as it can be a nightmae purchasing a LHD vehicle, any vehicle from 1998 onwards sold to outside of the EU can be very expensive (£1000's) to register in the UK or the rest of the EU.

The US forces get around this by their special scheme for the forces have throughout the world. If the vehicles have private UK registration already then it's not going to be a problem to use in the UK obviously, but this does not mean it's going to be a simple process to reg them in any other EU country. Although saying that if you've owned it for six months I believe it should be ok.

The EU has a car registration scheme called the COC scheme (Certificate of Conformity) which is only issued to vehicles sold to the EU (if it's made in EU then sold to outside of the EU, it will NOT come with the cert)

It's basicly a certficate to prove it conforms to all EU policies regarding noise, emissions, steering, crash data figures etc etc etc.

This is not to say that if you went over to Germany and purchased a LHD vehicle you would be 100% safe, you have to be 100% sure a COC is available for the vehicle, if it doesn't come with the car straight away, put a refundable deposit down and get them to order a COC for it and do not pay the balance until you have it in your hand.

I say this as there are a lot of ex American vehicles in Europe that people have imported themselves not knowing the hassle & expense factor to registering them (they did it when the USD was weak) and are now stuck with them and trying to sell them to other people who don't know the situation also.

There is a scheme to register a non EU car in the UK known as the SVA/ESVA route which can cost upto £3500 (not including any modifications needed) and I'm not sure if this scheme is recognized in Spain or if they have similar schemes.
£3500 your having a laugh SVA cost nothing like that!!.A couple of hundred pounds only, & the above vehicles have been registered on Uk plates so no problems there, & no i dont work for the company & yes i have an a American vehicle & have had no problems with SVA & MOT that includes the newer version. Mods required lights & side lights & rear fog & reverse lighting again a few hundred pound or you could do it yourself.
As per people importing, think you will find its mainly the dealers that are stuck with stock

Last edited by steve in pago; Mar 14th 2006 at 11:26 am.
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Old Mar 14th 2006, 12:41 pm
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Default Re: new car

Originally Posted by zel
As mentioned the cheapest way to own any vehicle in Spain generaly is to purchase it outside of Spain, own it for 6 months then bring it with you..
I thought that if you are coming to Spain to take up residency, then you are given a period of time to re-register your 'imported' car that is any age (new or over 6 months), for little cost. Is this correct?

Originally Posted by zel
Spanish second hand vehicles are on average 25% more expensive than say a German vehicle. Even a brand new Seat is by far cheaper to buy in Germany,Netherlands or Belgium than in Spain...
I agree about cost of 2nd hand cars in Spain. In Andalucia, they seem to stay with the same owner for ever, so the market for 2nd hand is smaller. Uncertain about the differences in costs of purchase for the same model after local negotiations

Originally Posted by zel
And as for the hassle factor of registering a vehicle in Spain a client of ours in Mallorca just converted his UK regged LHD vehicle to Spanish plates within 48hrs. Not a huge deal at all to save quite litterly 1000's of euros on the more expensive vehicles.
I think that for a resident of Spain, the hassle factor may be a lot less than for someone arriving new to become resident. As far as I know, if you purchase a new car in Spain as a newcomer all you need to have is you NIE number, (which you normally need to buy a property), your passport, and an 'empadronamiento certificate' from the Town Hall to show that the buyer is registered on the electoral roll. Quite straightforward. And the original question was about costs of running a newly purchased car in Spain, not looking to purchase outside Spain.
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Old Mar 14th 2006, 1:05 pm
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Default Re: new car

Originally Posted by steve in pago
£3500 your having a laugh SVA cost nothing like that!!.A couple of hundred pounds only, & the above vehicles have been registered on Uk plates so no problems there, & no i dont work for the company & yes i have an a American vehicle & have had no problems with SVA & MOT that includes the newer version. Mods required lights & side lights & rear fog & reverse lighting again a few hundred pound or you could do it yourself.
As per people importing, think you will find its mainly the dealers that are stuck with stock
It depends on what bracket the vehicle lands in, if it requires a SVA test then yes it's £190 (plus any changes needed) if the vehicle needs an ESVA test then a model report is needed, if one is not available to hire then you have to spend approx £1600-3500 depending on the vehicle and it's nature.

We used to put through quite litterly hundreds if jap imports a year through the ESVA, Not to mention in the early 80's we were the biggest importer of US classic Porsches in England. So I know the costs involved.

I have now looked into it and found out the ESVA/SVA procedure is not recognized in Spain, so you would have to look at an alternative route, but as mentioned before if you've owned it in the uk for six months then you can normaly import a car no matter what it is with just a basic MOT/TUV/ITV.

Infact one of these morning UK TV shows about moving to Spain showed just how hard it is to import US cars into Spain even when they have UK registration, A Limo firm bought 3 UK reg us imported limos for their new Spanish company and found they could not register them in Spain, so had to buy Spanish plated ones and take the others back to the UK to sell.

Last edited by zel; Mar 14th 2006 at 1:08 pm.
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Old Mar 14th 2006, 1:11 pm
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Default Re: new car

You can buy a LHD vehicle new in the UK from some main dealers. You will buy it VAT exempt and can drive it around the UK for a period of time. Not entirely sure what you then have to pay when you bring it into Spain, but I think this link gives some more info http://www.mitsubishi-cars.co.uk/export/index.asp

Note that these vehicles are sourced from main European dealers and it may take some time to get what you want. I was going to buy one myself, but ran out of time.

Last edited by Unexpat; Mar 14th 2006 at 1:14 pm.
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Old Mar 14th 2006, 1:56 pm
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Default Re: new car

Originally Posted by Nige
I thought that if you are coming to Spain to take up residency, then you are given a period of time to re-register your 'imported' car that is any age (new or over 6 months), for little cost. Is this correct?
Basicly apon registering in Spain you have six months to then register your vehicle with Spanish plates (obviously many don't and just drive them around on UK plates but as far as i'm told the local Police forces are clamping down on that, especially in highly Brit populated areas like the Costas etc)

You still have to pay a small fee for new ownership as you would if you bought a vehicle in Spain and had to xfer to ownership. But you do bypass both the Spanish Car Tax & their VAT.

Infact from what I'm told quite a few people are using it as a small profitting scheme by buying a couple of LHD cars in the UK before they move, regging them in Spain then selling them as obviously the Spanish car market is more expensive so they make a few thousand euros.

Last edited by zel; Mar 14th 2006 at 1:58 pm.
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