Private Car Purchase - UK or Spain
 

Hi - when we move to Spain next year we will need a car. Is it better to buy in Spain or is it difficult to bring a LHD car from the UK or any other EU country? Any advice would or personal experiences would be welcomed.
Thanks

Re: Private Car Purchase - UK or Spain
 

Least hassle is buy a car when you arrive. Any car purchased outside of Spain will need to go through a comprehensive registration process when you are a Spanish resident. The process is not difficult just time-consuming and bureaucratic , not something to get into if you are without good Spanish so you end up paying a "gestoria" to do it for you, extra expense.

Re: Private Car Purchase - UK or Spain
 

^^ Gestor surely?

You can buy both LHD in UK and even LHD, Spanish registered cars in UK from specialist dealers.

...but, as stated, may be less hassle to buy when you get to Spain

Re: Private Car Purchase - UK or Spain
 

Buy in Spain.

Re: Private Car Purchase - UK or Spain
 

Thanks - looks like buying in Spain is best option - time will not be an issue for me but understanding local practices and language would be initially.

Re: Private Car Purchase - UK or Spain
 

No, a Gestoria is a place that offers the services of a gestor(s).

Re: Private Car Purchase - UK or Spain
 

Or buy a Spanish car from someone heading back to the UK ?

Re: Private Car Purchase - UK or Spain
 

I bought in the UK and drove over....but my advice? .......buy in Spain....more expensive, lower spec, more pitfalls, but worth it for a LHD and no further registration costs!

Re: Private Car Purchase - UK or Spain
 

You will still have to find transfer fees / gestor fees AND will have to be sure there are no ourstanding fines and/ or charges against the vehicle which all become yours on transfer if you don't check this!

Re: Private Car Purchase - UK or Spain
 

Buy in Spain.

Re: Private Car Purchase - UK or Spain
 

Doh, really !!!!!

So you pay the gestor (not the building/office).

Re: Private Car Purchase - UK or Spain
 

Buy in the UK.
The import process is not that difficult.
Second-hand cars in Spain generally have much higher mileage than English cars - for obvious reasons - and are far cheaper.
The Spanish car owners are notoriously cheap when it comes to servicing and repairs and will only spend the minimum cash to maintain the car.
The hassle of selling a vehicle here, and the purchase tax to buy another cause the shortage of good low mileage vehicles available.


Do the price comparisons of similar cars and it becomes quite apparent - if you can find cars with low mileage here to compare with.

Re: Private Car Purchase - UK or Spain
 

And don't forget that the cost of registering an imported car can be as much as 14.75% of the value, depending on the CO2 emissions.

Re: Private Car Purchase - UK or Spain
 

Am I understanding you correctly?

In my opinion, second hand cars are FAR more expensive in Spain!

Re: Private Car Purchase - UK or Spain
 

I think they are more expensive because people keep them much longer. In the UK it seems that 90% are bought on 3 year leases or PCPs so everyone has a new(ish) car. As a result only “poor” people or bad credit risks buy old cars as a result they are cheap as the demand is low and you can get such an attractive deal on a new car.

It’s very noticeable that list purchase prices of new cars are rarely quoted, just the monthly cost.

It is ridiculous that a 3 year year old car with a reasonably low mileage should only be worth 40% of its new list price when it now has a probable life of at least another 10 years.

If all UK cars were LHD it would be crazy not to import one, as there would not be any expensive conversions required. However, I would be reluctant to import a RHD car. Also, although a second hand car is expensive in Spain, it will hold its price better.