Turismo

That's the problem, I've no way of contacting the new owner. Most of you know what its like in Spain, was a young man probably over for the summer.

It was my first car whilst in Spain and as he made a big deal of getting all the paperwork in order for 'his Gestor' it seemed he would sort it out. Obviously hindsight is wonderful, and I've bought and sold several cars since perfectly well, but this one keeps coming back to haught me!

FYI I contacted the local police in Fuengirola and asked them about it, they said it would be good to contact the Spanish embassy in London and request a denuncia... so I've dropped them an email. Lets hope I can make some headway through this route.

anonimouse

Oh I really hope you do, if you're a worrier like me it must be an absolute nightmare.

I like to be legal and do things right but sometimes in Spain it works differently to what we think, and we get it wrong.

I am sure They are onto me with a bill as I have had a card from the post man in Spain to sign for a letter from the Hacienda, obviously because I am not there I can't get it, I am sure it's to do with this vehicle, That I gave to one of my neighbours in Hungary last May when the ITV ran out.

Cars abroad are the worst nightmare that I have to deal with to stay legal moving about Europe, it's best to buy a car in every country you have a home in, much less hastle, well I thought it was until this came to mind after reading on here.

I wonder if you produced a piece of paper with some form of receipt you would get away with it?

I hope you sort it anyway, I wish you all the very best anyway.

anonimouse

Try Reporting it as stolen, he may end up looking for you then

anonimouse

AFAIK it's not only taxes you could be liable for, I believe there could be finance or other loans against the car, which stick with the car.

Buying and selling Spanish cars is nothing like in the UK and you do have to be very careful.

My advice would be. always use a Gestor. It's cheap enough and he will have records should you face any problems in the future.

Rotor

Have to disagree there, I have owned vehicles and houses in different countries and now have come to the conclusion its better to keep your assets out of countries with mediaeval bureaucracy and just rent when you live or visit ,much less stressfull! ,if your not happy throw the keys at the owner up sticks and off! ,to many foreigners in Spain seem to spend most of their lives sorting out bureaucractic crap .

I will start practising what I preach one day

mikelincs

That's how I did it, no problems at all, Private sales seem to be a minefield, which is why I steered well clear of them.

bil

That seems to be very sound advice.

This has actually been a very useful thread, and I imagine it has opened a few peoples' eyes to a problem they might not have perceived.

missile

One of the best

Rotor

Dealers usually mark up at least 25% on used cars and Spanish dealers can be just as bad as British dealers when it comes to honoring warranty`s.

IF you have a reliable gestor you can save a small fortune buying private , if you are not conversant with car mechanics get to vendor to take the car to a garage of your choice to check it out before you part with any cash.

It`s a buyers market in the current economic climate and you can save thousands if you use your loaf

anonimouse

Yep I bought through a dealer, still never got my papers through, it's the getting rid of it that in another country with no papers worrying me a little.

Anyway, I have a receipt saying sold for spares or repairs and that he will dispose of it responsibly, I have it in three languages, I am hoping that will be good enough.

Solarwhizz

I have bought and sold a couple of cars, with no problems, I use this form and send a copy to the Local office when the yearly tax bill comes through so far no problems,

mikelincs

Also all fines stay with the car.

Ojosazul88

Hi, i was in exactly the same position as you, sold car, owner promised to transfer it but 2 years later i found out he hadnt! I do live here in Spain and did fortunately have his name, old address and that was about it. He had falsely been using my name to get the ITV certificate as well.
The real problem here is the Spanish Trafico system is so archaic and doesn't allow for errors like these! Now i tried many avenues, useless solicitors and gestorias( dont waste your money with these, they cant do anything in your case). The main problem is to completely change the cars ownership, you not only need the buyers name and address but his NIE number, this is essential and i didnt have it!! So i was in a catch 22 like you. You can do what's called a "Baja temporal" but this only means you dont pay the Suma tax, the problem with doing a baja temporal is technically Trafico think the car is off the road so it wont be able to be insured as insurance companies will pick up on the fact of this status, in other words you are forcing the new "owner" to drive without insurance yet the comeback will be on you in the event of accidents etc.
Eventually i found a very good solicitor who traced the buyers NIE number and with this it took just a few minutes at the Trafico office to completely change the ownership!!! Incredible!
In your case, sounds like you wont be able to do this so i think the only option is a "denuncia" at the Guardia Civil.

Rotor

Similar thing happend for me ,my lawyer traced a business debtor through his car reg !

whitelinen

Is it possible to obtain paperwork to ¨ export ¨ a Spanish LHD vehicle and temporarily import it into the UK without changing the lights etc and then sell it to someone in another country (not Spain) ?