Mercedes

Pity they don't just have a central computer in Europe and you just pay one tax, mot etc and are free to roam and just pop in to a local centre when it runs out whichever country you are in at time. Make it a lot easier since so many people do work in other countries for a time and live there and they just do on spot fines at the time if people don't have it or they can do it then and there with the copper...

scampicat

I totally agree. You should be able to run your car legally in any European country without importing it. (although British cars would still have to change the lights). But that's much too simple, isn't it?

mikelincs

To make it even simpler, why doesn't the UK change to driving on the right?

jdr

Its taken over 40 years for them to try and get the temperature to centigrade, could you imagine the driving





.

Bigger Jim

Hi
Found myself at odds with some of the points being made in this thread so did a bit of research and found this on Andalucia.com which seemed to concur with what I thought I had read earlier on this site.

Could it be that there are different rules in different provinces.


http://www.andalucia.com/living/vehi...eignplates.htm

regards

Jim

jdr

Re did the link cos it did not work ;-)

I think that info is a bit contradicting itself.
You are not a foreigner if you have been in Spain for the time they say.

The car has to be taxed, mot`d and insured in country of origin.
No UK insurance company will insure it to be out of UK for more than about a month, so that answers the question straight away.

scampicat

That is a good site. Spells it out in words of one syllable.

I've now found out how to pay the road tax! Will pay it tomorrow.

scampicat

Saga will.

Rosemary

Many will insure but the insurance is illegal as the car must be insured in the country that it is registered etc.

Rosemary

scampicat

OK, just to clarify : Saga will insure you to be abroad as long as you like PROVIDING your car is UK registered and road legal.

jdr

They must be the only ones then and that would be for touring around, also your car is not legal to be in Spain for that long.
If you live here you must re-register it to Spanish plates within 30 days.

Beachcomber

...which means, unless it is a very new car, you have to drive it back every year to get an MoT certificate and vehicle excise licence. Is it worth the bother? Why do people try to cherry pick the laws they want to obey and disregard the ones that don't suit them?

What is the problem with buying a Spanish registered vehicle (and changing your driving licence for a Spanish one for that matter)?

The description of such people as 'saltpiel' which I once read in a Wilbur Smith novel springs to mind.

scampicat

There is no problem with buying a Spanish vehicle, except we couldn't afford a Seat Alhambra in Spain as second-hand cars are so expensive here. It is now on Spanish plates.

There is no need to get a Spanish licence if you already have a photocard one, so why should you change it?

As to why people cherry-pick the laws that suit them, I agree it is wrong, but the Spanish authorities do it all the time.

Beachcomber

Yes, but it's their country!

Fred James

No, you have 6 months to do it.

This is from a recent email to me from the EU legal service in answer to that specific question.

"Since you are moving to Spain from the UK, you must register your vehicle in Spain as soon as possible after arrival and, at any rate, within six months of moving".