jdr

They just throw a truncheon through the front wheel.

tim hortons man

ouch!!!!

I'll pass the link on, I've got a couple of friends interested in getting hitches put on.

El Capitan

Have you ever seen the mess when someone drives off and finds that the towball has been chained to a lampost with about 20 metres of chain ?

If your real lucky, once the @rse has been pulled off the car, the falling lampost is not quite long enough to cave the roof of the car in too.

Chiclanagir

What about bringing a car with a trailer from the UK. Do you need to tell your insurance in the UK?

El Capitan

Assuming a UK car and a UK trailer chiclanagir, check the insurance policy wording. My UK insurance always had a clause covering the liability of towing a trailer as a standard clause. There are a number of little things which are different with Spanish insurance policies for Spanish vehicles compared to UK policies.

scampicat

When we had our car matriculated, they didn't like the towbar and asked where the 'papers' were.

We said we hadn't got any because it was originally fitted in the Seat factory when the car was built!!

No joy, they still wanted 'papers'.

In the end we just had it taken off.

And would you believe they asked us where were the 'papers' for having it taken off and we had to pay the garage who took it off 100 euros for the 'papers'.

Now, I think we were scammed by both the ITV station and the garage.

Absolutely ludicrous and I would advise anyone else just to have it taken off before they have the car matriculated. (You can always put it on again if you're driving in the UK).

Chiclanagir

UK car, UK trailer. Can the Spanish police do you for having a trailer hitch without paperwork in Spain on a UK car within the 6 months of being here?

El Capitan

In principle, a UK car and trailer which is 100% legal in UK should be fine in Spain as a "tourist". The issue, as I am sure others may point out is when you change from being a tourist to being resident. There is no paperwork for a hitch on a UK plated car, only as said above when it comes to matriculating onto Spanish plates.

valenciatim

Yes, because according to the letter of the law, both should be on Spanish plates.
It is also unlikely that your UK insurance would still be valid, as normally they will only give you 3 months cover abroad.

El Capitan

Back to the never-ending question here. If the owner of the vehicle is not "resident" then surely up to 6 months is still touring Tim? And whilst many UK companies limit the time abroad to 3 months, there are those who will cover 6 months out of the UK and they are allowed to do so by EU legislation.


I have to say I did contemplate retro-fitting a towbar on my Spanish car as I always found it so convenient in the UK and towed all sorts but the hassle factor over here has pursuaded me to forget a trailer for the time being.

El Capitan

Here is a link from the AA - standard European cover of 3 months, longer on request. They should be fairly reliable. http://www.theaa.com/services/insura...ng_abroad.html

valenciatim

It's a nightmare, I agree!
But Spanish law states that after 90 days here you become resident, and therefore the vehicle has to be on Spanish plates, trailer as well, depending on size.
I have to hold my hands up here and point out that I have a UK registered car here (with a tow bar!).
I bought it soley for the move over here as I felt it was easier and cheaper than hiring a car until we had settled. The car was kept "legal" as far as I was aware for 3 years in that it was taxed, insured and mot'd. Since I found out the correct procedure, the car has not moved from my drive as it is not worth spending the money on.

Rotor

UK tow hitches have to be CE approved on cars under a certain age ,I think its from 1996 ,they do come with paper work and the CE (Comunidad de Europa) marking which means its theoreticaly approved for use anywhere in the EU, BUTthe spanish wont accept it

Rgds

Rotor

Rotor

The price/value of scrap cars has rocketed so now may be the time to call your local desguaces

Rgds

Rotor

Sam Greenfield

So are British and Spanish tow bars so different then