Mrs eddie

Morning Guys,

Me again, should be over in Spain my the end of May...really excited now

Bit unsure whether to bring our family car over to Spain and get it re-registered.

It's a T reg Ford Focus....we're gunna loose about £2k (from by selling it....so can anyone with us some advice.

We were gunna sell, and buy a second hand left hand drive when we got to Spain, but have been reading cars in Spain aren't that cheap.....so is it worth us taking ours over ??

Also, we've got a little scooter 49cc,its only a year old, is it worth bringing that over ?

Thanks ever so much......you've all been so helpful.

Mich

Mitzyboy

Well you can theoretically keep the car on UK plates for 6 months, and although you are then supposed to register the car to spanish plates many people keep them for far longer than that BUT it is illegal.

RHD will be a real pain to drive in Spain for obvious reasons, and the insurance will be higher than for a LHD. The procedure for registering a brit car onto spanish plates can be a bit onerous, getting it "mot'd" etc, but you can employ the services of a gestoria.

When I go I am taking my car, but only because its a hobby car and I've owned it for 8 years. Its a long term project. If it wasn't for that I'd part chop it in the UK for a LHD car, and as long as you've owned the car for more than 6 months before you officially import it into spain you escape certain charges / "taxes".

LHD Cars:
http://www.lhdplace.com/

Cars in Spain:
http://costablancaexpats.net/pats/trafico.txt

Mrs eddie

Oh cheers for that.......just found a post by pwwm re buying LHD's in the UK aswell.....

Geez, didn't realise all the obvious things ....DOH !

Thanks again....we'll get rid I think.....

Mich...(probably be grey and bald by end of the month......hope it's all worth it.......

patsywhitehair

I have bought my rhd ford Mondeo over with me because have had it fm new and it has very very low mileage. I thought if i sell it in UK I would not get a lot for it so my brother drove it over for me and am changing to Spanish plates etc, had my MOT today.
The way I looked at it was that if it costs me £1000 to get it registered at least I like and know my car. I have had no problems with driving a RHD car,in fact I like it better. I can knock it into the ground without worrying. My brother came over to Spain and bought a really nice new car, he has 2 big dents in it, this happened whilst he was parked. sooooo, at least I wouldnt worry tooo much about my "ol" car

Mrs eddie

Hiya,

What about the tolls and overtaking etc ??? Does it cause probs ?

Read that its a pain in the rear......so to speak.

bfg69bug

it does when you are driving alone but apart from that its fine you get a few looks sometimes

pwwm

Hi

We bought both our second hand lhd cars from the UK. Trying to sell a rhd over here you will be on a non starter, so if you do bring it, you might as well be prepared to drive it until it is just not worth keeping. I know previous posts have no problem with rhd here but what about overtaking etc.

Do a search on google or any search engine for lhd drives garages in UK you might be surprised at how many there are, also maybe check out ebay, that is if you have someone who knows what he/she is doing.
Good luck in your chioce ultimately it has to be right for you.

pwwm

Mitzyboy

unfortunately it appears the LHD suppliers in the UK have cottoned on to the prices of cars in Spain and although you would expect to pay less in the UK the prices have been hiked accordingly

pwwm

hI Mitzyboy

Thanks for that info, it was three years ago we bout one of the cars, The other one came from Ebay.But we have noticed that the prices on there are now higher, I expect people moving to Europe.

pwwm

Mitzyboy

Yes I think you are right. I'm plucking up the courage to buy something on ebay. I use ebay a lot, but never for anything like that. I've struggled to find what I want anywhere, which suprised me. All I want is a swb 4 x 4, but everything seems to be lwb or have hundreds of thousands of kms on the clock.

pwwm

We bought our Discovery from there mitzyboy for around £5000, we saw same age here in spain for much more, but as you say it is plucking up the courage, if you can find one close to you, ast least then you might be able to check it over before bidding.
Good luck in your search.
pwwm

zel

Actually you're probably making the same mistake as many do and comparing like for like when it comes to Europes RHD & LHD markets.

We've certainly found on the non luxury market things are completely opposite to the RHD market. For Example a 2004 RHD Kangoo MPV is substantialy cheaper than the cheapest LHD we've found on mainland Europe.

Infact the most expensive place to buy one was France even compared to Spain!

Also you have to factor in the transportation costs and UK registration (as everyone wants) it all mounts up young man!

Mitzyboy

Wow ... can't remember the last time someone called me "young man"
I'm ploughing through the CB News as we speak, and i'm becoming more and more convinced that the difference pricewise between what I want and NEW is very little. I've seen some new Ford Focus Ghia 4 doors at 8999 and although its not really what I want its quite tempting at that price.

erkut

Hi guys
Me and my boyfriend relocated from London to Barcelona almost two months ago and brought our Treg Frontera with us. Before moving we researched many forums and can now confirm that many people don't know what they're talking about. It will definitely be worth bringing your car as long as you do things properly so you can avoid payment of 7-12% tax.

Make sure you take all the necessary documents with you.
1. Before leaving the UK you should get a certificate of inclusion in the Register of Electors from your council (should cost you just a few £). You should be able to apply for this online. Take this certificate to the British Consulate in Spain so they write a letter certifying that you have been a resident in the UK for at least one year before your move to Spain (The British consulate will charge you 37euro)
2. Car documents.
3. Get a NIE (foreigner ID number) as soon as you arrive - ask for it at a police station.
4. Once you have a NIE, register as a resident in the corresponding Spanish council - this is called 'empadronamiento'.
5. From the moment you register with the coundil you have 30 days to present your full application for a Spanish number plate for your car.
6. Forget about dealing with the Spanish authorities on your own - from this point on get a GESTOR (find one in the Yellow Pages, make sure he is a vehicles specialist). He'll deal with the messy process. The Gestor will take all documents you will provide and arrange an MOT and a technical inspection for you. He'll do all the queing and all tax payments.
7. After a couple of weeks you should be in posession of your new Spanish number plate.
The whole thing will cost you a maximum of 700 euros.

Monica

torie

The girl talks sense! But, in my experience (I've imported two motorbikes from the UK to Spain), everything changes depending on what day of the week it is, whether it's a full moon or not, and if the person at the counter is having a good or bad day!

Now - my two motorbikes both cost about the same to import - around 300 euros each. Granted - motorbikes are different than cars, but both were imported over 6 months after we'd arrived. The first bike was relatively modern - perhaps 5 years old. The other was more complicated due to it being a classic (1979), and the only bike of its kinda in SPain (apparently!).

I didn't get an export certificate from the UK - which was probably wrong but I just didn't think about that at the time. I didn't get the paperwork that Monica talked about from the British consulate although it was suggested I get that - I just didn't fancy the trip down to Barcelona (only an hour or so away! but heyho..) I'm not saying you don't need it though. Probably best to get it!

I did, however, get my Gestor involved for the second bike. The first one I did all on my own with my (at the time) limited Catalan language skills. The classic bike I had problems with the engineer I found (and found that my skill at yelling at the guy in Catalan was pretty darn good!) so got my Gestor to sort out a new engineer's report (which was far more comprehensive than the sheet of paper that the first guy gave). Everything else I did myself. The folks at the ITV were sick of seeing me by the end of it...

The thing I've found is that it seems no one will give you a definative list of What You Need To Get in the beginning. It's like they'll tell you to get paperwork A. You trot off, get it, return. Only to find they then tell you that you need paperwork B as well.

Just treat the whole thing as an adventure and an exercise in your language skills. Make sure you don't lose your sense of humour and be patient and have fun. Who needs the stress!?

Good luck!
torie
www.whangdoodleland.com