billgates

I have a RHD car that I imported into Spain so now has Spanish plates.

However, I now want a new LHD car.

What's the best way to go about trading in my old car for a new one?

Will I be able to use it as a trade-in with a Spanish car dealer?

Will I be better off using it as a trade in with a UK dealer and buying a new LHD car in UK?

Would a UK dealer be interested in a foreign-plated car?

Could I sell it privately in UK? (Although I know I would be wary of buying a used foreign-plated car).

pwwm

Another option is ebay, we have noticed that quite a few people buy on there, but you would need to say about change of owner as not as easy as in the UK.

pwwm

scampicat

A friend of ours sold his to another expat who didn't mind it being RHD but didn't want the problem of having to matricuate it.

BriscasBetterHalf

Can I ask the make and year of the car? Manual/Auto?
I dont think it will be classed as advertising it here as you are responding to a question.

billgates

pm sent because the forum police can be a bit funny about advertising.

zel

The only way you'll ever get anywhere near how much the vehicle is worth will be to either sell it to another expat (or a returning one) who doesn't mind RHD.

Bringing it back to the UK for sale would probably be a bit of a mess as you would have to re-reg it in the UK and get rid of LHD headlights etc. Not to mention the costs, though not high but you will have to arrange UK insurance, MOT (if applicable) then the registration process. So you would have to stay around while this happens or get someone else to do it for you (more hassle!)

You'll get no-where near the proper trade-in price for it (in either the UK for a LHD sale or Spain with a RHD trade-in for a LHD car, so unless the vehicle is worth relatively nothing anyway then this is not the way to go.

I'm in the trade and this is my honest opinion based on the current climate, companies are taking less risks now Europe's economy is slowing down.

PM me the details of the car and I'll ask around to see if I can place it for you.

keddyboy

In our area there are quite a few garages who will take UK plated right hand drives so see no real problem with a RHD Spanish Plated car.

zel

My point was they will take it but you won't get anywhere near what it's worth back in the UK.

It's basic business, a business is there to profit and thus is not going to pay someone who is relatively 'stuck' a high trade-in value when the vehicle is not from a local market and can be only passed on by a relative minority of someone who wants a RHD car in Spain, or having to pay the expense of shipping and re-registering them in the UK.

But as mentioned in my previous post, if the car is worth very little in the first place then the 'hit' you get in your trade-in value isn't a huge deal. But if it's not you could end up losing thousands depending on the value of the car.

jdr

Good job we have.... it saves you wading through pages of ads. ;-))

rugbymatt

Hear, hear!

TheArmChairDetective

What he said

Bigbhudda69

DITTO..

billgates

pm'd you Zel.

It's a difficult one really because it's often much easier and cheaper to buy a car in the UK than in Spain.
I know plenty of expats that have popped back to uk to buy a car and then imported it onto Spanish plates, and it always seems to work out much cheaper.
You just don't see many used car dealers around the Almunecar area and I wouldn't know how to go about buying a car privately in Spain. I think I've read that it's something you have to get a lawyer or notary involved in because of unpaid fines and things.

So on the one hand, it can be a real benefit to bring your car over from Uk, but on the other hand it can be a real pain if you want to change it. What you save in the first place is wasted by the reduced re-sale value after importing.

TheArmChairDetective

if a car is re registered in spain does that mean you no longer have the UK
V5?

I accept that as a rereg you would not be bringing it back every year for an MOT as one would get the spanish equivalent.