# Best options for bringing cars over?



## natalieml (May 9, 2010)

Morning all,

We will have 2 cars that we will want to bring to Spain with us. Both cars will eventually be registered with Spanish plates. The reason for bringing them over is that to buy the same cars in Spain will be very cost;y when we already have them in the UK.

So I think there are really 3 options available to me. Can anyone offer any advice or an idea of what the costs would be?

We are in London and the cars need to be in the Costa Del Sol - probably somewhere near Fuengirola/Benalmadena area.

Option 1
Ferry to Santander - then I think it is approx 10 hour drive. 

Option 2
Put both cars on a shipping container that goes by sea and the cars end up in Costa Del Sol. Guess we collect them from the port?

Option 3 
I think this will be the most expensive - Put them on the back of a truck with our furniture when we move over.

Any advice? I think I'm OK on UK insurance for up to 6 months so that should give me time to get the cars re-registered and insured in Spain.

Many thanks - Natalie


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## dunmovin (Dec 19, 2008)

the best idea would be to drive them here. Presonally, if I was doing it, I'ld take a week or 10 dyas to do the drive and come over via the tunnel and make a holiday of the trip.


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## natalieml (May 9, 2010)

Thanks - driving is looking quite a viable option. As we both work and the children are in school making a holiday isn't really an option for us.

I would have to come on my own as a lone female, and I guess I have no issues with the UK drive or the ferry as I drive all over for work at the moment. My concern is the 10 hours or so from Santander to Del Sol on my own - not knowing where I'm going or how good my European Sat Nav will be! 

Lots to think about.



dunmovin said:


> the best idea would be to drive them here. Presonally, if I was doing it, I'ld take a week or 10 dyas to do the drive and come over via the tunnel and make a holiday of the trip.


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## donz (May 5, 2010)

are you not concerned at all about them being right hand drive when you will be driving on the other side of the rd and all the entracne barriers etc will be on the wrong side? I am in the same boat - luckily enough I have managed to sell my new car back to the garage for only 2k off what I paid for it (if I choose to do it - have a set time to do it in)

The cars in Spain are more expensive BUT they come (as I understand it) with a 2 year warranty that covers literally EVERYTHING, then no extra registration fees, long drive, and you have a car that is the right set up for the country


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## Guest (May 19, 2010)

donz said:


> are you not concerned at all about them being right hand drive


Indeed! I give it six months and you'll be taking them back to the UK and buying a shed of a Spanish car. 

I endured a rhd car here for a year, never again!! Living off the N340 (as you will be) you basically end up with a 50/50 chance of writing it off everytime you pull onto the road as you can't see a thing - a blind standing start onto a dual-carriageway where people are doing 100+ makes for great entertainment! Plus every toll booth and carpark will mean you have to get out the car and walk around much to the annoyance of anyone behind you. Plus if you fancy a trip out into the campo then if you get stuck behind something doing 20mph you'll end up stuck behind them forever as you can't see to overtake either

It's also pointless having a nice car here as it'll be dented and scratched within 24 hours of parking anywhere!


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

Portsmouth / Santander or Bilbao will cost you around the low £300's depending on when you come. I just came back that way.

Check your insurance carefully, many Brit companies wont insure you if they know you no longer live in the UK.

Matricultion of your vehicles to spanish plates must take place within 30 days of you taking up residency .... In theory it is illegal for a Spanish resident to drive a UK plated car. Matriculation can costs anything between €600 - €900 per car. If you leave it too long after becoming a resident you will also have to pay import registration fees (taxes, but they cant call them that).

Get a certificate of NCB *AND* of years insured off your UK ins company. You can use these to give to your new Spanish insurer and mat help you to get a small discount.

You know about all the extra stuff you need for the cars? Two triangles, reflective jackets for all possible occupants, spare set of bulbs, spare pair of glasses if you wear them, change of headlights to LHD?


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

Stravinsky said:


> Portsmouth / Santander or Bilbao will cost you around the low £300's depending on when you come. I just came back that way.
> 
> Check your insurance carefully, many Brit companies wont insure you if they know you no longer live in the UK.
> 
> ...


Oh, and finally on the RHD thing ......... I have owned and driven a RHD car here in Spain for nearly 4 years. Its never caused me a problem. You have to make adjustments for sure. If I overtake, I do it form further. back .... but to be honest I dont often overtake as its pointless on these roads if theres a long line of traffic. Tolls, I just lean over. I do have a Spanish car also which is main usage, but in general if you are not stupid a RHD car is not always a nightmare


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## donz (May 5, 2010)

the ramps onto the 'motorway' are so short I can well imagine it could be harder in a RHD


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## Guest (May 19, 2010)

Stravinsky said:


> Oh, and finally on the RHD thing ......... I have owned and driven a RHD car here in Spain for nearly 4 years. Its never caused me a problem.


You clearly don't live on the N340 down here, the majority of "on ramps" don't exist.. it's a T junction onto a motorway, you can see virtually nothing in RHD


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

ShinyAndy said:


> You clearly don't live on the N340 down here, the majority of "on ramps" don't exist.. it's a T junction onto a motorway, you can see virtually nothing in RHD


I guess it depends on the car you are driving. Mines a Sports car with limited visability but I still see fine when I pull out.

However I just spent time in the UK in my LHD car, and it was sometimes a problem pulling out, but to be honest only because my passenger was in the way! 

Here, you just need to adapt your driving style. 

Strange having T junctions onto motorways, I would have thought that was dangerous for LHD cars as well. Here there are ramps everywhere, and getting out onto a road is not normally a problem if you position yourself slightly differently.


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## Guest (May 19, 2010)

It's still hard in LHD but considerably worse in RHD (I had a Lotus Elise here so at least I could get up to speed relatively quickly!) I've driven 1000s of miles all over Europe in RHD sportscars and not really had many problems but then they were shortish trips of about a week. Living out here permanently and having to do mundane tasks like shopping/parking/toll roads everyday soon takes the shine off of things

This part of the N340 is featured as one of the most dangerous roads in the world, so anything you can do to minimise your risks are worthwhile in my mind


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## neilmac (Sep 10, 2008)

We have a RHD car and are quite happy with it. Sure, you have to adapt a bit - ticket machines and overtaking etc.

The dangerous Spanish roads are the safety problem - not what side the steering wheel is on, short slip roads, entry/exit points from fast lanes, curving onslips that tighten just when you need to be accelerating.... and don't get me on the subject of roundabouts!

To the OP, bring them down by road and follow Stravinsky's advice, but as someone has said don't expect them to stay pristine in Spain - cars are just regarded as transport here, not prized posessions.

You get used to it


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## natalieml (May 9, 2010)

Well until I had read all this I was convinced this was what we were going to do. I drive lots for work 400-500 miles a day in the UK and have also driven a RHD in France with no problems at all.

However, Andy has a good point about joining the N340 as you are joining a fast moving road from a stationary position so at the best of times it takes some getting used to.

At the moment I havea company car that I will have to give back at the end of October. My budget doesn't really allow to buy a brand new showroom car (not yet anyway!) so what is the secondhand market there lilke? Is is better to buy a car there or go to a LHD centre in the UK. The car I ideally want is a Renault Megane Coupe with the hard top roof. I don't like this years model but the previous seasons. In the UK for one 4 years old I can get one for £5500. 

http://pictures.topspeed.com/IMG/crop/200612/2006-renault-megane-coupe-4_460x0w.jpg

Any advice?




ShinyAndy said:


> It's still hard in LHD but considerably worse in RHD (I had a Lotus Elise here so at least I could get up to speed relatively quickly!) I've driven 1000s of miles all over Europe in RHD sportscars and not really had many problems but then they were shortish trips of about a week. Living out here permanently and having to do mundane tasks like shopping/parking/toll roads everyday soon takes the shine off of things
> 
> This part of the N340 is featured as one of the most dangerous roads in the world, so anything you can do to minimise your risks are worthwhile in my mind


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## Guest (May 19, 2010)

Secondhand cars are much more expensive here but weigh up *all* the costs of getting it here, matriculation, etc and then work it out if it's worth the hassle

Quick search on autoscout brought back this one: Vehículos de ocasión : Renault Megane COUPE CABRIO 1.6 16v AutoScout24 Anuncio del vehículo


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## natalieml (May 9, 2010)

Thanks - I think for safety reasons we will def opt for LHD's. I'll also start looking at LHD centre's in the UK in case something we like comes up.

Thanks for the advice - we never realised matriculation was so expensive. 





ShinyAndy said:


> Secondhand cars are much more expensive here but weigh up *all* the costs of getting it here, matriculation, etc and then work it out if it's worth the hassle
> 
> Quick search on autoscout brought back this one: Vehículos de ocasión : Renault Megane COUPE CABRIO 1.6 16v AutoScout24 Anuncio del vehículo


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

If you decide to get a LHD car in the UK, I strongly recommend The LHD Place in Basingstoke. We bought two cars thro' them, one a LHD new Merc delivered from Mercedes Germany and the other a 4x4 on Spanish plates. Both were delivered at very reasonable cost to our home in Prague. They take care of all necessary paperwork.
Insurance: you can get insurance for 365 days a year outside the UK, Europe-wide, when you are resident outside the UK and for vehicles on any plate, Spanish, UK, Czech etc. The Agent is Stuart Collins of Swansea and our policies were thro' Zurich and Ibex but were extremely expensive -almost £900 for full cover for the Merc. There are a few others but equally as pricey.
I have driven two RHD cars here but both were convertibles and I really only felt safe with the top down as visibility was restricted. Joining the A7/N340 which I have to do at least once a day was a nightmare at times.
Best to get a LHD as you will feel safer and will not be subject to the kind of Brit who walks round jotting down the plate numbers of UK cars to send to the DVLA incase you have no Road Tax
And no, I didn't believe such people existed until I read a post on another site from some pusillanimous pillock proudly proclaining that was indeed his practice.....
No one like that on this forum, I'm glad to say....although I seem to recall being told once that we must behave nicely and not eat pizza, drink lager or have tattoos...


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## fourgotospain (May 4, 2009)

You'll still have matric. costs if you buy LHD in the UK. If you buy in Spain then you'll have gestors fees as it's essential to get checks done on the vehicle's history - past misdemeanors pass to the new owner.

We brought our beat up old RHD Chrysler with us, BUT we don't travel on major roads a lot (apart from down to Benidorm for the airport bus ) and it has great visibility as lots of glass and the driving position is very high as it's an MPV. I can see a sports car would be a problem esp. on the CDS roads. Advice above is spot on about pride in your vehicle - cars here are viewed as an expensive transport rather than a status symbol.


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## country boy (Mar 10, 2010)

This is the best site I know of in Spain, you can tailor it to suit your requirements:

AutoScout24: Coches de ocasión, vehículos usados, coche segunda mano


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## dunmovin (Dec 19, 2008)

another suggestion would be to contact your estate agent and ask if they know of anyone going back to the UK and wants to sell their car. That's how we bought ours.


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## chris(madrid) (Mar 23, 2008)

This has been discussed before. It really makes no sense AT ALL to bring a UK spec here unless you intend going back soonish. 

Apart from all the registration stuff - from 1st hand experience you can find that RHD and LHD have different parts (and it'll be that part that you'll need in a hurry and cant be found here) - Amongst these are headlights which may need replacing anyway for the importation MoT.

The exception is a vehicle that is somehow special - classic or simply you're attached to. 

True UK cars are cheaper but by the time you've done all the hassle I doubt there's much in it.

If you do import - make sure you have all doc's and that you have a VAT receipt.

Welcome to the wonders of self imposed exile.

My tip for newbies - Look at what your "local" taxi driver uses. There are lot's of reasons - but expensive is not one.


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## dunmovin (Dec 19, 2008)

our local taxi drivers (there are three of them) have a merc, a lexus and great big citreon c6


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## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

Just thought I would ass my comments to this one because I going through the import process. Firstly, Id advise the drive via the ferry to spain, thats personaly because I find france hard to tollerate (having driven many may times through france), the spain ferry makes it much more relaxing (in calm seas). Such a shame P&O are dropping the route later this year - still, Brittany do a reasonable job too.

As for RHD in spain, I find on the N332 the 6 feet slip roads can be difficult BUT as a driving instructor by trade I always get into the habit of twisting and looking when I am stationary, if you do this instead of relying on mirrors then providing your car has reasonable visability you are usually fairly safe - DON'T RELY ON MIRRORS!

Whether you want to go into the hassle of importing is another issue, like everything Spanish they seem to make hard work of an easy job - backwards and forwards etc etc and arguing this and that. My problems stemmed from some personal details on my invoice having changed since I bought the car and the spanish authorities insisting that I got documents from the UK to proove that it is my car - legalised, stamped, hague apostille, etc etc - nightmare!

If I was paying the taxes it wouldnt have been a problem. If you do want to bring your car in tax free then follow the following:

1) Make sure the car has been in your name in the UK for at least 6 months
2) Make sure you have an invoice showing you paid the VAT in the UK
3) Get your NIE, Residencia & Padron BUT once you have them you have a maximum of 60 days (i believe) to complete the import, so if reregistering is something you don't intend to do immediately then hold back form obtaining those documents
4) Finally - your car will have the chasis or VIN number which is often diaplayed in the windscreen and on a panel fixed inside the door. It will also be engraved onto the chasis of the car somewhere. When we had our pre-import ITV (MOT) done, they couldn;t find this and it was a right hassle. Turned out it was under the carpet on the drivers side - but do check with a dealer in the UK where this is so you can show the ITV inspector. All cars need this ITV even if like mine it is virtualy brand new

Hope some of this is useful!


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## owdoggy (Jul 23, 2008)

Buy a totally practical, mechanically sound, LHD, shed:clap2:
What do you need a bonny motor for?...as long as it gets you there then it's job done innit? 

Out here in the sticks the Spanish drive in the middle of the road and the RHD brits are a total menace so if you're in you're beat up, scratched, dented (LHD) combi and there's a bonny merc or shiny 4x4 coming the other way I guarantee they'll get out of your way and not the other way round.......mind you, if it's another battered old combi with a farmer in it coming at you.....then it's game on!

Being a nervous driver in Spain will not lower your blood pressure..... but then they're complete pussies compared to the Italians....now they are fun!:clap2:



Doggy


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## natalieml (May 9, 2010)

Hi Steve,

That's really helpful - thanks 

I guess we have both agreed now thyat a LHD is the only way to go for us. THe N340 is just so dangerous at the best of timesw when you are joining it.

That gives us 27 days to buy a LHD in the UK in order to not pay tax on it. LOL 
Do you know what the cost is to just change the plates to Spanish plates without paying the import tax if we have owned the car for more than 6 months?






steve_in_spain said:


> Just thought I would ass my comments to this one because I going through the import process. Firstly, Id advise the drive via the ferry to spain, thats personaly because I find france hard to tollerate (having driven many may times through france), the spain ferry makes it much more relaxing (in calm seas). Such a shame P&O are dropping the route later this year - still, Brittany do a reasonable job too.
> 
> As for RHD in spain, I find on the N332 the 6 feet slip roads can be difficult BUT as a driving instructor by trade I always get into the habit of twisting and looking when I am stationary, if you do this instead of relying on mirrors then providing your car has reasonable visability you are usually fairly safe - DON'T RELY ON MIRRORS!
> 
> ...


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## natalieml (May 9, 2010)

We have also decided that initially we will be able to manage with just one car. Our lifestyle will be completely different in Spain so we are going to try managing with just one car for the first 6 months and then re-evaluate if we actually require two cars.


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## VFR (Dec 23, 2009)

My thoughts on cars/driving here.

RHD : Most Brit drivers can drive through gaps where water would not flow without giving it a seconds thought, as that is what they have been doing in the UK for "years" (well most have)
Being in the curb "can" be an advantage in the small villages/streets, but of course can be an issue at slip road entry's etc. Most I know do not do a lot of overtaking once they adjust to life here, so if done with forward planning its not the issue that some would make it out (IMO)
LHD : I have meet many who find the transition a problem & are very nervous drivers now as a result. I would advise that you consider carefully about buying an automatic in this case as it "will" make life a good deal easier, as will a Berlingo type vehicle where you will have better visibility from a slightly higher/upright position.

On the same theme a Berlingo type/Estate car will pay dividends as there is always something to collect/pick up etc that will never fit into a boot & you can access the rear from inside the car where you can keep the reflective jackets etc leaving the front pockets/cubbyhole free for other things.

BTW I only use the Berlingo as a type example & have never driven one, I may well look closely at the Ford Turneo when my estate is due to go as I think that it looks a handy piece of kit. Having said that it may be classed as a commercial so that will rule that out.


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## country boy (Mar 10, 2010)

Don't forget that "Berlingo" type vehicles ( vans with side windows) have to have ITV's much more frequently than Turismos. Two years from new and every six months after 4 years, can be a pain?


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## natalieml (May 9, 2010)

Thanks for your advice. We have been coming over for 5 years + and have been hiring LHD cars so driving a LHD is not a problem at all for us. 

Just living along the coastal road everyehere we need to get to is along the motorway and to join from a stopped position is a RHD will be so dangerous. We have both driven RHD in other countries but I have never come across the Spanish motorway joining system of coming to a completre stop before joining a busy motorway before. lol

As for the Berlingo! OMG we got stitched up with one at the airport as a hire car once and it drives like a tank! I wouldn't have one by choice at all. It also looks a bit like the Pope-mobile. 

Having said that we are now lookinga t what I woudl call sensible LHD cars as they are so so much more expensive than cars here. 




playamonte said:


> My thoughts on cars/driving here.
> 
> RHD : Most Brit drivers can drive through gaps where water would not flow without giving it a seconds thought, as that is what they have been doing in the UK for "years" (well most have)
> Being in the curb "can" be an advantage in the small villages/streets, but of course can be an issue at slip road entry's etc. Most I know do not do a lot of overtaking once they adjust to life here, so if done with forward planning its not the issue that some would make it out (IMO)
> ...


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## natalieml (May 9, 2010)

Not to mention they drive like a pile of poo  ha ha




country boy said:


> Don't forget that "Berlingo" type vehicles ( vans with side windows) have to have ITV's much more frequently than Turismos. Two years from new and every six months after 4 years, can be a pain?


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## natalieml (May 9, 2010)

Thanks Steve - the ferry looks the best option and one of my friends has volunteered to come with me so we can make it a bit of a girls road trip. LOL

We are now looking at options to buy a LHD car here so we have had it for 6 months by the time we come over in December to avoid paying the import tax. 

Does anyone know how much it costs to change to Spanish plates without the import tax?

Also one of the cars we are looking at already has Spanish plates - what's the story there. If we purchase a lHD and have it on Spanishj plates in the UK for 6months theh bring it over what do we need to do? Is tere someway in which we have to register the vehicle to our address in Spain?





steve_in_spain said:


> Just thought I would ass my comments to this one because I going through the import process. Firstly, Id advise the drive via the ferry to spain, thats personaly because I find france hard to tollerate (having driven many may times through france), the spain ferry makes it much more relaxing (in calm seas). Such a shame P&O are dropping the route later this year - still, Brittany do a reasonable job too.
> 
> As for RHD in spain, I find on the N332 the 6 feet slip roads can be difficult BUT as a driving instructor by trade I always get into the habit of twisting and looking when I am stationary, if you do this instead of relying on mirrors then providing your car has reasonable visability you are usually fairly safe - DON'T RELY ON MIRRORS!
> 
> ...


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## pete_l (Feb 12, 2010)

Stravinsky said:


> Portsmouth / Santander or Bilbao will cost you around the low £300's depending on when you come. I just came back that way.
> 
> Check your insurance carefully, many Brit companies wont insure you if they know you no longer live in the UK.


One more thing about insurance. When I've brought my fully comp. UK car to Spain, my insurance magically drops down to the absolute, bare, legal minimum - basically just 3rd party. This is NOT something I asked for ad it's quite expensive to get the cover increased back to fully comp. again (so effectively I have to pay twice. Once for the month on my UK policy, and again to increase my cover for the month I'm in Spain) 
I've never had a problem with driving from Santander, the only tricky bit is getting through all the mess of roads around Madrid (esp. if you're unlucky enough to hit the rush hour). The Santader ferry used to arrive early in the morning, about 8:30. This was nice as it meant you could drive down easily in a single day ad arrive more or less in daylight. The last time I used it, it had changed the schedule and arrived later in the morning. Resulting in not arriving at the house until about 1 a.m.


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## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

When I insured my car here for the 1st time they told me that my 3 different Ncb's from the UK which were about 5 months old where 'out of date' as they only last 1 month , unlike the 2 years in the UK. They were quite happy to give me maximum ncb based on seeing my then ,current insurance policy for the vehicle I had brought over.

pesky, yes, the Torneo connect is classed as a comm. vehicle . I got caught out when I bought & stuck with 700 €'s insurance. Plus, when you want to sell the value has dropped like a brick as it's a commercial. 
Another thing to bear in mind As I've posted before is that there's a rumour doing the rounds that they are going to ban the re-matriculation of rhd cars, on the same grounds that you can't re-register vans & lorries, visibility.


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## natalieml (May 9, 2010)

Hmmm not sure how this will work for me. I have had a company car with 11 years NCB and hubby has his own car with years of NCB - in Spain we will have one car between us. Presumably we just provide one NCB certificate??




gus-lopez said:


> When I insured my car here for the 1st time they told me that my 3 different Ncb's from the UK which were about 5 months old where 'out of date' as they only last 1 month , unlike the 2 years in the UK. They were quite happy to give me maximum ncb based on seeing my then ,current insurance policy for the vehicle I had brought over.
> 
> pesky, yes, the Torneo connect is classed as a comm. vehicle . I got caught out when I bought & stuck with 700 €'s insurance. Plus, when you want to sell the value has dropped like a brick as it's a commercial.
> Another thing to bear in mind As I've posted before is that there's a rumour doing the rounds that they are going to ban the re-matriculation of rhd cars, on the same grounds that you can't re-register vans & lorries, visibility.


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## kathyd (May 28, 2007)

Has anyone here taken the ferry to Northern France and then driven the lengh of France and Spain to the Costa del Sol. Just wondering cost wise how it would compare to overnight ferry to Santander. We are a family of 4 and we are moving to Marbella to take up a job starting Sept 1st. We are moving from N.Ireland and feel it may be better to bring a car with us and Drive across


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## JBODEN (Jul 10, 2009)

kathyd said:


> Has anyone here taken the ferry to Northern France and then driven the lengh of France and Spain to the Costa del Sol. Just wondering cost wise how it would compare to overnight ferry to Santander. We are a family of 4 and we are moving to Marbella to take up a job starting Sept 1st. We are moving from N.Ireland and feel it may be better to bring a car with us and Drive across


I studied the various options taking into consideration toll fees and overnight stops and ... in essence the overall costs are the same, but you have less miles on the clock going via Santander.


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

kathyd said:


> Has anyone here taken the ferry to Northern France and then driven the lengh of France and Spain to the Costa del Sol. Just wondering cost wise how it would compare to overnight ferry to Santander. We are a family of 4 and we are moving to Marbella to take up a job starting Sept 1st. We are moving from N.Ireland and feel it may be better to bring a car with us and Drive across


I have done both in the last three months to Valencia, and taking into consideration tolls and fuel, the cost is only marginally less via Santander, and a lot less hassle


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## tonyd (Jun 22, 2010)

JBODEN said:


> I studied the various options taking into consideration toll fees and overnight stops and ... in essence the overall costs are the same, but you have less miles on the clock going via Santander.



Thanks for the advice. 
We were costing it out last night and had come to the conclusion of what you have said that it comes to about the same so I think we are going to come over via santander. 
Do you feel now that you are there that it was worth it to bring the car over taking in the expense of it all and the RHD situation .


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## uffington15 (May 4, 2009)

We are coming over in Oct and were considering the Santander option but are somewhat concerned about the sea conditions at that time of the year. We will be towing a trailer and bringing the dog with us and need to consider this also.


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## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

uffington15 said:


> We are coming over in Oct and were considering the Santander option but are somewhat concerned about the sea conditions at that time of the year. We will be towing a trailer and bringing the dog with us and need to consider this also.


we did santander last october with brittany and it was really smooth, lovely crossing. November was bad and we were on P&O which is the better ship. having said that we have done august and had a terrible crossing so its luck of the draw!


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## uffington15 (May 4, 2009)

steve_in_spain said:


> we did santander last october with brittany and it was really smooth, lovely crossing. November was bad and we were on P&O which is the better ship. having said that we have done august and had a terrible crossing so its luck of the draw!


Probably be the chunnel and drive through then, don't fancy risking a bad crossing with dog and I both feeling the worse for wear


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## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

uffington15 said:


> Probably be the chunnel and drive through then, don't fancy risking a bad crossing with dog and I both feeling the worse for wear


maybe an idea, its worth remembering that if the sea is rough brittany will not allow you into the dog kennel area for safety, which could mean pooch is on his own for a long time!

its 24 hours on the ferry, you can do the drive from calais to spanish border in a day (long day mind you), and there are doggy friendly hotels in france i believe!


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

uffington15 said:


> We are coming over in Oct and were considering the Santander option but are somewhat concerned about the sea conditions at that time of the year. We will be towing a trailer and bringing the dog with us and need to consider this also.


We have done Calais through France, Bilbao & Santander.

Santander is by far the better vessel. They seem to make a lot of adaption for pets, including a dog walking deck and dog cabins. We have been over in the winter as well as recently in May and have found the crossing to be excellent.

We also bought a cat over previously via Calais, and it was a nightmare. You will make Calais to Valences Nord or thereabouts in a decent day. Then you would get to Valencia or thereabouts in the second day. Its a long drive with an animal and you have to keep stopping


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## kathyd (May 28, 2007)

Stravinsky said:


> We have done Calais through France, Bilbao & Santander.
> 
> 
> We also bought a cat over previously via Calais, and it was a nightmare. You will make Calais to Valences Nord or thereabouts in a decent day. Then you would get to Valencia or thereabouts in the second day. Its a long drive with an animal and you have to keep stopping


Yes I know what it is like to bring an animal by Car .We travelled with three dogs from Johannesburg to Cape Town [14 hours] with three dogs and that was an experience!. Not sure I would like to do it again .

We are at this stage wondering about bringing the car over .Our car is not a high end car it is an 7 year old Ford Mondeo and probably worth more to us than what we would get to sell it .
I have heard that second hand cars in Spain are expensive and also not good so was wondering what was really the best option


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

kathyd said:


> Yes I know what it is like to bring an animal by Car .We travelled with three dogs from Johannesburg to Cape Town [14 hours] with three dogs and that was an experience!. Not sure I would like to do it again .
> 
> We are at this stage wondering about bringing the car over .Our car is not a high end car it is an 7 year old Ford Mondeo and probably worth more to us than what we would get to sell it .
> I have heard that second hand cars in Spain are expensive and also not good so was wondering what was really the best option



Second hand cars here ARE expensive I'm afraid. You could always try buying a LHD car in the UK. Get it checked out carefully though regarding taxes in Spain, and bear in mind if you havent owned it for 6 months when you come over here, it wont be regarded as a personal import and will probably attract Import registration fees.


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## kathyd (May 28, 2007)

Stravinsky said:


> Second hand cars here ARE expensive I'm afraid. You could always try buying a LHD car in the UK. Get it checked out carefully though regarding taxes in Spain, and bear in mind if you havent owned it for 6 months when you come over here, it wont be regarded as a personal import and will probably attract Import registration fees.


Thats interesting as we have had the Ford Mondeo for less than 6 months ...bought it off a friend. So we could end up having import registration fees .Do you know what those are roughly?

We have another car we have owned for longer but is is not the better car.
Did not know about this import registration .

So many things and so little time!..lol


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

kathyd said:


> Thats interesting as we have had the Ford Mondeo for less than 6 months ...bought it off a friend. So we could end up having import registration fees .Do you know what those are roughly?
> 
> We have another car we have owned for longer but is is not the better car.
> Did not know about this import registration .
> ...


I am not sure, I paid €1200 to have my car matriculated and pay the fee. I think the fee was about €400


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## kathyd (May 28, 2007)

I am still trying to make up my mind about wither to bring a car over or not. Our cars are not high end cars and i am just not sure it is worth the cost and then the hassle of RHD.

I have heard that one can hire a car for E70 a week ...would love to know where that company is as all i can find is E500 a week!

Is it really worth it to bring a car? What i am worried about is that we are going to need transport once we are there and if car hire is too expensive then i guess we have no choice


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

kathyd said:


> I am still trying to make up my mind about wither to bring a car over or not. Our cars are not high end cars and i am just not sure it is worth the cost and then the hassle of RHD.
> 
> I have heard that one can hire a car for E70 a week ...would love to know where that company is as all i can find is E500 a week!
> 
> Is it really worth it to bring a car? What i am worried about is that we are going to need transport once we are there and if car hire is too expensive then i guess we have no choice



If they are worth less than around £10k or of sentimental value I'd say no.
The cost of putting on Spanish plates could be high and you'd be better off putting the money towards a Spanish plated LHD car.
We've brought three cars here....one which is our everyday car was a 4x4 already on Spanish plates, the other two were on UK plates. The import tax on one, a LHD Merc, would have been very high and the other was RHD and would have cost as much as it was worth to put on Spanish plates.
So....back to the UK for sale for one and my dil who is non-resident has the other.
So much less hassle in the end so get the best Spanish-plated car you can afford - if you have dogs and go into the campo a 4x4 is very useful.


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## kathyd (May 28, 2007)

mrypg9 said:


> If they are worth less than around £10k or of sentimental value I'd say no.
> The cost of putting on Spanish plates could be high and you'd be better off putting the money towards a Spanish plated LHD car.
> We've brought three cars here....one which is our everyday car was a 4x4 already on Spanish plates, the other two were on UK plates. The import tax on one, a LHD Merc, would have been very high and the other was RHD and would have cost as much as it was worth to put on Spanish plates.
> So....back to the UK for sale for one and my dil who is non-resident has the other.
> So much less hassle in the end so get the best Spanish-plated car you can afford - if you have dogs and go into the campo a 4x4 is very useful.


I am starting to come round to the idea that it may not just be worth it to bring the car across. the registration of the car may end up being more than its value? and then we have the hassle of RHD.

We will however need transport when we are over as we have to get around to see places to find a long term rent .

Does anyone know the name of a reasonable car hire company?


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## kathyd (May 28, 2007)

mrypg9 said:


> If they are worth less than around £10k or of sentimental value I'd say no.
> The cost of putting on Spanish plates could be high and you'd be better off putting the money towards a Spanish plated LHD car.
> We've brought three cars here....one which is our everyday car was a 4x4 already on Spanish plates, the other two were on UK plates. The import tax on one, a LHD Merc, would have been very high and the other was RHD and would have cost as much as it was worth to put on Spanish plates.
> So....back to the UK for sale for one and my dil who is non-resident has the other.
> So much less hassle in the end so get the best Spanish-plated car you can afford - if you have dogs and go into the campo a 4x4 is very useful.




Is there a time frame that one has to get the car registered .
Our problem with not bringing a car across is getting around. The car rental companies seem really high so at the end of the day you would probably pay out the same as getting the plates changed and the advantage of bringing a car is that we can bring more "Stuff " with us .

If there was a rental company that was not really high then differant story but it does not look like it


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

kathyd said:


> Is there a time frame that one has to get the car registered .
> Our problem with not bringing a car across is getting around. The car rental companies seem really high so at the end of the day you would probably pay out the same as getting the plates changed and the advantage of bringing a car is that we can bring more "Stuff " with us .
> 
> If there was a rental company that was not really high then differant story but it does not look like it


Can you not sell your UK car and buy one when you get here?? 

Jo xxx


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

jojo said:


> Can you not sell your UK car and buy one when you get here??
> 
> Jo xxx



Yes, why not sell your car in the UK and buy a LHD car in the UK from a good company such as the one we bought our Spanish-plated 4x4 from The Left Hand Drive Place in Basingstoke. 
Then you can drive it over or they will deliver it.
We had all the documentation prepared by the Company so all we had to do was change ownership when we got here. That cost hardly anything.


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## country boy (Mar 10, 2010)

You have 6 months to re-register a UK car down here and if you are a permanent resident by then, and it is your only car, you do not pay import duty.


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## kathyd (May 28, 2007)

mrypg9 said:


> Yes, why not sell your car in the UK and buy a LHD car in the UK from a good company such as the one we bought our Spanish-plated 4x4 from The Left Hand Drive Place in Basingstoke.
> Then you can drive it over or they will deliver it.
> We had all the documentation prepared by the Company so all we had to do was change ownership when we got here. That cost hardly anything.



It is starting to look like less and less hassle to just sell the car and then buy one when we get there. We are in N.Ireland and I would be interested just to research if there are any LHD cars here .
Also there is a company advertising in the SUR that sell cars owned by expats thier name is Robertson cars [I think marbella ] i may give them a call today and see what they have. At the end of the day it may just be worth it to get a run around untill we can get ourselves settled .
We are going to leave one car here definately for my husband if he comes over to do a shoot for a week. [thats TV/Video .....not birds!]

am going to research a removal company as well,not for furniture but light goods

thanks for the advice

kathy


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

when we first came over, we hired a car for 3 weeks and we were lucky enough to negotiate a deal! That gave us time to get our NIE numbers and to find a car to buy. I certainly wouldnt have bothered bringing my car, too much hassle . that said, be careful when buying a car in Spain, it aint the same as the UK, you can buy debts on it too without even knowing. We used a main dealer cos they agreed to do all the paperwork which was worth any extra that we paid them, altho we did knock them down on the price anyway!

Jo xxx


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

jojo said:


> when we first came over, we hired a car for 3 weeks and we were lucky enough to negotiate a deal! That gave us time to get our NIE numbers and to find a car to buy. I certainly wouldnt have bothered bringing my car, too much hassle . that said, be careful when buying a car in Spain, it aint the same as the UK, you can buy debts on it too without even knowing. We used a main dealer cos they agreed to do all the paperwork which was worth any extra that we paid them, altho we did knock them down on the price anyway!
> 
> Jo xxx


There's a website where you can find out about outstanding fines, we used it for our LandRover.
My advice would be to buy in the UK but sobre los gustos....


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## natalieml (May 9, 2010)

Hi Kathy,

We have had this whole dilema about 6 weeks ago. Initially we just presumed we would bring our two RHD cars over then realised that it really wasn't that safe to join the motorway with such restricted views so decided on a LHD. 

OMG how surprised we were with the cost of them! We looked at websites in Spain to buy there and decided we would sell one of our UK cars and buy a LHD - then we found we needed to own it 6 months before we went over to avoid the import tax which meant we had to buy one fairly quickly.

We visited 2 LHD centres in the UK and what they had available was battered with lots of dents and v high mileage (over 100,000!!) and was 30% more expensive than it should be because it was LHD. We were both really disheartened.

I was looking online at Auto Trader for LHD's and found one advertised with only 15,000 miles in mint condition. Still more expensive that if we had bought here a RHD and we had to travel 3 hours to get it but this is how we ended up buying our LHD. It was bought in Malaga but then registered on UK plates so when we go in December we will have to put on Spanish plates but we will have 6 months to do this.

Best of luck xx









kathyd said:


> It is starting to look like less and less hassle to just sell the car and then buy one when we get there. We are in N.Ireland and I would be interested just to research if there are any LHD cars here .
> Also there is a company advertising in the SUR that sell cars owned by expats thier name is Robertson cars [I think marbella ] i may give them a call today and see what they have. At the end of the day it may just be worth it to get a run around untill we can get ourselves settled .
> We are going to leave one car here definately for my husband if he comes over to do a shoot for a week. [thats TV/Video .....not birds!]
> 
> ...


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Our LandRover was already on Spanish plates when we bought it so no tax needed to be paid, just ownership changed which as I said was very simple and inexpensive.
Did you try the place I mentioned in Basingstoke? They have a website with details of their vehicles, none bashed and dented, at fair prices ranging from a couple of thousand £ to the Maserati level.
There are dodgy LHD dealers around, we were advised against one in particular. Before we bought our LandRover we shopped around online for literally days before deciding. We got an excellent vehicle at a good price and it's been driven three times across Europe, still low mileage and zero problems of any kind (apart from me bashing the roof at Mercadona and the side window being bashed in by a vengeful Morroccan).
Either way you'll pay more for your LHD -'laws' of supply and demand - but if you were planning on driving over, surely it's best to buy in the UK, on Spanish plates if possible?
Someone pointed out on this forum that the original owner should have 'exported' the vehicle from Spain but she didn't and frankly it wasn't my problem and hasn't been one. 
There will always be someone who will point out such things......


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## kathyd (May 28, 2007)

jojo said:


> when we first came over, we hired a car for 3 weeks and we were lucky enough to negotiate a deal! That gave us time to get our NIE numbers and to find a car to buy. I certainly wouldnt have bothered bringing my car, too much hassle . that said, be careful when buying a car in Spain, it aint the same as the UK, you can buy debts on it too without even knowing. We used a main dealer cos they agreed to do all the paperwork which was worth any extra that we paid them, altho we did knock them down on the price anyway!
> 
> Jo xxx


Do you remember the name of the company you hired from and also is £500 for 2 weeks pretty steep? It is about 6 years since we have hired a car so I might be a bit out of touch on price. I must admit I do find it quite amusing in that the websites say from £70 a week and then you go into get a quote and magically the price is not around £550. 
So what is £70 for ...a moped?
Anyway i have heard about the debt issue on cars .Also a friend at the tennis club was telling me about people buying cars on finance and then driving them over and selling .
If you have a name of a reputable dealer in the marbella area or even Malaga we could take a look when we come over .

I think more and more that bringing the car is just a whole load of hassle. Its not as if its a ferrari anyway ...just a good old ford Estate about 6 years old. All us poor teachers can afford  lol


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

kathyd said:


> Do you remember the name of the company you hired from and also is £500 for 2 weeks pretty steep? It is about 6 years since we have hired a car so I might be a bit out of touch on price. I must admit I do find it quite amusing in that the websites say from £70 a week and then you go into get a quote and magically the price is not around £550.
> So what is £70 for ...a moped?
> Anyway i have heard about the debt issue on cars .Also a friend at the tennis club was telling me about people buying cars on finance and then driving them over and selling .
> If you have a name of a reputable dealer in the marbella area or even Malaga we could take a look when we come over .
> ...


We cant remember now how much we paid, it certainly wasnt 500€ for 2 weeks, we did negotiate it down tho. The company was "malagacar.com" based at Málaga airport and they were great, I even had a puncture and they came out and changed it for nothing (I did the damsel in distress routine lol).

We bought our car from the local Citroen dealer in Churriana simply because we looked around at the most popular car that taxi drivers used (at the time Citroen Picassos) on the theory that they'd be using the most economical and reliable cars. And the guy in the garage was really nice - not the best reason to buy a car.... but... Anyway, the car has been great so far, and its been terribly abused 

Jo xxx


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## country boy (Mar 10, 2010)

We use Helle Hollis at Malaga for our family and friends...very reliable.

Car hire malaga, car rental malaga airport, car hire costa del sol spain


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## kathyd (May 28, 2007)

jojo said:


> when we first came over, we hired a car for 3 weeks and we were lucky enough to negotiate a deal! That gave us time to get our NIE numbers and to find a car to buy. I certainly wouldnt have bothered bringing my car, too much hassle . that said, be careful when buying a car in Spain, it aint the same as the UK, you can buy debts on it too without even knowing. We used a main dealer cos they agreed to do all the paperwork which was worth any extra that we paid them, altho we did knock them down on the price anyway!
> 
> Jo xxx


was wondering ..did you rent a holiday apartment initially or move straight into a long term rent ?
We kind of feel that it may be better to rent a holiday place for three weeks while we look around .
I start at school on 1st september and so we need to have a place from then .
Not knowing the area means we need to travel around a bit and get an idea .
Also we want to be fairly close to the school just to cut out travelling.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

kathyd said:


> was wondering ..did you rent a holiday apartment initially or move straight into a long term rent ?
> We kind of feel that it may be better to rent a holiday place for three weeks while we look around .
> I start at school on 1st september and so we need to have a place from then .
> Not knowing the area means we need to travel around a bit and get an idea .
> Also we want to be fairly close to the school just to cut out travelling.



We came over a couple of times before we moved to look around. When we finally found a place, we went back to the UK, discussed it and the next day phoned the agents and did all the paperwork by fax/e-mail etc, we also happen to have a friend in the UK who understood the contract and looked thru it for us. That was the beginning of January and we started the rental agreement on 1st Feb, moving on the 4th Feb. Luckily there was no one else interested in it and it was still christmas, so there was no real panic.

The trouble with holiday rentals is that they are so expensive, so I would suggest you'd be better off going down the longer term rental - if you make sure on the contract that you dont have to pay the full length of term amount, you could leave after a couple of months if you dont like it

This is also why its a good idea to speak to agents who will know the areas and understand your predicaments

Jo xxx


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## kathyd (May 28, 2007)

jojo said:


> We cant remember now how much we paid, it certainly wasnt 500€ for 2 weeks, we did negotiate it down tho. The company was "malagacar.com" based at Málaga airport and they were great, I even had a puncture and they came out and changed it for nothing (I did the damsel in distress routine lol).
> 
> We bought our car from the local Citroen dealer in Churriana simply because we looked around at the most popular car that taxi drivers used (at the time Citroen Picassos) on the theory that they'd be using the most economical and reliable cars. And the guy in the garage was really nice - not the best reason to buy a car.... but... Anyway, the car has been great so far, and its been terribly abused
> 
> Jo xxx


Well i am glad that you agree that £500 is rather steep .
I came across malagacars on the web tonight and they look a bit more reasonable than many of the others .I will get them to give me a quote and then see if i can get them down a bit. need the car for three weeks so maybe they can give us a deal .


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## geez (Apr 4, 2010)

KathyD: Try Hertz.es and see if they have their WOW (I think that stands for World on Wheels) special in September. Outside of the peak, I regularly use this for weekly car hire for E99 for the smallest little putter but sometimes I've also been upgraded. I've found that the offer is generally only available on the Spanish or French sites.

As for driving a LHD: the two really, really scary experiences I have had on the road in Spain were at the hands of Brit drivers. Even if you are really adept at switching from one to the other I think that driving a wrong-side drive does not help you adapt. 

I know others more qualified have commented on the holiday rental situation but I did see something in the news the other day that seemed to indicate rates are dropping enormously. There are so many people in financial distress, it might be also worth advertising a wanted listing on loquo.com. Whenever we move we do exactly the same thing: take up short-term rentals. It's more important to ultimately feel you are in the area that best suits you. Who knows, you might get lucky and ultimately save the need for two cars.


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## shoemanpete (Jan 4, 2010)

Hi Natalieml, its been a while since I have been on the forum due to internet issues, but now back in the 21st century!
Been reading your initial postings re bringing a car to Spain. Probably all too late now, but we are driving our RHD car to UK in Sept and hoping to sell it there. Will buy a car here. We will then fly back end Oct. If you need to have a car brought back we are available to drive it. Both my wife and I take turns to drive and usually stop over midway. We have done 500mile journeys a few times so well used to it and the route is simple and easy.
If we can help, get in touch. We live in Mijas.


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