# Buying a Spanish registered car, driving from UK. How can I hpi check?



## beastie1986 (Mar 28, 2017)

Hi I have found a lovely car for my mother in the UK and is it's Spanish registered which is perfect because thats where she lives, I want to drive it across to her as a present and road trip for me and friends. 
Problem how do I find out if it has been stolen in Spain, it has had an expert colour change, it is still on Spanish plates which is what I want but he said he can swap it over for me to UK plates. 
Am I just being paranoid? 
How do I check?
Where will I find Spanish insurance?
How soon after buying the car can I cross into France and Spain?

Thanks, have a good day

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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

beastie1986 said:


> Hi I have found a lovely car for my mother in the UK and is it's Spanish registered which is perfect because thats where she lives, I want to drive it across to her as a present and road trip for me and friends.
> Problem how do I find out if it has been stolen in Spain, it has had an expert colour change, it is still on Spanish plates which is what I want but he said he can swap it over for me to UK plates.
> Am I just being paranoid?
> How do I check?
> ...


If you're buying from a dealer then he SHOULD be able to do all that for you.

If it's on Spanish plates, then it MIGHT still have the correct lights (back and front) but you ought to check first.

The real problem is not whether it's been stolen but whether it's got any debts or fines on it. Again the dealer should be able to check and give you proof in writing that it's OK.


If it's a private sale, be VERY wary.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

beastie1986 said:


> Hi I have found a lovely car for my mother in the UK and is it's Spanish registered which is perfect because thats where she lives, I want to drive it across to her as a present and road trip for me and friends.
> Problem how do I find out if it has been stolen in Spain, it has had an expert colour change, it is still on Spanish plates which is what I want but he said he can swap it over for me to UK plates.
> Am I just being paranoid?
> How do I check?
> ...


I would walk away from this deal. If you want to buy a Spanish registered car in the UK use a reputable dealer like the LHD place in Basingstoke.

If you are buying this car for your mother who is a Spanish resident, why would you put it on UK plates? It's illegal to drive a UK plated car in Spain if you are resident there.

When you buy this car you need to have the following documents: the technical papers, a current ITV (MOT) , photocopies of the previous owner's passport and NIE or DNI plus sale document signed by previous owner. Without these, ownership cannot be transferred to your name or your mother's and you will be responsible for any debts or fines incurred by the previous owner.
You can find whether there are any traffic fines on the vehicle by using the website BuscaMultas but that will b=not tell you if there is any embargo on the vehicle.
Not sure but I have a feeling that colour changes are not acceptable for the ITV .

I bought a Spanish-plated LHD car in the UK eight years ago and had zero problems registering in my name here in Spain. I used a reputable dealer who had all the papers from the previous owner.
If you have none of these documents, walk away. You could be in for a lot of trouble.


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## beastie1986 (Mar 28, 2017)

I will not be swapping the plates to UK, long story short I was coming to UK to do a few things, pick up a nice jeep for myself, have a road trip to Spain with friends having a few stops on the way.

Then I see my mother's dream car in the UK, already registered in Spain, lhd, lhd drive headlights. Time is is like 5 birds 1 stone for me. But as you can tell I'm a bit green when it comes to Spanish paperwork and I understand why they changed the colour because it looks lovely but I being used to using hpi checks and stuff, don't know how to check if it's stolen. 

I think a good inspection of the vin numbers and plates under the bonnet Is definitely due.

Thanks for you info on the ITV I will look into that too

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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

The most important thing though (IMHO) is whether it has any debts or embargoes. The dealer MUST check this for you.


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

You can check (to a certain extent) for embargoes / outstanding charges against the vehicle yourself by obtaining an "informe de antecedentes" from the equivalent of the DVLA in Spain; "Tráfico". This has a small cost.

This sounds daunting to do from the UK but there are agencies that do it all for you, for a price of course. I did it through an agency for the last car I bought here simply beacuse paying the extra to the online agency saved me so much time!

If you like I can provide a link to the agency I used, they were very quick and resonable.

One important caveat here however:

Tráfico, and the report that they issue on the vehicle, will only have the information held on their database.
There have been cases in recent years of local delegations of the tax authorities imposing embargoes on vehicles to recover large tax debts, but taking, in some cases months to inform the central Tráfico of this.

That means that it is possible to but a car with a "clean" report from Tráfico, but in reality find out later that there was an embargo on the vehicle placed recently by a local delegation of the tax authority.... if this happens you are in trouble as Tráfico, as you can imagine, take no responsibility for incomplete information in the report. 

Personally I would only buy a car that I know has been on sale for several months, that way any notice of embargoes "should" have arrived and appear on the report.


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

I forgot to add: all posters seem concerned with it being stolen or having embargoes / outstanding tax pending, which are valid considerations, but if the vehicle is no longer in Spain I would be more worried that it has been declared as permanently exported.
If this is the case it could cost a lot to "re-import" into Spain. 
This declaration of importation would figure on the "informe de antecedentes" mentioned in my last post.
I strongly recommend that you don't buy the car without getting this report first.


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## beastie1986 (Mar 28, 2017)

Thanks snikpoh.

Thanks overandout you have both been very helpful, I will take that link please. I think it has been on sale a while as he wants too much money for it which is good because il just go and knock him down a bit.


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## beastie1986 (Mar 28, 2017)

Oh yeah I never thought it might be permanently exported, I'm ringing him this afternoon to check everything you have said. Thankyou 

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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

Hi Beastie, I cannot send you a private message (I think you need a few more posts to activate this function) and I am not sure if I can post a link to an external service provider in here?

Can someone (Mod) confirm if I can post the link publically?


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## beastie1986 (Mar 28, 2017)

Yeah I'm fresh as a daisy to this forum stuff, very helpful though don't know why it's took so long

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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Why not save all the hassle and use a reputable LHD dealer, like the LHD Place in Basingstoke?
There are far too many potential risks associated with this vehicle. The colour change could be a major problem.
All I had to do when I bought my LR Discovery from the Basingstoke dealer was pay the money. Everything else was done for me. The vehicle had not been registered as being permanently exported from Spain which made it a lot easier. It came with an existing ITV and as I said earlier all the documents required to change into my name when I got it to Spain.
The fact that the vehicle has had not only a respray but a colour change respray would make me highly suspicious for a start. What's to hide?

There are reputable UK dealers offering a selection of legitimate LHD Spanish, French, German etc. registered cars, all legal. They know the procedures and will do all the paperwork for you.
Why put yourself to all this hassle when you may well find the car has 'issues'?


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

The MOST important question as yet unanswered: is this a private sale or REPUTABLE dealer?


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## beastie1986 (Mar 28, 2017)

Because this is exactly the same car as 1 me mother had stolen from out our street 10 years ago, she's just going through a break up, it's not about buying her a car it's about buying her this exact car to make her whole year, I'm just being extra cautious as I'm a novice with foreign cars

It's a small dealer that imports left hand drive cars, I'm going to ring him right now to suss out if it's just a guy that brings a car back every now and then

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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

Well I used this company to obtain the report from Tráfico and was very pleased with their service.

Informe vehÃ***** DGT - 12,50â‚¬ Informe trafico

Total cost was 15€ (if you deal direct with Tráfico in Spain it is around 8€, so the agent service effectively doubles the price)


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## beastie1986 (Mar 28, 2017)

That's great thanks 

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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

beastie1986 said:


> Because this is exactly the same car as 1 me mother had stolen from out our street 10 years ago, she's just going through a break up, it's not about buying her a car it's about buying her this exact car to make her whole year, I'm just being extra cautious as I'm a novice with foreign cars
> 
> It's a small dealer that imports left hand drive cars, I'm going to ring him right now to suss out if it's just a guy that brings a car back every now and then
> 
> Sent from my SGP712 using Tapatalk


Well, your decision.
There are so many possible pitfalls and problems if you don't have all the documents and it will be your Mum who will be faced with them when she goes to register the car in her name.. But if you are buying from a reputable company there shouldn't be a problem.
Good luck, hope all goes well.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Why not just buy one in Spain? You can pick and choose the one that you want by going to www.autoscout24.es or any other car search site.


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## beastie1986 (Mar 28, 2017)

I will put in my name 1st and hope for the best, the seller is doing checks to see if it has any money owed.



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## beastie1986 (Mar 28, 2017)

baldilocks said:


> Why not just buy one in Spain? You can pick and choose the one that you want by going to www.autoscout24.es or any other car search site.


Yeah thanks I have this app but it dosent have the car I want and I want the road trip from the UK 

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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

beastie1986 said:


> I will put in my name 1st and hope for the best, the seller is doing checks to see if it has any money owed.
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my SGP712 using Tapatalk


Are you aware that for each change of registered owner you have to pay tax?

For you to register it in your name you will need a tax ID (NIE) and an address in Spain (with proof that you are registered as living there).

Maybe I have not understood correctly but I thought that you yourself did not live in SPain.


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## beastie1986 (Mar 28, 2017)

No I didn't explain right, I do live in Spain but I work all over the world so I'm going to grab the car on the way home. 

Again thanks for this info as I wasn't aware of this either. I do have an NIE thank God though. 

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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

beastie1986 said:


> No I didn't explain right, I do live in Spain but I work all over the world so I'm going to grab the car on the way home.
> 
> Again thanks for this info as I wasn't aware of this either. I do have an NIE thank God though.
> 
> Sent from my SGP712 using Tapatalk



and you'll need proof of where you live as stated. This can be padron, escritura or rental contract.

Transfer tax, ISTR is about 7% each time you change owner plus fees (potentially)


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## beastie1986 (Mar 28, 2017)

Ok thanks 7% of vehicle value? Can't I lie 😁

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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

beastie1986 said:


> Ok thanks 7% of vehicle value? Can't I lie 😁
> 
> Sent from my SGP712 using Tapatalk


No - it's not what you paid for it but the value (age modified) according to the 'special book'.


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

It should be called "the special book of lies"....


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

Overandout said:


> It should be called "the special book of lies"....


Why? - I've found it very accurate. Just like the blue book in UK (glasses?)


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## jp1 (Jun 11, 2011)

mrypg9 said:


> I would walk away from this deal. If you want to buy a Spanish registered car in the UK use a reputable dealer like the LHD place in Basingstoke.



I just had a look at that site and boy are those vehicles massively overpriced !!! Just picking two near the bottom range they have a 1.0 12V corsa. 1998 for £1450 (WTF!!!)

Parker price guide don't list the model any more only the larger 1.2 version and private sale value is £140 for good condition and £480 dealer. Realistically the price should be scrap value. Out of interest my girlfriend at the time owned a new one of these when they came out. A car of that age and low power would struggle to do a shopping run to the local supermarket, let alone attempt a journey back into the depths of Europe!!!

The Renault Twingo is priced at £3950 and the Parker's price guide from an independent dealer is £2285.

Also you can't verify the history and mileage of these cars, if it was a write off in the original country or heavily clocked then you won't be able to check.

I am not implying that this dealer is anything but reputable, but the prices seems crazy..


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

jp1 said:


> I just had a look at that site and boy are those vehicles massively overpriced !!! Just picking two near the bottom range they have a 1.0 12V corsa. 1998 for £1450 (WTF!!!)
> 
> Parker price guide don't list the model any more only the larger 1.2 version and private sale value is £140 for good condition and £480 dealer. Realistically the price should be scrap value. Out of interest my girlfriend at the time owned a new one of these when they came out. A car of that age and low power would struggle to do a shopping run to the local supermarket, let alone attempt a journey back into the depths of Europe!!!
> 
> ...


I had the choice of other dealers and less expensive vehicles but I decided on LHD Place in spite of the higher cost of the vehicle I bought from them - a LandRover Discovery - because of the reputation enjoyed by this company. I wasn't looking for the lowest price because I can't afford to buy cheap. I wanted a nearly new LR in like new condition on Spanish plates with all the paperwork that would be required when it was registered in my name in Spain. The vehicle was delivered to me in Prague where I was living at the time for a very reasonable charge.
Now, almost ten years' later, the LR is still going strong, no mechanical problems, the only major expenditure being bodywork due to damage by another vehicle and my partner driving it into a ditch to avoid running over a stray dog.
So as I was looking and hoping for reliability and not a 'bargain' I chose LHD Place and would do so again.
They aren't cheap, true, my son said at the time I was paying well over what I could have paid elsewhere.
We had businesses in the motor trade in the UK. We weren't cheap either. We delivered quality at a fair price and I honestly believe that's what the HD Place does, especially as buying a LHD car on foreign plates in the UK can be a minefield.
And yes, you can check whether the vehicle was a write-off or has fines. One reason too why it's vital to have all the details plus sale agreement for the previous owner - NIE, passport, contact details. Reputable dealers will have that information for you.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

I should also make clear that I know absolutely nothing about cars as I've never needed to, someone else has up to the time I left the UK always sorted out problems for me so whatever I buy is a leap in the dark and bought on trust.


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