# Importing a Car



## decgraham (Apr 24, 2008)

I currently live as an expat in Kuwait but have an apartment in Spain, I would like to export my car as the prices here are very good and my car is in excellent condition. I have owned the car for more than 5 years, it is LHD and I believe EU spec. Can any body tell me the procedure please.

Thanks in advance

DEC


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

decgraham said:


> I currently live as an expat in Kuwait but have an apartment in Spain, I would like to export my car as the prices here are very good and my car is in excellent condition. I have owned the car for more than 5 years, it is LHD and I believe EU spec. Can any body tell me the procedure please.
> 
> Thanks in advance
> 
> DEC



Well .... unless you speak spanish and have lots of time its best to get a gestoria to do it for you. Will normally cost between €600 - €900 depending on whats to be done. Plus any taxes of course, and you need to ensure there is an EU certificate of conformity


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## frannrod (Apr 23, 2008)

Oo err, would this huge expense also apply to my 1969 Triumph Spitfire (pre EU certificate of conformity & free UK road tax (as a pre 1972 historic vehicle)) ?


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

frannrod said:


> Oo err, would this huge expense also apply to my 1969 Triumph Spitfire (pre EU certificate of conformity & free UK road tax (as a pre 1972 historic vehicle)) ?


Wow ..... I always wanted a Triumph Spitfire 

Well, the expense will. I bought in a 1995 grey import (origin Japan) last year. It had an MOT in the UK, so the authorities here accepted that it must be EU conformed, and I'm guessing the same would be for your classic car. I actually paid €1200 as (for reasons I cant explain) I left it too long after I became resident and had to pay import regiatration tax.

You'll need to check that the headlights can be realigned OK


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## leyland (May 9, 2008)

*Registering Pre Eu conformity cars.*



frannrod said:


> Oo err, would this huge expense also apply to my 1969 Triumph Spitfire (pre EU certificate of conformity & free UK road tax (as a pre 1972 historic vehicle)) ?



Hi there,
gets even more complicated with a pe-EU conformity car, I have a 1975 Spitfire which I am trying to register, am told the only way is to register as historic, so far I have joined the classic car club and got as far as the car being inspected, measured, weighed and generally looked at, now waiting for paperwork to enable a full ITV test and then Spanish registration, money payable for all stages of course.
Put a search in, Motoring in Spain second edition historic vehicles. 
(this site won't let me put the web address) This gives the general proceedure


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## silly millie (Feb 15, 2008)

IMPORTANT:

If you haven't already do not sign on to the local padron until you are ready to start the registration process. This will save you paying import (emissions) tax.


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## oddball (Aug 1, 2007)

*importing*



Stravinsky said:


> Wow ..... I always wanted a Triumph Spitfire
> 
> Well, the expense will. I bought in a 1995 grey import (origin Japan) last year. It had an MOT in the UK, so the authorities here accepted that it must be EU conformed, and I'm guessing the same would be for your classic car. I actually paid €1200 as (for reasons I cant explain) I left it too long after I became resident and had to pay import regiatration tax.
> 
> You'll need to check that the headlights can be realigned OK


 Stravinsky , should this mean the vehicle was built for left hand drive roads and Spain is right hand drive , the answer is no . I built car headlights for General Electric for several years , specifically in the filament attachment , the front 'Glass' is actually a lens that diverts the beam either to the right or left dependant on the side of the road the vehicle is intended for and the high/low beams are directed accordingly also , simply replace the light units .
Colin


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## frannrod (Apr 23, 2008)

leyland said:


> Hi there,
> gets even more complicated with a pe-EU conformity car, I have a 1975 Spitfire which I am trying to register, am told the only way is to register as historic, so far I have joined the classic car club and got as far as the car being inspected, measured, weighed and generally looked at, now waiting for paperwork to enable a full ITV test and then Spanish registration, money payable for all stages of course.
> Put a search in, Motoring in Spain second edition historic vehicles.
> (this site won't let me put the web address) This gives the general proceedure



Thank you. That is a really good (if somewhat daunting) bit of information.

Very grateful.


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## Mick-1 (Jun 9, 2008)

Hi. I posted a question on Yahoo answers a while back about taking my bike to Spain and asked about emmision control. Here's one reply I got. Not sure if it's a good advise, but ...

*Hi 
I'm thinking about moving part time to Spain and want to bring my BMW motorbike. does anyone know about emmission control on Spainish vehicles? How do i find out if my bike would comply. This bike was originally bought in Japan.*

And the reply was:

*Respect towards your good intentions. However, I suggest that you just drive that bike and don't care too much about emmission controls and the like. I know of numerous British expats that live in the country and that have never even thought about registering their vehicles. Even after 25 years they still drive them under their original number plates...*


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

Mick-1 said:


> *Respect towards your good intentions. However, I suggest that you just drive that bike and don't care too much about emmission controls and the like. I know of numerous British expats that live in the country and that have never even thought about registering their vehicles. Even after 25 years they still drive them under their original number plates...*


Well the risk is yours as nowadays they are tightening up and at roadblocks they are seizing cars
Quite often they are incorrectly insured, and they are not legal in their country of origin (so not legal here). All in all then .... not good advice


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## Guest (Jun 10, 2008)

Mick, it is true that some people have got away with not registering their vehicle in Spain for years. However, a serious point to bear in mind with effect from last month May 2008. Spain brought in a new penal code which has made little things like driving without a licence jump from a minor misdemeanour to a criminal offence. Also new penalties for certain driving offences and in general the authorities are cracking down big time and there are loads of stories from people who have had their vehicle impounded or face hefty fines.

The procedure for matriculating any vehicle to Spanish plates in basically 3 steps. First you need what is called a ficha reducida, a standard certified sheet of paper with all the key specifications, dimensions etc of the vehicle. Much easier if you have an EC certificate of conformity to begin with but often you get the college of engineers to draw one up. See www. F I C H A  R E D U C I D A. com for an example.

Second step is to take the vehicle to an ITV station (equivalent to the UK MoT) where it is formally checked against the ficha reducida and tested for tyres, brakes, exhaust, lights and general roadworthiness. If you pass that, the ITV station issues a ficha tecnica within a few days. You will need to provide the previous registration document from the country or earlier registration as this is noted on the new ficha tecnica.

Take the ficha tecnica to Trafico and register the vehicle. This bit sounds easy but better to use a gestor for this as they know their way around.

If you do all this as soon as you arrive in Spain with intent of residing here, you can be exempt of the "import tax" but otherwise you might get stung for a percentage of the vehicle value in addition to all the fees and charges. Without the import tax, you face something like 300 to 400 euros minimum for fess and charges.


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## Mick-1 (Jun 9, 2008)

El Capitan,
thanks for your informative reply.
The part about the state cracking down on driving offences actually sounds great. That's one reason I'm leaving Dubai. While the crime is low, your life is in constant threat by drivers on the road. And if you ride a bike, you don't exist..


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## Guest (Jun 10, 2008)

Mick-1 said:


> El Capitan,
> thanks for your informative reply.
> The part about the state cracking down on driving offences actually sounds great. That's one reason I'm leaving Dubai. While the crime is low, your life is in constant threat by drivers on the road. And if you ride a bike, you don't exist..


To an extent Mick, yes its great as it is reported that a few thousand Spanish nationals drive with no licence and potentially therefore no insurance. But the general crackdown will catch all, even if there is only a minor issue with your papers. And as for not existing on a bike, just this weekend we were riding in the city, turning right in a queue of cars and a car turned hard right from the left hand land (the lane for going straight on) and hit us. Luckily no injury or damage apart from a scratch or two down his side panels and I even managed to contain myself from launching a kevlar gloved hand through his window 

I know the procedure for matriculating here as I have just done it all, including getting my UK driving licence homologated with Trafico.


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## leyland (May 9, 2008)

*Spitfire update*



leyland said:


> Hi there,
> gets even more complicated with a pe-EU conformity car, I have a 1975 Spitfire which I am trying to register, am told the only way is to register as historic, so far I have joined the classic car club and got as far as the car being inspected, measured, weighed and generally looked at, now waiting for paperwork to enable a full ITV test and then Spanish registration, money payable for all stages of course.
> Put a search in, Motoring in Spain second edition historic vehicles.
> (this site won't let me put the web address) This gives the general proceedure


Update on Spitfire Spanish registration,
Finally got the paperwork through to enable the car to be taken for ITV test beginning of September 2008, unfortunately failed on rear brake unbalance , sorted that and took for retest and paid retest fee, passed ok BUT the commission number (chassis number) is only on the aluminium plate and needs to be stamped or etched onto the body or chassis so pass paperwork could not be issued. Requires authorisation and additional paperwork to have the number stamped on by an authorised garage. again waiting for the slow paperwork grind.
23rd Feb 2009 authorisation recieved to have chassis stamped at registered garage another 36€ , Made appontment next day to have the stamping verified at the ITV station, "collect paperwork in 10 days". 3 weeks later it was ready, then off to Traffico to register the car another 90€ come back after 2 working days and collect papers.31st March 2009 finally got the registration documents and a Reg number. 1st April had a pair of numberplates made and had the insurance certificate modified to suit. The benefits, no road tax and an ITV every 2 years.
And looking forward to some summer motoring.


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## Xose (Dec 10, 2008)

leyland said:


> Update on Spitfire Spanish registration,
> Finally got the paperwork through to enable the car to be taken for ITV test beginning of September 2008, unfortunately failed on rear brake unbalance , sorted that and took for retest and paid retest fee, passed ok BUT the commission number (chassis number) is only on the aluminium plate and needs to be stamped or etched onto the body or chassis so pass paperwork could not be issued. Requires authorisation and additional paperwork to have the number stamped on by an authorised garage. again waiting for the slow paperwork grind.
> 23rd Feb 2009 authorisation recieved to have chassis stamped at registered garage another 36€ , Made appontment next day to have the stamping verified at the ITV station, "collect paperwork in 10 days". 3 weeks later it was ready, then off to Traffico to register the car another 90€ come back after 2 working days and collect papers.31st March 2009 finally got the registration documents and a Reg number. 1st April had a pair of numberplates made and had the insurance certificate modified to suit. The benefits, no road tax and an ITV every 2 years.
> And looking forward to some summer motoring.


Hello Leyland,
That last bit is very interesting to me. Looking at a Stag or TR6 - not sure which one I want to ruin my free days with home mechanics yet knowing the rep of those two, but love the cars. Is the "no road tax" due to age purely, or is there a max km per year also?
Same question on the insurance side?

Enjoy the motoring - but watch the sun stroke

By the way, how will you deal with spares supply problems - air filters and the like?


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

anyone wanna buy a mint condition TR5??? its taking up garage space and i have school fees to pay lol

jo xx


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## decgraham (Apr 24, 2008)

Xose said:


> Hello Leyland,
> Looking at a Stag or TR6 -
> 
> I had a Stag 30 years ago, lovely car but the engine was naff had it rebuilt twice. While I have been in Q8 I met a guy who was ex British Leyland (remember them?) and was actually part of the Stag development team all those years ago. He told me that the project development was going well until the number crunches got involved, they said the car needed to go to market quicker so although they had done a nice job on the body design etc they did not have the time on the engine. Thus they basically threw together 2 Dolomite 1500 engines and made the 3 litre V8. He told me the problem was the lubrication of the back left or right piston (can't remember which) which often siezed, it did on me. On the positive side if the car has had the Rover V 8 put in then you have a much better engine and should not have the problems of the original Stag engine. Good luck.
> ...


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## leyland (May 9, 2008)

Hi there,
When I originally found that the historic proceedure was going to be long and involved I asked if I could register the car normally but was told that because it did not have European type approval and was over 30years old my only route was Historico. There is no limit on mileage and the road tax on Historics varies from council area to area, some being zero, only due to local policy nothing to do with the car. Insurance can be obtained similar to the Uk classic car policies, limited mileage, need to be a member of a car club and prove you have another vehicle for every day use.
Regards, Jeff


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## Xose (Dec 10, 2008)

leyland said:


> Hi there,
> When I originally found that the historic proceedure was going to be long and involved I asked if I could register the car normally but was told that because it did not have European type approval and was over 30years old my only route was Historico. There is no limit on mileage and the road tax on Historics varies from council area to area, some being zero, only due to local policy nothing to do with the car. Insurance can be obtained similar to the Uk classic car policies, limited mileage, need to be a member of a car club and prove you have another vehicle for every day use.
> Regards, Jeff


Thanks for that Jeff. Very useful info. Now all I have to do is find a Triumph owners club (the 4 wheel kind, not the oil dispensing Bonnie kind) in Galicia - should be intersting


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