# Buying a used car in Spain for a 5 month stay.



## Douglas MacArthur (Mar 21, 2013)

I'm an American going to Spain Jan 2014 to May 2014, staying in Salamanca. Curious about buying a very cheap secondhand car for the duration there. I am an enthusiast of a specific old BMW, and they are fairly easy and cheap to come by in Spain. 
For those who live in Spain/ registered a car in Spain,
What is the process to going about this as an American citizen? 
Is it worth buying/registering a car in Spain for a 5 month stay?
Is there some sort of temporary insurance? From what I read up, there seems to be a temporary 6 month registration which would be ideal. 
Anything to worry about/ miscellaneous costs? I know some European countries have some type of Road Tax?

Thank you!


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## VFR (Dec 23, 2009)

Douglas MacArthur said:


> I'm an American going to Spain Jan 2014 to May 2014, staying in Salamanca. Curious about buying a very cheap secondhand car for the duration there. I am an enthusiast of a specific old BMW, and they are fairly easy and cheap to come by in Spain.
> *News to most in Spain !*
> For those who live in Spain/ registered a car in Spain,
> What is the process to going about this as an American citizen?
> ...


Doug the route for you is to rent what you wish to drive here in your case (IMO)


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

Depending on which "old BMW" you are interested in I may be able to help.

I am an active member of the BMW Serie 3 (E21 / E30) Club España.

To be honest if you're looking at 2002 or E3 / E9 models forget it, but E21, E30, E28, E32 are all in failrly plentiful supply.


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## Douglas MacArthur (Mar 21, 2013)

Overandout said:


> Depending on which "old BMW" you are interested in I may be able to help.
> 
> I am an active member of the BMW Serie 3 (E21 / E30) Club España.
> 
> To be honest if you're looking at 2002 or E3 / E9 models forget it, but E21, E30, E28, E32 are all in failrly plentiful supply.


I was talking specifically about the BMW E30! I'm going to Spain for 5 months but I'm an avid E30 enthusiast, and I wouldn't mind venturing into the world of euro bumpers, cloth interiors, and 1.6L DOHC motors :tongue1: . I'd want a 316i, I currently drive a 318is and I love the feel of a 4cyl. But really, I'd get anything within price range. Not to mention, E30's in Europe are much cheaper than those in the US. 

That being said, I don't need to rent a car, in fact, I don't need a car at all in Spain. But it would add onto the experience, and driving this specific BMW on European roads is definitely on my bucket list.


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

Well I can give you lots of information about the E30 in Spain!
But you won't find a DOHC 1.6 engined one, even in Europe. You already have the only DOHC E30 produced by BMW (excluding the M3 of course). 
I'll send you a private message as this info is not really of interest to most...


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

Well, I can't send you a Private Message (seems you need a certain number of posts to receive one as well as send one).

So anyway, here is most of what I would have sent privately:

Firstly I'm sure you are aware that you'll need a NIE in order to put the car in your name, with that out of the way you can start to look for a car.

When you buy one, you will have to make sure that it is not subject to any embargoes, or has outstanding tax unpaid, because you could be become liable for this as the new owner.

Any reputable Gestor will do a check on the vehicle and also inculde a clause in the sale/purchase agreement which would make it a breach by part of the seller to sell it with any liability attached, but being in the right legally in Spain means precious little.

So, if you are feeling confident about buying a car, you need to know that you will have to pay a tax when you register it to yourself. For an E30, this is unlikely to amount to more than a couple of hundred Euros.

I can't tell you anymore, because the actual value is based on officially published values of used vehicles and most variants of the E30 are no longer listed, so they will usually base the tax on a "similar" model. I out my 325i into my name a few years back and it was taxed as if I had bought an E36.

Where to look: I'm sure you've already looked around, but you basically have two choices; buy from an enthusiasts site and pay a bit more for a car that has (probably) been cared for a bit better than average, or buy from a generic second hand source and pay less for what will simply have been someone's "old car". This has its risks because the Spanish aren't reknowned for their mechanical sympathy or understanding of mechanics. I know many colleagues who can't even change a normal non-xenon headlamp bulb.

I would recommend bme30.org as the best place to search, but you could aslo try bmwfaq.com (not E30 specific though). For generic 2nd hand ads look at segundamano, milanunicios and autoscout.

As I mentioned before I am a member of the E21/E30 club of Spain, we don't get many cars coming up for sale through the club but I would imagine that the members would be equally as willing to help you as I would be although I don't recall anyone from Salamanca, but we have over 200 members so there must be someone!

If you want I can mention you to the club president and perhaps put you in touch. He speaks English by the way.

As far as insurance goes, you may struggle being new in the country. Be prepared to take out a Spanish licence, that usually helps. I don't know of any 6 month insurance policies but if you take out a year's policy you may get a refund when you cancel after 6 months, but I doubt it would be half of the initial policy amount.

Vehicle tax (that an owner pays on a regular basis) must be paid by whoever owns the car on 1st Jan of any given year, so if you buy a car in Jan 2014, there will be no tax to pay by you until 2015. If you own it still on 1st Jan 2015 you will have to pay the whole year's tax. Depending on the age of the car you may pay only half or even none of the anual tax due for the type of vehicle. The amounts also vary be municipality so it could be anywhere between 200€ (high estimate) or 0€, which is what I pay on my E30.

I reckon that Salamanca would be a good place to look for an E30, but be prepared to come to Madrid for extra choice. Try to avoid cars that have lived on the coast for a long time, particularly the northern coast as they will be much more likely to suffer the E30's frequent fate of scuttle / inner arch rust.

I can't think of anything else to mention, but if you need any further help please just let me know. As I said, I know many people that would be willing to help you as an E30 enthusiast, it's a pity that I won't be here when you arrive as I will hopefully be E30ing my way around Bankok in a few months form now!


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

Here's a quick piccy of my prefacelift '86 325i in Cosmosblau. Last car in the car park of the 2012 anual club meeting which was held in Asturias.


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## elisa31bcn (Jan 23, 2013)

Just want to mention a few issues that haven't been addressed. Being an American, and 
not a resident as OP is only staying a few months, there are problems as to car ownership.
First of all, getting a Spanish license which is expensive, time-consuming, and requires a
residency permit. So it seems like a catch 22...


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

elisa31bcn said:


> Just want to mention a few issues that haven't been addressed. Being an American, and
> not a resident as OP is only staying a few months, there are problems as to car ownership.
> First of all, getting a Spanish license which is expensive, time-consuming, and requires a
> residency permit. So it seems like a catch 22...



I believe he would be able to drive here for up to 6 months on a US licence - but I think you do have a good point about car purchase & residency

as a non-EU citizen he would only be able to stay for 90 days without some kind of resident visa

now, in some areas it is now not possible to purchase a car & transfer the papers without legal residency, although in some areas it can be done - but the papers would have to be transferred regardless

I think that 'questions would be asked' of someone here on a 90 day Schengen visa wanting to buy a car

of course, if the OP has the resident visa issue covered then there's no problem


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## elisa31bcn (Jan 23, 2013)

To drive here with a US driver's license, he would have to obtain an International Driver's Permit in the States, available at AAA. This only speaks to the driving issue, not buying a car, and registering it....


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