# Buying a Spanish registered car in the UK before moving to Spain.



## MillyMac (Jun 26, 2013)

We're moving over to Andalucia in September and were planning to use our UK registered car initially (there will be a bit of too-ing and fro-ing between the UK & Spain at first), before buying a Spanish registered car once we've got our NIE and Residencia.

BUT our UK car has just expired - engine went bang - so we're looking at buying a replacement immediately.

From what I've managed to glean so far it would be illegal for us as UK residents to drive a Spanish registered car here in the UK, however, we will only be UK residents for a couple of months until we move to Spain, when we apply for NIE & Residencia.

We're both law abiding citizens but we don't have an endless pot of cash either. 

What to do?


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

I bought a Spanish registered nearly-new LandRover Discovery from a reputable U.K.dealer in such vehicles. I had it delivered to me in Prague where I was then living and drove it there for two months before driving it to Spain. It had belonged to the legendary one careful lady owner who had driven it from Mallorca to the U.K. 
If you decide to buy such a vehicle you MUST make sure the seller supplies you with all the paperwork needed to put it in your name once in Spain. If I remember rightly this comprises p/copies of previous owner's passport, NIE/Residencia document plus a signed Solicitud from the previous owner. You also need to check that there are no outstanding fines on the vehicle which can be done on line, I can't remember the site.
Insurance is no problem albeit expensive. There are reputable companies which will insure any vehicle regardless of plate in any country. I was insured via a broker with Zurich. Expensive but once in Spain you can transfer to a Spanish policy.
Once installed here I used a gestor to transfer the LR into my name. I think it cost 160 euros.
There are those who will tell you that buying a Spanish reg. car in the U.K. is fraught with pitfalls. Yes, it can be if you try to cut corners and do things on the cheap. 
If you are interested in the excellent company I used I'll pm you, let me know.


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## MillyMac (Jun 26, 2013)

Yes please, if you could supply me with details of the company you used I'd be most grateful


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

MillyMac said:


> Yes please, if you could supply me with details of the company you used I'd be most grateful


It's the Left Hand Drive Place, Basingstoke. Lovely people. If you contact them ask for Colin or Maggie, say Mary from Prague recommended you. I'm not Colin or Maggie's mum or aunt or any relative, just a very satisfied customer.

If needed I can give you details of a reputable oinsurance broker who specialises in insurance for UK or other reg. cars outside the U.K. 365 days a year. Expensive though....


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

In my opinion - do NOT buy a Spanish car in Uk without a LOT of research, it's fraught with potential pitfalls.

There have been other threads on this topic - do a quick search on this forum to see what others have said in the past.

The biggest issue is that the car could have massive debts and fines against it which won't become apparent until you get here.


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

Lots of cars leave Spain for sale abroad very quickly when the local delegations of the Hacienda decide to embargo them for unpaid tax.

In theory a check with Trafico should flag this up, but in reality it can take months for the locally imposed embargo to go through the system and appear on Trafico's records.

Of course I am not suggesting that any dealers in the UK would knowingly pass on such a car, but considering I know of cases in Spain where people have bought luxury cars with a clean report from Trafico, only to later find out that a few weeks before purchasing it an embargo had been placed on it, I would be very wary of buying a used car even within Spain leat alone from abroad.

I'm not scaremongering, just saying what could happen.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

snikpoh said:


> In my opinion - do NOT buy a Spanish car in Uk without a LOT of research, it's fraught with potential pitfalls.
> 
> There have been other threads on this topic - do a quick search on this forum to see what others have said in the past.
> 
> The biggest issue is that the car could have massive debts and fines against it which won't become apparent until you get here.


Which is why I said you must check.
If you buy from a reputable dealer there will be no problem.
I would not buy from anywhere else.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Overandout said:


> Lots of cars leave Spain for sale abroad very quickly when the local delegations of the Hacienda decide to embargo them for unpaid tax.
> 
> In theory a check with Trafico should flag this up, but in reality it can take months for the locally imposed embargo to go through the system and appear on Trafico's records.
> 
> ...


There is a website you can use to check, can't remember the name. Someone here will know.
The problem is there whether you buy in Spain or the UK.
I have had no problems with my UK bought Spanish Landrover but it was fairly new.


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## Nugget_Hound (Jun 13, 2013)

How can it possibly be illegal to drive a Spain regd car over here?? The amount of Polish and Lithuanians that drive there car round here , I'd bet my life savings that most of them dont bother re-registering.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Nugget_Hound said:


> How can it possibly be illegal to drive a Spain regd car over here?? The amount of Polish and Lithuanians that drive there car round here , I'd bet my life savings that most of them dont bother re-registering.


Probably because it is illegal for a Spanish resident to drive around in any foreign (not just UK) registered vehicle.

In UK the foreign registered vehicle is not contributing by means of VEL nor is it subject to the MoT nor is the validity of the insurance checked


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## malagaman2005 (Apr 23, 2008)

Used this site a couple of times and got the results back with the hour on both occasions. A worthwhile investment of 14.35€
14.35€ Informe de matrcula de vehculo online - DGT | Historial | Embargos | Antecedentes


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

malagaman2005 said:


> Used this site a couple of times and got the results back with the hour on both occasions. A worthwhile investment of 14.35€
> 14.35€ Informe de matrcula de vehculo online - DGT | Historial | Embargos | Antecedentes


Thanks for that. I need to check I haven't any multas I'm as yet unaware of.

There's another site where you can do that for free, I used it but didn't bookmark it. Do you know what it is?


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## malagaman2005 (Apr 23, 2008)

You won't get the detailed information from a free site only fines and traffic infringements. The site I have given the link to will give details of owner, dates of change of ownership, last ITV/when next due, if road tax is outstanding, finance/debts against the vehicle, serious damage in the past etc.etc, the same info as on an HPI check in UK. As I said well worth the 14€ investment.


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## Dantis (Nov 29, 2009)

There is absolutely no problem buying a Spanish registered vehicle in the UK and bringing it over, I have done it myself.

The main problem due to embargos etc is easily remedied by having the vehicle checked out first, all you will need is the reg number, then go online and visit a company called vicspain, they will check the car out fully, including outstanding fines, unpaid road tax etc, they charge 30 Euros, they e-mailed my report within 24 hours.

When you buy the car in the UK make sure you have all the car's documentation plus a photocopy of the seller's NIE and Passport. 

I rang Linea Directa and insured the car over the phone there and then for around 390 Euros including breakdown cover.

When you arrive in Spain take all your paperwork plus your passport, NIE and proof of residence to your local Gestor and get the vehicle changed into your name. Mine cost around 350 Euros including the transfer tax etc.

That's it. Very straight forward really, well for Spain anyway!


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Buying a Spanish registered vehicle in UK to bring to Spain? - It's a long way to go for after-sales service!


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## HandyAndy (Jul 23, 2014)

Hi guys I wonder if someone can help here. I bought a LHD Spanish car from a so called " specialist" LHD dealer in Chesham who basically sold the car nad has not been at all helpful afterwards

If I can explain what we have and hopefully someone can explain if we need more docs etc.

Spanish address and residence docs for us are 100% fine

for the car
an invoice from the garage who sold us the car in Oct 2013
a copy of the sellers passport
a spanish document .... JUSTIFICANTE PROFESIONAL from a Gestor dated 2011
A kind of V5/mot doc looks like it expired August 2013 ( the mot )

and thats it

I read others mentioning a NIE from the old owner ?

We have sought advice from a spanish lawyer but not sure if they have much experience and wanted a purchase invoice from the garage buying the car. When they ignored several emails when I finally got the guy on the phone he claimed he could not help due to data protection issues and he sold " hundreds" of cars like this and never had a problem. We HE would not have the problems !!!

Thanks Andy


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

I would say that you need proof that the vehicle has a current ITV (MOT) and that it has been taxed regularly (annually) and proof that this years tax has been paid.

If you don't have proof of the tax being paid, you may have to pay several years' worth and maybe a fine.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

This is what I needed to transfer my Spanish LHD car bought from a reputable and helpful UK dealer:

apart from my personal docs, the following:

copy of previous owner's NIE and passport
all technical docs relating to the vehicle
current ITV
signed Solicitud from previous owner agreeing to the sale.

I got the Solicitud form from my Gestor who sent it to the company from which I bought the vehicle who sent it to the former owner then back to me...that took about two weeks.

The process was very simple. But I've said before when discussing this topic that it's essential to deal with a reputable company who will ensure you have everything you need to complete your transfer of ownership once in Spain.

Have you checked that there are no fines outstanding on this vehicle?


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

baldilocks said:


> Buying a Spanish registered vehicle in UK to bring to Spain? - It's a long way to go for after-sales service!


Baldy, my used LHD car on Spanish plates from the UK was serviced and inspected thoroughly before I took it over. It wasn't new so what kind of warranty could I have expected? The enormous difference in price between what I paid in the UK and what I would have paid in Spain for that make of vehicle more than made up for any repairs I might have needed but as it turned out the only repair I needed after four years of frequently off-road driving was a new fuel injector. The fact that I forgot to have the car serviced in those four years might have had something to do with that!

The after-sales service you get is as good as the garage you did the deal with. Like the service book, which can also be a work of pure fiction.
These aren't magic charms against bad practice.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

mrypg9 said:


> Baldy, my used LHD car on Spanish plates from the UK was serviced and inspected thoroughly before I took it over. It wasn't new so what kind of warranty could I have expected? The enormous difference in price between what I paid in the UK and what I would have paid in Spain for that make of vehicle more than made up for any repairs I might have needed but as it turned out the only repair I needed after four years of frequently off-road driving was a new fuel injector. The fact that I forgot to have the car serviced in those four years might have had something to do with that!
> 
> The after-sales service you get is as good as the garage you did the deal with. Like the service book, which can also be a work of pure fiction.
> These aren't magic charms against bad practice.


Most reputable s/h dealers will give a period of warranty (subject to their whims) to cover anything that might not have been obvious at the time of purchase or arise during some [usually short] period after. The Berlingo we bought here when we first arrived came with a 9 month's warranty which we used to have the power steering pump and a piece of tubing the runs across the front of the vehicle (it had been damaged probably by a large stone/rock) replaced. The Partner we bought to replace the Berlingo after four years came with a year's warranty which, since we bought from a main dealer, will be honoured by any other Citroën/Peugeot dealer in Europe.


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