# Buying a second hand car



## Gipsy (Nov 20, 2017)

Have the intention to buy a car quite soon when I arrive in Andalucia,
and not waste too much money on rental.

But know very little about the technical or mechanical aspects of a vehicule.
And nothing about the administration side of this.

Garage or particular?
Legal or Paperwork needed?
Other?

What is the best way to buy a car so when it is mine I am not worrying about more repairs, or not being legal ?

Would appreciate any info.
(Not sure about the rules of forum, but if any one as a place or person to recommend, that would really help)

Thanks


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## Gipsy (Nov 20, 2017)

I meant "Buying a second Hand car

How to edit a post??


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

You have about 15 minutes to edit a post, so I've done it for you.

Established members are welcome to make recommendations, when they are asked for, as long as they don't recommend themselves!


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

The first question (to ask yourself) is: how much are you going to spend and can you afford to lose it?)

For example, a 2000€ car from a private seller would probably go for around 3000€ at a dealer. Personally, at that price I would buy private and risk it. But if was going to spend 10k and knew nothing about cars, I would pay the extra, maybe 2000€ for the peace of mind from a dealer.

As a general rule in Spain, any car with the paperwork in order and runs is worth 1000€.

Because of the formalities required in Spain it is normal for people to use a gestor. You can do it on your own, but it is hassle.

Find a good gestor, tell them that you want to buy a car and that you will want to do a check on the vehicle with a report from Tráfico (DVLA equivalent). Get this report BEFORE you agree to buy, part with any cash or sign anything. The gestor will tell you if it is clean.

Then insist to the seller that you both go to YOUR gestor together to complete the purchase. Do NOT go to a gestor chosen by the seller, the more they insist on using theirs, the more suspicious you should be.

By law, any car sold (private or dealer) is protected against hidden defects for 6 months. This is not a guarantee, but it does give you legal protection if you really do get stitched up on the mechanical front.

I think I have covered most issues, ask if unsure!


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

Good advice from Overandout. We have two friends here who bought second hand cars privately and both have been riddled with problems. My advice is pay the extra and use a dealer.


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

Sadly, the idea of preventative maintenance is different here in Spain.

But even in professional service establishments. I recently went to buy the parts needed to check and adjust my valve clearances from the Suzuki dealership, and they asked "why are you going to do that?" I told them that the bike was now at the 50,000 kms mark, when Suzuki recommend the check and adjustment.... their response was " if it isn't giving you problems, we would leave it alone...."

I checked them, and out of 16 valves, 13 were out of spec....


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## Gipsy (Nov 20, 2017)

xabiachica said:


> You have about 15 minutes to edit a post, so I've done it for you.
> 
> Established members are welcome to make recommendations, when they are asked for, as long as they don't recommend themselves!


Thank you for clarifying Xabiachica!

Looked for the edit button, couldn't find it.. is it because i am using a smartphone or a tablet?


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## Gipsy (Nov 20, 2017)

Overandout said:


> The first question (to ask yourself) is: how much are you going to spend and can you afford to lose it?)
> 
> For example, a 2000€ car from a private seller would probably go for around 3000€ at a dealer. Personally, at that price I would buy private and risk it. But if was going to spend 10k and knew nothing about cars, I would pay the extra, maybe 2000€ for the peace of mind from a dealer.
> 
> ...



This helps Overandout, thank you for taking the time.

Does a report from Trafico garanties that the vehicle is in good mechanical order as well as verify that the seller is the real owner of the car?

Could you give me an idea how much a gestor charges for doing this job generally?

Cheers


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## Gipsy (Nov 20, 2017)

thrax said:


> Good advice from Overandout. We have two friends here who bought second hand cars privately and both have been riddled with problems. My advice is pay the extra and use a dealer.


Thanks Thrax, might do that for peace of mind


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

Gipsy said:


> This helps Overandout, thank you for taking the time.
> 
> Does a report from Trafico garanties that the vehicle is in good mechanical order as well as verify that the seller is the real owner of the car?
> 
> ...


No, the trafico report will only tell you if the car has a current ITV (MOT) and that gives no gurantee of mechanical condition except perhaps that the suspension and brakes had a minimum of functionality at the date of the last test and the lights, wipers and horn worked. And that is assuming that the owner doesn't have a "friend" in the ITV station.

What it will tell you is the name of the owner, the status in trafico (i.e. does it have a "permit to circulate", if it is up to date with road tax, if it has been marked as scrapped, exported etc.) and if there are any embargoes on it.

This last point about the embargoes has, in recent times, proved to be a bit hit and miss too because in times of crisis, when people and businesses were going bust all over the place, Hacienda couldn't keep up with the rate of embargoes and were taking months to inform trafico, so it did happen that people bought cars with a clean report, only to find later that an emargo from the previous owner was on it, but trafico didn't know. But I think this situation has calmed down now.

The trafico report (including gestor's charges) should not cost more than 20€. The gestor's charges for the transfer paperwork would be a bit more, maybe 50€ but I have paid as low as 30€. Your biggest cost, apart from the price you pay to the seller, will be the transfer tax, but unless you give us an idea of the vehicle you are looking at I van't guess at how much that would be.


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

By the way, you can get a trafico report online very quickly from agencies with the correct permissions. They cost a bit more, but some do a same day service, which I couldn't get from any gestor.

If you want I can look up the last one I got and tell you the website, just let me know.


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

Gipsy said:


> Thank you for clarifying Xabiachica!
> 
> Looked for the edit button, couldn't find it.. is it because i am using a smartphone or a tablet?


If you are using a tablet with any decent size of screen, I would turn off the mobile view. I use a 10 inch tablet with a keyborad and its the same as on a PC. 
It has to be said that mobile view for this site is quite painful....


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## Gipsy (Nov 20, 2017)

Overandout said:


> By the way, you can get a trafico report online very quickly from agencies with the correct permissions. They cost a bit more, but some do a same day service, which I couldn't get from any gestor.
> 
> If you want I can look up the last one I got and tell you the website, just let me know.


Yes please...


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## Gipsy (Nov 20, 2017)

Overandout said:


> No, the trafico report will only tell you if the car has a current ITV (MOT) and that gives no gurantee of mechanical condition except perhaps that the suspension and brakes had a minimum of functionality at the date of the last test and the lights, wipers and horn worked. And that is assuming that the owner doesn't have a "friend" in the ITV station.
> 
> What it will tell you is the name of the owner, the status in trafico (i.e. does it have a "permit to circulate", if it is up to date with road tax, if it has been marked as scrapped, exported etc.) and if there are any embargoes on it.
> 
> ...


Ok. Thank you very much Overandout, it clarifies... thinking my way forward

Could you please tell me if there is a website listing Gestors in Andalucia... or if it is something word of mouth ... even if i could get the name of a 'good' one on this Forum?

Also

Does it make a difference buying a car as a 'tourist' (I remember you told me on another post the first 6 months living in Spain before needing to switch to Spanish license) or as a resident?

What papers or documents would I need myself?


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## angkag (Oct 29, 2013)

I got a second hand car through Das WeltAuto, which I think is some sort of official VW network to offload second hand VWs. Probably more expensive, don't know, but they had a bunch of cars all around a year old (I'm guessing fleet cars) and came with all the usual VW guarantees etc, and service from the garage over the last 3 years has been as good as one could hope for.

My buddy went for a private purchase (Range Rover) and has been in a world of pain ever since.

Clocking of cars in Spain is apparently still quite common, and the dealers (Das Welt at least) check to make sure their cars aren't clocked. I got it through Bahiamovil in Los Barrios. Not saying they are better than any other dealer given my random sample of 1 dealership, but been happy with them - the initial sale process was good too, pretty laid back, helpful on the paperwork side and not pressurised.


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## Gipsy (Nov 20, 2017)

angkag said:


> I got a second hand car through Das WeltAuto, which I think is some sort of official VW network to offload second hand VWs. Probably more expensive, don't know, but they had a bunch of cars all around a year old (I'm guessing fleet cars) and came with all the usual VW guarantees etc, and service from the garage over the last 3 years has been as good as one could hope for.
> 
> My buddy went for a private purchase (Range Rover) and has been in a world of pain ever since.
> 
> Clocking of cars in Spain is apparently still quite common, and the dealers (Das Welt at least) check to make sure their cars aren't clocked. I got it through Bahiamovil in Los Barrios. Not saying they are better than any other dealer given my random sample of 1 dealership, but been happy with them - the initial sale process was good too, pretty laid back, helpful on the paperwork side and not pressurised.


Thanks for useful info Angkag. By now my mind is made up not to buy private.
So.. I am assuming you didn't use a gestor in your case... ?


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

Gipsy said:


> Also
> 
> Does it make a difference buying a car as a 'tourist' (I remember you told me on another post the first 6 months living in Spain before needing to switch to Spanish license) or as a resident?
> 
> What papers or documents would I need myself?


You need to sign on the list of foreigners and get your 'residency certificate/card' within 90 days of deciding to reside here. 6 months and then you are considered a tax resident - quite different.

Once a resident (green card), you have just 30 days to re-register a vehicle.

An EU citizen can keep their d/l if it meets the necessary criteria - most UK d/l do meet these criteria so do NOT need changing.


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## angkag (Oct 29, 2013)

Gipsy said:


> Thanks for useful info Angkag. By now my mind is made up not to buy private.
> So.. I am assuming you didn't use a gestor in your case... ?


No, didn't need a gestor. The dealership was part of the VW network and handled all the paperwork for me. Customer service seemed pretty important to them and they covered everything in an informative and professional way. Pretty fast too.


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

Gipsy said:


> Yes please...


Sorry, I have only just seen this today...

My report was from a company called Inforautos. They were very quick.

But if you have decided to go through a trader, I would not do this unless you are particularly suspicious because you should get a decent contract of sale which would protect you beyond what any private seller would agree to.


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

angkag said:


> No, didn't need a gestor. The dealership was part of the VW network and handled all the paperwork for me. Customer service seemed pretty important to them and they covered everything in an informative and professional way. Pretty fast too.


Through an offical dealer I would agree generally that there is no need for a private gestor. But if going through a "back street" trader, I would be tempted to try to use my own. The traders do sometimes inflate the cost of transfers quite a bit beyond what you can pay by going alone. It might not be that easy to persuade the dealer to go along to your gestor instead of his though!


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## Gipsy (Nov 20, 2017)

angkag said:


> No, didn't need a gestor. The dealership was part of the VW network and handled all the paperwork for me. Customer service seemed pretty important to them and they covered everything in an informative and professional way. Pretty fast too.


Thanks a lot Angkag. Had a look online. Good to have a reference.


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## Gipsy (Nov 20, 2017)

snikpoh said:


> You need to sign on the list of foreigners and get your 'residency certificate/card' within 90 days of deciding to reside here. 6 months and then you are considered a tax resident - quite different.
> 
> Once a resident (green card), you have just 30 days to re-register a vehicle.
> 
> An EU citizen can keep their d/l if it meets the necessary criteria - most UK d/l do meet these criteria so do NOT need changing.


Very useful info, keeping it preciously. Thanks Snikpoh


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## Gipsy (Nov 20, 2017)

Overandout said:


> Sorry, I have only just seen this today...
> 
> My report was from a company called Inforautos. They were very quick.
> 
> But if you have decided to go through a trader, I would not do this unless you are particularly suspicious because you should get a decent contract of sale which would protect you beyond what any private seller would agree to.


99% certain I will go to a trader... 
(one I feel good to buy from, not a suspicous one )


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

If you want to do the transfer cheaply but don't want to do it yourself, try here. You can get a quote first to see what it will cost.


Vehicle Transfer Costs


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## Gipsy (Nov 20, 2017)

snikpoh said:


> If you want to do the transfer cheaply but don't want to do it yourself, try here. You can get a quote first to see what it will cost.
> 
> 
> Vehicle Transfer Costs


Thank you so much snikpoh


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