# Driving on a leased car onthe Canaries



## Johnfromoz (Oct 20, 2010)

There are a number of threads about bringing cars to Spain but I couldn't find one that deals with the question about driving around on a car which is leased from another EU state.

Since I moved permanently to the Canaries and want to stay here, I also find that it is impossible to get around without a car. So, I thought about bringing one of my cars over here. But the slight problem is that it is a leased car and the owner is the leasing company which means that I cannot get it registered in Spain.

So, how long can I drive this car on the Canaries? Spain itself is no problem but Canaries are small and cops get to know you pretty well. I've read that a person can drive their own foreign car for upto 6 months and then it has to leave the country. What about a leased car? Any ideas?


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

Johnfromoz said:


> There are a number of threads about bringing cars to Spain but I couldn't find one that deals with the question about driving around on a car which is leased from another EU state.
> 
> Since I moved permanently to the Canaries and want to stay here, I also find that it is impossible to get around without a car. So, I thought about bringing one of my cars over here. But the slight problem is that it is a leased car and the owner is the leasing company which means that I cannot get it registered in Spain.
> 
> So, how long can I drive this car on the Canaries? Spain itself is no problem but Canaries are small and cops get to know you pretty well. I've read that a person can drive their own foreign car for upto 6 months and then it has to leave the country. What about a leased car? Any ideas?


It depends if you are a Spanish resident or not. If you are a Spanish resident then technically you cant drive a foreign registered car as you are supposed to matriculate it. The 6 month rule is generally more for non residents.

You may find a problem with insurance, I dont know. If the lease company are happy for you to remove it from its country of origin, many of the insurance companies will only allow you to drive abroad for 90 days


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## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

Whilst Stravinskys right there is a loophole in that Spanish nationals & foreigners with residence are allowed to drive foreign registered vehicles that they do not own. Assuming that the lease company would allow it , & assuming that a leased vehicle qualified as 'not owned by you', it might be possible but the police might not like it & you could end up involved in a protracted legal battle. Personally I would be surprised if the lease company entertained the idea as they would have problems recovering the vehicle if you stopped paying the lease & you might find that there's a clause in the agreement to cover this.


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## Johnfromoz (Oct 20, 2010)

Setting aside the possible issues with a leasing company, would it be ok if the car was in a foreign company's name or say, my aunt's name? In both cases I wouldn't be the owner.


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

My experience of leased cars was that they were limited to the country you lived in. Certainly the lease agreement would have to be changed. The lease company will be ensuring their interests are covered, and taking it out of the country would be a big risk for them.

It's only my opinion, but I think it's too risky. It is of course a small chance it gets pulled by the Guardia, but imagine the consequences if it does, especially for your aunty! 

Why not buy a cheapish run around here


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## Johnfromoz (Oct 20, 2010)

Stravinsky said:


> Why not buy a cheapish run around here


From what I've heard, foreigners are not allowed to drive local cars unless they get a local licence. And I really don't want to go through all the exams to change my Aussie licence to a Spanish one. And the biggest problem would be that I won't be able to drive on a Spanish licence in Australia since the Aussie police system has it that I have an Australian licence and therefore should be driving there on that one. 

BTW, I don't intend to stay in Spain for more than 6 months at a time anyway, so I am not trying to find a way to cheat the system, just trying to find an optimal way to avoid hassles.


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