# bringing my car to Spain from the US



## footloose5678

Hi, I am looking for info on bringing my car to spain,,,I can ship for $1500 and as far as I have found out I only need to change the back lights to amber,,,,I know I can drive for 6mths then will have to get a Spanish license,,,as I have a US one,,and register my car In Spain ,,,,has anyone done this that can give some info Thanks Jacqui.:


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## NickZ

Have you seen the price of gasoline?

I'm curious what car you're bringing but I'd think about things like how much it'll cost to fill the tank.


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## footloose5678

*are you shipping your car?*




papaco95 said:


> Hi I want to thank you for your up to date notes and Spain food/ groceries prices. My husband and I are moving to Rota although my husband is from Spain we are retiring there this dec. What do you think? Bad move or a hassle? Boy I miss the exchange being in our favor hahha. But its all good. Grateful


 Hi, since you have been there ,,and I am from the States moving Feb,,I was looking to ship my car bought and paid for ,,,$1500 to ship, just want to find out If after I can drive for the six months, I wil have to get a Spanish license,,,just wonder If you have any Info,,,I have a military ID,,so will have medical....sorry but I am trying to get info on this I just jumped In to ask , Thanks Jacqui.


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## papaco95

*Drivers Lic..*



footloose5678 said:


> Hi, since you have been there ,,and I am from the States moving Feb,,I was looking to ship my car bought and paid for ,,,$1500 to ship, just want to find out If after I can drive for the six months, I wil have to get a Spanish license,,,just wonder If you have any Info,,,I have a military ID,,so will have medical....sorry but I am trying to get info on this I just jumped In to ask , Thanks Jacqui.


Hi Footloose, ok if your moving to (Rota) that's where our Naval Base is and you have Military ID there they can help you receive a Spanish Lic...in some states in Spain they are saying they will pass a new law that if you have a Lic..from other countries you just have to take an exam only ( in Engilsh of course) if needed..and then you get there Lic. Before it was a big ordeal...and costly. But that's if you are going to live in Spain if your in the country for work visa etc..then you can still use your American Lic. Til you leave and just show your credentials that your working/ studing etc.. If I found out more info I will let you know. Good luck and Spain is a beautiful country and the people are amazing! Lots of luck


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## greth32

*Canada*

Hi,
We are looking to bring a car into Spain from Canada. Which companie are you using to ship? I have trouble finding one that ships from there. $1500 sounds really cheap and maybe they ship from Canada too!


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## jojo

If you're going to be a resident in Spain, you must register and matriculate the car within 30 days I believe. I dont know what import tax you'd have to pay on top of that, usually around 10% of the cars value, but regardless of the actual shipping costs, that will all cost money. Thats why few bother, unless its a "cherished" car

Jo xxx


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## baldilocks

jojo said:


> If you're going to be a resident in Spain, you must register and matriculate the car within 30 days I believe. I dont know what import tax you'd have to pay on top of that, usually around 10% of the cars value, but regardless of the actual shipping costs, that will all cost money. Thats why few bother, unless its a "cherished" car
> 
> Jo xxx


Quite!
Why bother? - we do have cars here and they are smaller because, on this side of the pond, we haven't yet covered our land with concrete so roads and nsrroer and corners are tighter. In addition fuel costs here are higher at roughly €1.50 per litre.


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## Brangus

Consider if the Spanish authorities find your car unacceptable for some reason. What would you do with it? Ship it back to the U.S.?

Over the years, my husband and I have imported cars into three countries, the last one being Spain, and it was far and away the worst experience.

We weren't even bringing the car directly from the U.S. It had already been registered for years in the EU, but the process of changing it to Spanish plates was really painful.



footloose5678 said:


> Hi, I am looking for info on bringing my car to spain,,,I can ship for $1500 and as far as I have found out I only need to change the back lights to amber,,,,I know I can drive for 6mths then will have to get a Spanish license,,,as I have a US one,,and register my car In Spain ,,,,has anyone done this that can give some info Thanks Jacqui.:


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## footloose5678

Hi Thanks for the advice,,,I just thought the car Is paid for, I will for sure loose a lot when I sell.....but I do get what you are saying ,,,I think my big thing Is I have to wait untill I get registered and a long lease before I can buy a car,and my plan was to use the first few months to drive around from place to place looking for the right place to settle,,,,,Is there any way I can purchase a car without the long wait????? thanks for your help.,,,jacqui.


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## footloose5678

Hi ,I found the car shipping CO. on line they ship from Miami Jacksonville. South Carolina, as I live In florida I will look up the name and post It , and that was the price for the car being crated there also Is a roll on roll of as they call It ,,and I am pretty sure with the crated way you can actually put stuff with the car,,,,,It Is a jaguar and I will sell I visited Italy this year and we rented a huge SUV.. and parking was hell. so I will take your advice,,,,I just hate the thought that I have to be totally settled,,I do plan to be a resident asap,,so can I register before I have a long lease ,?as I have a place for a month In Gaurdmar then a month In Javea,as I want to be as sure as possible where I want to live for long term,, I am not lazy just want to get from place to place,,,,as buses don't go every where,,I guess rent a car Is the only thing to do and ofcourse I only drive automatic which Is more difficult and more expensive to rent,,,Thanks for any Info you can share,,jacqui.


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## spanish_lad

personally.. i´d use the 1500$ and the amount you get for selling the car to buy a car outright over here. 

you can get a decent car for 2000€ (4000$ +/-)


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## Tony2017

*About moving to Spain*

Moving to Spain after been retired in the US is a very smart decission, I go there every year to visit my daughter and I certainly can tell living cost is way lower than the US depending where in Spain you move. Don't choose big cities like Madrid or Barcelona where life is more expensive but to give you an idea, anyone can live confortable with just 1500 euros and been able to pay all his bills, so if your retirement pension is over two grand, you will be having a very good life there.
Foods and cloth are very cheap, electrical bills as well, best of all government provide free medical services and as well as medications which are extremenly low compared to the US. 
Only thing that is expensive is the gas which is four dollars a gallon and little less the diesel.
Shiping your car to use it there is not a good idea, shiping costs in the US not a big deal, most of the companies will charge you less than 1500 bucks but then you will have a problem with the high cost of legalizing it in Spain and it takes sometime, best deal is to sell your car here in the US and then buy one there which by the way less expensive than in the US market.

Tony in Florida


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## xabiaxica

Tony2017 said:


> Moving to Spain after been retired in the US is a very smart decission, I go there every year to visit my daughter and I certainly can tell living cost is way lower than the US depending where in Spain you move. Don't choose big cities like Madrid or Barcelona where life is more expensive but to give you an idea, anyone can live confortable with just 1500 euros and been able to pay all his bills, so if your retirement pension is over two grand, you will be having a very good life there.
> Foods and cloth are very cheap, electrical bills as well, best of all government provide free medical services and as well as medications which are extremenly low compared to the US.
> Only thing that is expensive is the gas which is four dollars a gallon and little less the diesel.
> Shiping your car to use it there is not a good idea, shiping costs in the US not a big deal, most of the companies will charge you less than 1500 bucks but then you will have a problem with the high cost of legalizing it in Spain and it takes sometime, best deal is to sell your car here in the US and then buy one there which by the way less expensive than in the US market.
> 
> Tony in Florida


:welcome:

I'd pretty much agree with all you say, except that there's no free medical care for non-EU retirees moving to Spain.


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## Tony2017

Yes, there is free Medical Services in Spain IF you become a legal resident which is easy to have once you can probe to the government you are not going to be public load to them, I mean showing your retirement income plus any bank account deposits, I have friends retired there from the US receiving medical benefits but guess what, for less than hundred dollars a month you can have a full coverage medical insurance for you, where in the US will you have that? Hahaha nowhere.


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## xabiaxica

Tony2017 said:


> Yes, there is free Medical Services in Spain IF you become a legal resident which is easy to have once you can probe to the government you are not going to be public load to them, I mean showing your retirement income plus any bank account deposits, I have friends retired there from the US receiving medical benefits but guess what, for less than hundred dollars a month you can have a full coverage medical insurance for you, where in the US will you have that? Hahaha nowhere.


It depends how long they have lived here.

Anyone coming now will not get free healthcare - and anyone coming from outside the EU will have to have private health insurance in order to get the visa in the first place - & their residencia is reliant upon them not being a burden on the state.

If they are using the healthcare system without paying in - they would be a burden on the state & lose their resident status.


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## Tony2017

My daughter who's been living there for seven years now, got a private insurance to get the residence, three years later she became citizen and then cancelled the insurance because government covers her been a legal citizen. 
In general life there is better than here in the state where medical services are poor and very expensive.


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## Tony2017

In regards to transport a car to Spain, it's a very bad idea, like it was said here, better sale it and save the moving costs to purchase a brand new car for ten grand or less.


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## xabiaxica

Tony2017 said:


> My daughter who's been living there for seven years now, got a private insurance to get the residence, three years later she became citizen and then cancelled the insurance because government covers her been a legal citizen.
> In general life there is better than here in the state where medical services are poor and very expensive.


Do you mean she now has a Spanish passport? If so, then yes, she would be entitled to healthcare. However, most people have to be resident for 10 years before they can apply for Spanish nationality.

If as I suspect you mean 'resident' then since she was resident before April 2012 she would be entitled to healthcare. 

As I said earlier though, anyone moving here now, would not be


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