Driving in Spain: Driving license & UK Reg Cars
When I arrived in Spain there four years ago, it was very easy to drive in Spain in my car in the UK.
He meant that I did not have to think about renting a car in Spain and waste money on that if I looked around cars as if I had the time anyway there was a list of things to do with about a million other jobs to make a least was good news.
Of course, I now wish I had focused on that job and forgot most others.
It is an easy trap to fall into one thing that played on my mind was whether I would like to live in Spain and want to settle in Spain.
It might be a negative attitude I should really committing myself here, rather than worry about the issues all the time.
At the very least I would have always given some years surely it was not like I was going to arrive in Spain and turn around.
Another emission excuse is the high price of second-hand cars Spanish Why are used car prices in Spain so high that I still haven t understood why people say it is because there no company car fleets in Spain maybe.
My advice now in retrospect is not even lead to Spain, but to sell your car in the UK and buy a Spanish car once you are here in Spain.
However, if you do not drive, I would definitely recommend importing your car and do reinstated on Spanish license plates as soon as possible Officially, you have 60 days to make the A bonus is that you do not to pay the import duty on the car you need after expiry of that period.
The main reason is stress how many times I was worried when I spotted the police before in their yellow jackets stop random cars I felt like Christopher Walken in Deerhunter, playing Russian roulette.
Another reason is the time that I spent a lot of time surfing the Internet, reading on expat forums reasons to register your car in Spain and why it is a waste of time.
Many people tried to persuade me that the police haven t the time or inclination to stop UK registered cars They tried to persuade me that British cars have been driving here in Spain for years without no road tax and probably uninsured They tried to persuade me that you can get a Spanish ITV, ensure the car in the UK has recorded here and it is legal.
Another key reason to reregister your car in the UK on Spanish license plates is that the police now appears everywhere and often operate roadblocks where they draw on each car and ask for documentation.
I heard stories of purges on cars UK scores our local market cars Sunday in the UK have been impounded A friend was arrested on the highway and its UK registered car impounded, various transgressions were found not so yellow jacket and he was hit with a bill for 3500 if he was released I think his car, he left there the car was worth less than the fine.
A friend who worked in the automotive industry in the UK for over 20 years simply said a car in the UK can come here for a vacation and your insurance generally provides a number of days in Europe, but in the end account if you are resident in Spain a car in the UK is only legal on the roads of the UK and insurance states that.
Another factor is that your car registered in the UK must return to the UK each year for its annual MOT is legal under your insurance policy in Spain, there is a test condition similar march in the MOT which is known as ITV it is not enough for you can not get an MOT in Spain, because it must be done in the UK only.
Get a Spanish ITV or car insurance in Spain on your car in the UK recorded doesn t necessarily mean it is legal on Spanish roads Ok if you have an accident by the insurance company can pay, but as we know with the insurance companies that they can be quick to find reasons not to pay when it comes to the crisis may literally is it worth the risk.
So, finally, for peace of mind if nothing else, I bit the bullet and of course my fears about facing this problem have been greatly exaggerated I spent a Gestiones to me recommended time and again people even told me that they had in the UK registered cars that nobody could get imported because they had something unusual about them and he could get any vehicle through.
It does nothing but Re-cars all day The cost varies depending on the vehicle type and the complexity of the process will be that I had to give him my NIE number that every foreigner must get when they come to Spain he needed my passport and he needed my documentation to say that I had registered on the Padron to the local town hall.
The only thing I had to do my headlights I could have changed more.
A few days later, after I went to see the Gestiones I had to drop the car for a few hours while he took over in Denia for the ITV then waiting a few days for everything to organized I do not know what and don t care honestly.
Then we get the license plate number, can I cancel my current insurance policy and reinsure with the new Spanish details, pay road tax applicable Spanish and far, I should have done earlier cost was higher than in 1000.
Import and re-registering your car in Spain, import, your, Spain.