British Registered Car in Spain

Information and questions about driving in Andalucia, buying or importing cars and motorbikes plus legal issues surrounding taxes and licenses.
User avatar
Mowser
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 6388
Joined: Thu Sep 27, 2007 10:42 am
Location: Torre del Mar

Re: British Registered Car in Spain

Postby Mowser » Fri Jun 03, 2011 7:21 pm

I have a personal number plate. My real name is 7085 CTY.
Dave

Bowler
Resident
Posts: 295
Joined: Sat Nov 27, 2010 1:53 pm

Re: British Registered Car in Spain

Postby Bowler » Sun Jun 05, 2011 5:50 pm

As a matter of interest, the late Max Bygraves owned the number MB1 which he had on his Rolls for many years and I know for a fact that he was offered more than one million quid for the plate by Mercedes Benz but he refused !!

User avatar
Campo Steve
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 3809
Joined: Fri May 01, 2009 5:08 pm
Location: Benamargosa & Comares Campo

Re: British Registered Car in Spain

Postby Campo Steve » Tue Jun 07, 2011 7:46 am

Friends of ours in UK had a personalised registration. Only reason they had it was because you couldn't tell the age of the car. They reckon it saved them a fortune as it meant they didn't have to change cars every two years!!!

Vain or what?

As to the value of a number plate, like anything, you only know the value of anything when you actually sell it. Until then it is only an asking price.
I've got an inferiority complex, but it's not a very good one!

julian
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 5976
Joined: Fri Jul 02, 2004 8:38 pm
Location: marbella

Re: British Registered Car in Spain

Postby julian » Tue Jun 07, 2011 7:51 am

people having to buy a new car every 2 years so the neighbours know they don´t have an older car.....where did it all go so wrong?...it´s time to stop the world and start all over again, maybe the next inhabitants will have more sense than the present ones !!!

AndaluzCampo
Andalucia.com Amigo
Posts: 139
Joined: Thu Oct 09, 2008 5:50 pm

Re: British Registered Car in Spain

Postby AndaluzCampo » Sat Jun 18, 2011 4:36 pm

Presumably as a holiday home owner, you can legitimately keep a left-hand-drive car (with a UK registration number - not personalised) here in Spain.
Keep it off road at your house in the campo and drive it each time you pop over for a couple of weeks visit.
Friends of ours say this is exactly what a British couple do with their 4-year old car.
Don't know about tax and insurance, but it certainly has displays an up-to-date spanish ITV sticker.

User avatar
peteroldracer
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 7774
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 5:56 pm
Location: Los Alcázares, Murcia

Re: British Registered Car in Spain

Postby peteroldracer » Sat Jun 18, 2011 5:29 pm

You presume wrongly - the ITV sticker has no meaning for a non-Spanish-registered car. The only legitimate ITV test is as part of the technical approval when changing the plates to Spanish.
A British-registered car must be fully road-legal in its country of registration - and an ITV sticker is as much use as a BBC one - it may show your channel of choice but has nothing to do with the approved test.
Why on earth do people risk the increasingly likely impounding of their car?
I used to cough to disguise a [email protected] I f@rt to disguise a cough.

User avatar
Enrique
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 9488
Joined: Tue Mar 24, 2009 9:47 am
Location: Mytchett/Alcala La Real

Re: British Registered Car in Spain

Postby Enrique » Sat Jun 18, 2011 5:35 pm

Hi,

"Presumably as a holiday home owner, you can legitimately keep a left-hand-drive car (with a UK registration number - not personalised) here in Spain."

Where did you get that info from :?:

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/Bu ... DG_4022582

If UK registered car then it must be Legal in the country of registration, UK.
It can be used up to 6 months in EU, with EU insurance cover.......most only do 90days.
If its out of the country more than 12 months then it has to be Exported.
All my best learning experiences start with a problem I need to solve.

User avatar
Campo Steve
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 3809
Joined: Fri May 01, 2009 5:08 pm
Location: Benamargosa & Comares Campo

Re: British Registered Car in Spain

Postby Campo Steve » Sat Jun 18, 2011 7:24 pm

AndaluzCampo wrote:Friends of ours say this is exactly what a British couple do with their 4-year old car.
What your friends do is illegal, as pointed out by Enrique and Peter. They won't be paying road tax in Spain if it isn't registered here and, without an MOT in the UK, they won't be able to tax it in UK.

Unfortunately there are a lot of people that keep their UK cars here, either out of ignorance or because they are delibertely fiddling the system.

Just because someone else does it doesn't mean it is legal. They will get caught eventually.
I've got an inferiority complex, but it's not a very good one!

User avatar
gerryh
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 8046
Joined: Sat Jan 12, 2008 6:17 pm
Location: Cajiz, Malaga

Re: British Registered Car in Spain

Postby gerryh » Sat Jun 18, 2011 7:50 pm

I know 3 people who have UK reg cars here in Spain. They live full time in Spain. They see nothing wrong in what they are doing.
Even have MOTs obtained here in Spain.
Yes I do mean MOTs and not ITVs. Obviously total forgeries. :thumbdown: :thumbdown:
Cheers
Gerry
Gerry Harris

julian
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 5976
Joined: Fri Jul 02, 2004 8:38 pm
Location: marbella

Re: British Registered Car in Spain

Postby julian » Sat Jun 18, 2011 8:00 pm

they probably built houses in the campo with no licence as well, they´ll moan about spain when their uk car gets confiscated and they´ll moan when their house is threatened with demolition, but neither will be their fault...bl**dy spanish !!

User avatar
gerryh
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 8046
Joined: Sat Jan 12, 2008 6:17 pm
Location: Cajiz, Malaga

Re: British Registered Car in Spain

Postby gerryh » Sat Jun 18, 2011 8:31 pm

Surprisingly they all have legally, licensed built houses.
They just don't see the need to get their cars onto Spanish plates.
Cheers
Gerry
Gerry Harris

User avatar
peteroldracer
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 7774
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 5:56 pm
Location: Los Alcázares, Murcia

Re: British Registered Car in Spain

Postby peteroldracer » Sat Jun 18, 2011 10:18 pm

gerry - I sincerely hope that you do not either shrug your shoulders when they no doubt boast about their fraud, or even worse, let them think that it is OK. Try asking them what they would think if an uninsured driver of an illegal car knocked down a member of their family....
There really ought to be an easy way to denounce them.
I used to cough to disguise a [email protected] I f@rt to disguise a cough.

Len S
Andalucia.com Amigo
Posts: 198
Joined: Tue Aug 10, 2004 7:02 pm
Location: Wirral, Merseyside and Alcaucin, Spain

Re: British Registered Car in Spain

Postby Len S » Mon Jun 20, 2011 5:19 pm

As I started this thread I claim the right to finish it. However I am sure it will be added to.

Whilst I think Peteroldracer and I should agree to disagree about personalised number plates I 100% agree with him about Brits, and any other nationalities, driving illegal cars, white vans, etc in Spain.
In my book if they knowingly do this they are scum. What gives anyone the right to knowingly flaunt the laws of the country they live in or visit? The consequences of their actions with regard to driving illegal vehicles can be too horrific to contemplate!

I rest my case, and thanks again to all contributers.

El Cid
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 16058
Joined: Sun Oct 24, 2004 10:42 pm
Location: La Herradura, Costa Tropical, Granada

Re: British Registered Car in Spain

Postby El Cid » Mon Jun 20, 2011 5:33 pm

I see that in the UK they have just introduced a new law that they will be checking the DVLA database of cars against the insurance database and everyone who is not insured will have to either take it off the road by applying for a SORN or get it insured.

The penalty can be up to £1000 and your car may be crushed.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/Ow ... M&CRE=Furl

Pity they can come up with something like that in Spain.

Sid

User avatar
peteroldracer
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 7774
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 5:56 pm
Location: Los Alcázares, Murcia

Re: British Registered Car in Spain

Postby peteroldracer » Mon Jun 20, 2011 6:03 pm

The penalty for those falsely declaring a vehicle as SORN (i.e. using it on any public road in Europe whilst declared) is up to £5000.
Sadly, the system for anyone to check if that has been done (SORN'ed) and to report them if they are being used is not a simple one.
I even saw a motorcycle advertised for sale in the Brit press as "UK reg, no tax, SORN'ed" which must be perilously close to offering forged tax discs and MoT certificates, which also happens here.
I used to cough to disguise a [email protected] I f@rt to disguise a cough.

gus-lopez
Resident
Posts: 1572
Joined: Tue Nov 23, 2010 8:55 am
Location: Lorca, Murcia ,Spain

Re: British Registered Car in Spain

Postby gus-lopez » Mon Jun 20, 2011 7:05 pm

peteroldracer wrote:The penalty for those falsely declaring a vehicle as SORN (i.e. using it on any public road in Europe whilst declared) is up to £5000.
Sadly, the system for anyone to check if that has been done (SORN'ed) and to report them if they are being used is not a simple one.
I even saw a motorcycle advertised for sale in the Brit press as "UK reg, no tax, SORN'ed" which must be perilously close to offering forged tax discs and MoT certificates, which also happens here.

Seems simple enough to me . You can check here :
http://www.taxdisc.direct.gov.uk/EvlPortalApp/ Click on 'vehicle enquiry' fill in registration & make & it tells you all the details & current tax status.

You then go here : http://www.dft.gov.uk/dvla/onlineservic ... ensed.aspx
& report it ! Simple.
Todos somos Lorca.

User avatar
Campo Steve
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 3809
Joined: Fri May 01, 2009 5:08 pm
Location: Benamargosa & Comares Campo

Re: British Registered Car in Spain

Postby Campo Steve » Mon Jun 20, 2011 7:12 pm

The first link needs the reference number from the vehicle docs, so not so easy. (edit: incorrect, vehicle reg and make required, not ref number. I was reading the first page, not the actual enquiry form. Thanks Beach)

However, the link for reporting vehicles only needs the reg number. I doubt the details will be passed to Spain but as you are breaking UK law by keeping a car in Spain untaxed etc in UK it is a start.

edited to correct false statement
Last edited by Campo Steve on Tue Jun 21, 2011 8:02 am, edited 1 time in total.
I've got an inferiority complex, but it's not a very good one!

Beachcomber
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 11081
Joined: Tue Jun 15, 2004 11:11 pm
Location: Guadalhorce Valley

Re: British Registered Car in Spain

Postby Beachcomber » Mon Jun 20, 2011 7:25 pm

The DVLA link only requires the registration number and the make to carry out a check.

An MOT check can also be made here:

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/Ow ... G_10020539

Both of these links can b accessed directly by the Guardia Civil from their on-board computers.

I gave these links to a contact in the Guardia a couple of years ago and they use them regularly.
Let's go Brandon!

gus-lopez
Resident
Posts: 1572
Joined: Tue Nov 23, 2010 8:55 am
Location: Lorca, Murcia ,Spain

Re: British Registered Car in Spain

Postby gus-lopez » Mon Jun 20, 2011 7:34 pm

El Cid wrote:I see that in the UK they have just introduced a new law that they will be checking the DVLA database of cars against the insurance database and everyone who is not insured will have to either take it off the road by applying for a SORN or get it insured.

The penalty can be up to £1000 and your car may be crushed.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/Ow ... M&CRE=Furl

Pity they can come up with something like that in Spain.

Sid
This has been discussed on most car sites & the concensus of opinion now is that you are not going to be able to buy a car privately anymore with a tax disc ! :lolno: the reasoning behind this is that if you have it insured & taxed & sell it to someone the onus is on you to ensure that the buyer has insurance ! therefore the only way to cover yourself is to sorn the vehicle & re-claim the tax , so losing out on the month that you're in 6 the buyer will have to tax it from the begining of the month meaning that they've had tax off of 2 people for the same month ! What will happen in reality is that no one will sell/buy at the begining of the month & there will be a deluge at the end.
It's a pity that they couldn't concentrate on knee-capping the persistent offenders instead of making the honest ,decent , law abiding motorists lives more complicated. This is hardly going to deter the ones who are not insured , taxed , etc; who will continue to carry on as normal.
Another thing that's been mentioned is the apparent lack of publicity of this introduction. Perhaps they are hoping to generate large sums of money through fines !

The more worrying law being introduced in London that also barely gets a mention is the LEZ ( low emission zone ) that takes effect from 3rd January 2012. Many people are completely unaware that they have vehicles that are affected by this & will be racking up £150 a day fines ! Or paying £100/200 a day charge. Any older van ,truck, 4x4, motorhome , etc, will not comply.

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/roadusers/lez/177 ... #container
Todos somos Lorca.

gus-lopez
Resident
Posts: 1572
Joined: Tue Nov 23, 2010 8:55 am
Location: Lorca, Murcia ,Spain

Re: British Registered Car in Spain

Postby gus-lopez » Mon Jun 20, 2011 7:41 pm

Campo Steve wrote:The first link needs the reference number from the vehicle docs, so not so easy.

However, the link for reporting vehicles only needs the reg number. I doubt the details will be passed to Spain but as you are breaking UK law by keeping a car in Spain untaxed etc in UK it is a start.
No , you just click 'vehicle enquiry' , next, fill in reg. & make , next & it gives you all the details. That's what it's for . It wouldn't be any use if the person with the reg. docs. was the only one who could access it. I use it regularly . Occassionally it will throw up ' no info available' which should immediately put you on the alert that there could be plate / make not tying up.
Todos somos Lorca.


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 14 guests