Importing a British UK plated Car into Spain

[Trooperman]

I've just looked at the location of the original poster - Estepona - and there resides one of the most competent specialist gestors I've come across. She does cars and licences and speaks perfect English.

She's Maria and works out of an office in the main pedestrian street (Calle Real?) that runs parallel to the coast road - number 91 I believe.

She "did" my Discovery without any blip whatsoever.

I don't think the above constitutes advertising but if it does , them pm me and I'll give you her phone number

[Devils Advocate]

Interesting prices Sid that you post. There would certainly be a big saving on the car itself... buying it in the UK...........prices for a sensible mileage 2003 car being from circa 8.5k, a lot of car for the money.

However when you take transport across/matriculation/Taxes/ITV and the perceived stigma of RHD then I think different people will come to different conclusions.

Each to their own and all that. If the car ends up legal then nobody should be upset whatever people choose to do.

[peteroldracer]

Each to their own and all that. If the car ends up legal then nobody should be upset whatever people choose to do.

[jonesy10]

Just going back to a reply from Trooperman a while back, thanks to him for some extra details I used Maria the gestor from Estepona he mentioned, was a hassle free process to register my UK car in here so add to the recommendation.

[david1704]

I have a Gibraltar registered car, which i brought over from the UK when i moved here. I imported it into Gib and paid my import tax (£1200), now a couple of years later im looking at moving to Spain, and once my Gib ID card expires i'll have to remove the Gib plates from the car, has anyone any info on this.

Will i have to pay import duty again to Spain? I know i'll need to change my headlights and get the ITV etc which will cost a lot, but im reluctant to shell out yet again and pay tax in yet another country for the car i bought in the UK.

Thanks

[peteroldracer]

Surely you had to convert the headlamps for Gib? As far as I recall I still drove on the right after crossing the border!

[david1704]

Have had head light reflector stickers on it since i brought it over and its never been an issue in either country. Passed its MOT in Gib everytime.

[costakid]

You will have to pay import duty to matriculate the car into Spain and 100% change your UK headlights and foglight. You may even have to have a KM speed fitted.

[casita-bonita]

Hi pensure1988,

On the car side if you go to Spanish plates the Headlights will need to conform and the rear light clusters too, I guess that a Mercedes rear light clusters will conform,ie Fog and reversing lights on both sides.

I bought my Merc ML270 over with us and switched it to Spanish plates. What I found was that although the rear light clusters were correct the rear red fog light was only wired into one (UK)side and only that side had a bulb fitted. Simple matter of running a wire and fitting a bulb to correct.

For the headlight swap I found that the cheapest option was to get the Mercedes garage in the UK to fit replacements. I sold the old UK units on ebay for a tidy sum to someone who wanted to fit newer headlights to his older ML. Although personally I'm not convinced that the originals couldn't have been adjusted despite what the garage said.

Finally I had a gestor in torrox handle the matriculation. Cost maybe 80 euros over and above the cost of doing it myself and needless to say it was a breeze.

[david1704]

I read this which has left me confused

Used car: Imported vehicles owned for more than six months prior to the owner becoming resident in Spain are not subject to import duty, provided that VAT was paid in the EU country in which the vehicle was purchased.

So i bought the car in the UK, and owned it in the UK, then brought it to Gib when i moved here and paid import duty to Gib. So the above has left me scratching my head, do i, dont i?

As for the speedo its a Honda S2000, digital dash so you press a button and it reads out in KPH. As i always have to remind my girlfriend "david your doing 100mph slow down", "no we're actually doing 62mph really"

[david1704]

Casita-Bonita

How much import did you pay? If i have to pay anything, i read its based on Co2. Mine is like 230grams per whatever so judging by this

14.75 percent tax for vehicles with emissions of more than 200 grams of CO2 per kilometre

But how do they value your vehicle?

[dxf]

I read this which has left me confused

Used car: Imported vehicles owned for more than six months prior to the owner becoming resident in Spain are not subject to import duty, provided that VAT was paid in the EU country in which the vehicle was purchased.

Hola
The important date is normally taken from the date on the padron. If you don´t have a padron, then you will be importing "goods and chattels" so won´t pay tax. 60 days after signing onto the padron, the first registration (in Spain) tax commonly called the import duty, becomes payable

Davexf

[El Cid]

the first registration (in Spain) tax commonly called the import duty, becomes payable

As you say, "commonly called the import duty".

Let me clarify this. There is NO import duty payable on importing a car from one EU country to another, so long as it has been owned in the other EU country for 6 months.

The tax that has to be paid in Spain is the matriculation tax, which ALL cars registered in Spain have to pay, irrespective of where they originated. A new car bought in Spain has this tax included in the sale price so most owners are not aware that they are paying it.

There is a similar tax in the UK, but I believe is is a straight £45.

The only way to avoid this tax is to "import" the car at the same time as you move permanently to Spain. If you do this, the car is treated as any other item that you are bringing with you and no tax is payable under EU law. There are certain procedures and time scales that you have to follow (Padron etc.) to achieve this.

The matriculation tax is now based on the CO2 emissions and in the case of most small family cars, especially diesels, is at the new zero rate. For larger, less efficient cars the tax increases through three bands to a maximum of 14.75% of the gross purchase price. In the case of imported cars, the tax is based on the original cost of that make and model in Spain. The price is reduced based on age and after 12 years it bottoms out at 10% of the official new value. The original new values are listed in great detail on the AEAT website.

As far as I am aware, importation of cars from Gibraltar is treated the same way. Any import or registration tax that may have been paid in Gibraltar is irrelevant - you are liable to pay again in Spain as it is a registration tax, not import duty.

Sid

[david1704]

Thanks El Cid, that clarifies a lot for me.

I think this is going to cost me a lot then as my car is a Honda S2000, 2005 model, was £28,000 from new and the Co2 is 236g/km.

They may reduce the cost slightly as you say with the age of the vehicle, but i cant see it being by much.

[El Cid]

According to the tax tables, your car was valued at €31400 new. Its current value is 17% of that making €5338 and at the top rate of 14.75% the tax is about €800

Sid

[PeterBat]

I know this forum was started in 2013, but….

I am looking at the “so many” different comments about number plate changes and am still confused..
I have a UK plated car, am in Spain, but not forever, just a few years, do not feel changing the number to Spanish sensible as I go back and forth, UK-Spain and vice versa and plan on returning to UK to live anyway, I take my vehicle back to UK for MOT (as well as the need to do other personal things) it has full Tax on it and I use a Spanish insurance company to cover me fully comprehensive..
All legal except the number plate..
Yet I have recently been stopped and told I am illegal….
I only use the car once a week maybe less to either go shopping or for a day visit to Gibraltar and the car is then parked.. After saying that.. It can sometimes be parked for over 2 week sometimes..
So my dilemma is..
Why do I need to change the number, incurring an expense that is totally irrelevant to the way the vehicle (or me) drives?
I have had the car from new and love it.. It is a Citroen C5 2004 plate and drives like a dream.. I think its value in UK would be (maybe) £1500 or less..
If it was a simple change of plate with no import/export duty, and all other stuff, then fair enough, but it is not.. it is a huge money maker for many except me, the owner..
I would have to then reverse it all in a year or so when I return to the UK.
I want to be legal, but to do that it will take a huge chunk of money that I feel does not need to be spent for such a trivial thing..
I do not have a problem with driving on the road either.. Be it left or right..
Any useful .. Sensible comments will be very welcome..
The name of the Solicitor in Estepona would be good if anyone got it..

[El Cid]

If you are a resident, which it appears from your post that you are, you have no choice but to reregister your car. That is the law, and yes, your car is illegal. If you get stopped again, the fines will probably cost more than the cost of registering it.

Sid

[peteroldracer]

and if you get a really stoppy Trafico man he can impound it on the spot. It would then be your problem not only to get it replated pronto, but also get yourself home...

[TorreDelAguila]

It is also the case, if I remember correctly, that you must insure the car in the country in which it is registered (plated).
It was possible to get temporary insurance from some Spanish brokers, offering policies originating in the UK, but these are pretty rare, and may be of questionable legality.
Also, SFAIR, once you have kept a vehicle here for more than 6 months, it should be put on Spanish plates. If you have residencia here, as Sid says, you absolutely must also reregister to Spanish plates.

For the eventual return to the UK, I think the UK replating fee (to DVLA) is quite small.

Adam Rutter, at Spanish Solutions, Nerja is terrific at arranging re-registration, and will fill you in on the procedure (engineer inspection, first ITV test, certification/matriculation, issuing of new plates...) and the fee appropriate for your car, which covers everything involved. Personally recommend.

[Trooperman]

The name of the Solicitor in Estepona would be good if anyone got it..

She's Maria on 952 794 769
She's actually a gestor and a specialist on matters motoring and is in Calle Real, Estepona - at least I think that's the address - it's the pedestrian road that runs parallel to the coast road and that has most of the shops in it - number 90 something.