Re- Re- Registering a car

[Armstrong440]

Hi there. Newb to the boards with a question I can't see as having been asked before.

I'm in England currently, and looking to buy a car to bring down to Spain. My Spanish is shaky at best, and for peace of mind I want to buy a car in English, from someone who speaks English, with a warranty I can understand and with the protection of English law. Plus I have a shedload of stuff I want to bring down. I've done plenty of research on the ins and outs of it, and am looking ideally to buy a car that's already on a Spanish plate. But here's the question...

If I buy a car that was originally registered in Spain, but has since been re-registered in England and put on UK plates, do I still have to go through all the usual palaver (and expense) that's normally involved in putting a foreign car onto Spanish plates? Is the process of re-registering it any simpler? Do I still have to pay the import fees? Would I need to get a CoC?

Can anyone advise?

- Steve -

[Manchesteral]

Sounds complicated to me, if the car is in England on Spanish plates you've no way of knowing if there are any outstanding problems with it, traffic fines embargoes etc in Spain, of course you have no protection under Spanish law of anything you've bought in England !

[Enrique]

Hi Armstrong440,
Welcome to The Forum.............

So to recap........LHD drive car on UK plates........(1) has it still got the Original Spanish Paper work with the Documents..... If so have you checked with a Gestor (in Spain) that specialises in Car Transfers if it can be done easily.........

Its not that difficult to buy locally in Spain without too much of the Spanish ..........two people I know recently (limited Spanish) bought locally and got good deals on cars ready to..............

A long way to take back for Warranty claim.........

"Plus I have a shedload of stuff I want to bring down."..better to Hire a van for that one.......and get a nice drive down too.
I'd be happy to ask my Señor Fixit if you can give answers to (1) above...

[El Cid]

Buying a used car in the UK that was once registered in Spain is a potential nightmare.

Just don't do it!

Sid

[Armstrong440]

Okay: general negative response noted...

The car is described as having:

1/ Tarjeta Tecnica De Vehiculos,
2/ Permiso De Circulacion,
3/ Previous Owners Passport,
4/ Previous Owners NI Number,
5/ Compraventa Signed By the Vendedor,
6/ Trafico Report showing no Fines/Accidents or Embargos,
7/ Previous Sumo receipts

But I acknowledge that careful checks would still be required before handing over any money.

[costakid]

Whys that Cid? Thats crap. He may be buying a genuine car from a genuine person who bought the car new in Spain and returned to the UK. They may have UK registered the car and then realised that a lhd was not for them in the UK. In that situation it is not a problem. As for warranty it may still have a warranty active from the manufacturer. (KIA 7 Years)

Why is everyone so negative?

[Enrique]

Hi Armstrong440,
Some technical checks...........
Check headlights are still for LHD configuration , putting LHD drive car onto UK plates would require Headlights to conform and rear Light clusters to UK specs.
If car has tow-bar fitted is that in the Spanish Documents...
I've sent you a PM for further info.
Thanks

[Armstrong440]

Enrique: Thank you for your input.

The car is currently UK registered and so is to the full UK spec. I realise that headlights will need to be changed; the rear lights I don't know if it has one or two reversing lights, so that's something I'll need to ask. But there's no towbar, or any other modifications from the standard car that I'm aware of.

[Armstrong440]

Could I just point out that the original question didn't relate to the wisdom (or otherwise) of doing this. It was asking whether re-importing an originally Spanish car would be any different (hopefully easier) than importing an originally British car.

[gus-lopez]

Okay: general negative response noted...

The car is described as having:

1/ Tarjeta Tecnica De Vehiculos,
2/ Permiso De Circulacion,
3/ Previous Owners Passport,
4/ Previous Owners NI Number,
5/ Compraventa Signed By the Vendedor,
6/ Trafico Report showing no Fines/Accidents or Embargos,
7/ Previous Sumo receipts

But I acknowledge that careful checks would still be required before handing over any money.

I can't see how it can have all this if it is now on UK plates as 1 & 2 of the above would have had to be handed in to the dvla to be returned to Spain.There could also be problems in that it wasn't de-registered here correctly ,which should have put it on "green" P plates to export it correctly.
It certainly should be easier having once been a spanish registered vehicle especially if you have reg; number . As it was registered before they can't ask for a CoC.

[scotty]

Whys that Cid? Thats crap.
Why is everyone so negative?

I'm with costakid on this. There is a "hardcore" of doom & gloom merchants on this forum that appear everytime a mechanically propelled vehicle is discussed on a thread. To the OP . . . .dont listen to them.

[El Cid]

Or maybe they have lived in Spain long enough to have a better understanding of the possible pitfalls and just how obtuse Spanish bureaucracy can be.

The OP is entitled to hear all the opinions on the subject, both negative and positive and then make up his own mind.

Sid

[Armstrong440]

Okay: general negative response noted...

The car is described as having:

1/ Tarjeta Tecnica De Vehiculos,
2/ Permiso De Circulacion,
3/ Previous Owners Passport,
4/ Previous Owners NI Number,
5/ Compraventa Signed By the Vendedor,
6/ Trafico Report showing no Fines/Accidents or Embargos,
7/ Previous Sumo receipts

But I acknowledge that careful checks would still be required before handing over any money.

I can't see how it can have all this if it is now on UK plates as 1 & 2 of the above would have had to be handed in to the dvla to be returned to Spain.There could also be problems in that it wasn't de-registered here correctly ,which should have put it on "green" P plates to export it correctly.
It certainly should be easier having once been a spanish registered vehicle especially if you have reg; number . As it was registered before they can't ask for a CoC.

My bad. They have photocopies of the first two documents: the originals HAVE been sent to the DVLA.

[Armstrong440]

(Bump)

Thank you again to all who contributed to my original question. Your input was helpful.

Nine months on, and my current situation is this...

I am still a UK resident. No prospect of becoming a Spanish resident quite yet.
I bought a LHD Focus in the UK which was originally registered in Spain, but was taken to the UK and put on UK plates just before I bought it.
Before handing over the cash, I checked the vehicle with the Trafico in Cadiz. It has one year's road tax outstanding against it - which the dealer admitted up front when I first inquired about the car. No other problems so far as the Trafico is concerned.
It has LHD headlights and fog lights, speedo in kmh and what not so I believe it to be Spain-legal.

The time has now come for me to put it back onto Spanish plates.

So my question is, where should be my first port of call? The Trafico in Cadiz again? A local garage to do a pre-ITV check and to ensure I don't need a homologation certificate? A Gestor to set the paperwork in motion (I don't mind paying for this if it's wise to do so, but is it something I can safely do myself?) Or the local cop shop or Ayuntamiento to pay off the outstanding tax?

There is a potential fly in the ointment however. I do not own a property in Spain, nor do I have a rental agreement. I have registered myself on the Padron and have an NIE, but when I'm here I stay with my partner (US national, Spanish resident for 14 years, owns her own house, no Spanish driving licence). From my reading of the rules (according to some sources because the "rules" seem very fluid) I cannot own a Spanish car because I don't own property, and she can't own a car because she doesn't have a Spanish licence.

So are we sunk before we've even started?

[Enrique]

Hi Armstrong440,

"So are we sunk before we've even started?"..........of course not............

"I am still a UK resident. No prospect of becoming a Spanish resident quite yet.".........so you get a Green Form this allows you to stay over 90 days( Temporary Residence) ..........this has your NIE number and Spanish Address amongst other info .
You will need to find out if there are some current qualifying hoops to jump through.

So now you can go to a Gestor who specializes in Vehicle transfers and he will sort out the paperwork and get the new plates made up.

Bit surprised this UK legal LHD drive car still has the Lights and speedo ready to go for Spain......a bonus for you.

[Armstrong440]

Hello again Enrique.

I bought it from a LHD specialist dealer, who'd re-plated it only a week earlier. He seemed happy at the quick turnaround and my garage were happy to give it an MOT with headlight blinders on.

Okay: thank you for the info. Not heard of these green forms before, but will go inquire.

[Enrique]

Hi Armstrong440,
To get the "Green Form" you need to make an appointment with your local Foreigners Office.
You need to fill in Form EX18.....loads of info online on how to fill this in.

Example........
In The Temporary section (Residencia Temporal ) you probably need to tick..............depending on how you define your "Status" in Spain

"No activo con recursos suficientes y seguro de enfermedad"

"Not active with sufficient resources and sickness insurance"........you may now need proof of this.

When completed and Stamped its down to a Nominated Bank to pay 10,20€ (this may be more) back to the Office and hopefully a Green Form will be issued...........it took us three days and 480km of driving to get this sorted.....
Other people I know have done it in a day.......

[elusive]

Isnt it a bit of a mine field signing on as a resident when you arent. You will have to show proof of health care and money to support yourself to start with. If you can buy a spanish plated car with only a NIE and padron why cant you do the same with importing

[El Cid]

If you are on the Padron then you have declared that your permanent residence is in Spain. To do that when you are not really resident is against the law and a far more serious matter than signing on the register of foreigners as that does not make you a resident - it merely gives you the right to stay stay beyond the 90 day tourist period.

You should not be allowed to sign on the Padron unless you have also registered as a foreigner, but many town halls turn a blind eye to that as it is in their interest to do so.

Sid

[Miro]

This all seems to be getting very complicated. There are plenty of non-resident foreigners in Spain who own Spanish registered cars. A friend of mine recently brought one he'd bought in the UK, and has registered it (using a gestor) here without any problems. OK, he owns a holiday property here. He has an NIE, but is NOT registered as a resident, because he is not one. He is not on the padrón, since (here at least) as Sid says, you can't register on the padrón if you don't first register as a foreign resident.