That subject again - importing a car!

Information and questions about driving in Andalucia, buying or importing cars and motorbikes plus legal issues surrounding taxes and licenses.
fearless nige
Andalucia.com Amigo
Posts: 73
Joined: Sun Aug 05, 2007 1:24 pm
Location: Torrox

That subject again - importing a car!

Postby fearless nige » Thu Sep 17, 2009 10:53 am

Not sure how wise it was (reading other people's opinions!) but we just bought a car in the UK and have brought it to Spain to import. We are resident here and have been for almost 6 years.

Q. Do we have 6 months to import the car or does this process have to be done immediately?

Q. If there is a 6 month period in which to import the car, might we at some point have to prove when the car entered spain? (And no, we are not trying to avoid paying the taxes!)

Thanks.

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

Re: That subject again - importing a car!

Postby El Cid » Thu Sep 17, 2009 11:13 am

I think you will find, that as an existing resident, you are not allowed to drive a UK plated car.

The usual 6 month rule only applies when you move to Spain and bring a car with you that you have owned for at least 6 months in the UK.

Basically you are importing a car and have to pay all the relevant taxes and reregister it immediately.

I assume it is LHD as I have heard that existing residents are not allowed to import RHD cars.

Sid

fearless nige
Andalucia.com Amigo
Posts: 73
Joined: Sun Aug 05, 2007 1:24 pm
Location: Torrox

Re: That subject again - importing a car!

Postby fearless nige » Thu Sep 17, 2009 12:43 pm

Thanks Sid - it's RHD!! None of the agents we are talking to about importing the car have suggested not being able to import a RHD. I need to check with them about that. Thanks.

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

Re: That subject again - importing a car!

Postby El Cid » Thu Sep 17, 2009 1:07 pm

The source of the information was "Living and Working in Spain" by David Hampshire.

There may well be some exceptions to the rule as I have heard of classic cars being allowed but it is certainly worth checking out before parting with any money.

casita-bonita
Resident
Posts: 1202
Joined: Thu Nov 01, 2007 4:32 pm
Location: Sayalonga,

Re: That subject again - importing a car!

Postby casita-bonita » Thu Sep 17, 2009 1:40 pm

fearless nige wrote:Thanks Sid - it's RHD!! None of the agents we are talking to about importing the car have suggested not being able to import a RHD. I need to check with them about that. Thanks.
Mine is RHD, but then I haven't been a resident for 6 years
Regards

Bob

fearless nige
Andalucia.com Amigo
Posts: 73
Joined: Sun Aug 05, 2007 1:24 pm
Location: Torrox

Re: That subject again - importing a car!

Postby fearless nige » Thu Sep 17, 2009 2:58 pm

I just met with an import agent who says that it's RHD pick-ups that aren't allowed anymore - rhd cars are still no problem. She states that the government are basically trying to protect their own car industry by deliberately making it more and more difficult or prohibitively expensive for it to be worth importing foreign cars. Apparently rules are changed something like twice a year!

She advises that we keep the car in our ownership for 6 months prior to going ahead and importing it - that leaves us with the choice of either risking driving it and getting stopped, in which case the fine (according to the agent) can be equal or more than the charges to import it anyway - or own it for 6 months without using it.....ho hum. Should have looked into this in more detail prior to buying the car in the UK me thinks!!

Thanks for your replies one and all.

Miro
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 3584
Joined: Tue Feb 27, 2007 8:20 pm
Location: Merseyside, formally Torremolinos

Re: That subject again - importing a car!

Postby Miro » Thu Sep 17, 2009 6:31 pm

Why would you keep it for 6 months before registering it? You'll still be liable for tax, since you were already resident before you bought it.
Don't worry about what people think, they don't do it very often

"Acquiring a dog may be the only opportunity a human ever has to choose a relative," Mordecai Siegal 1935-2010.

fearless nige
Andalucia.com Amigo
Posts: 73
Joined: Sun Aug 05, 2007 1:24 pm
Location: Torrox

Re: That subject again - importing a car!

Postby fearless nige » Thu Sep 17, 2009 6:43 pm

Good question Miro - maybe I misunderstood her.

One other thing for anyone esle importing in a similar situation. Apparently in such instance as this, the very first ITV test on importation has to be done in either Madrid (!) or Algeciras!! Day trip to Gibraltar coming on!

Miro
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 3584
Joined: Tue Feb 27, 2007 8:20 pm
Location: Merseyside, formally Torremolinos

Re: That subject again - importing a car!

Postby Miro » Thu Sep 17, 2009 7:01 pm

Nonsense (my personal opinion!) Spoke to someone (Spaniard) who recently bought a car in Germany and did all the necessary stuff to register it in his home town in Extremadura. Unless this is a very recent thing introduced to effectively stamp out personal imports in 90% of the country overnight, I simply don't believe it!
Don't know where your info is coming from, or how good your Spanish is, but now that you've gone as far as bringing the car here and are therefore somewhat committed to the project, I would advise that you do as much as you can yourself. Trust no one!
Don't worry about what people think, they don't do it very often

"Acquiring a dog may be the only opportunity a human ever has to choose a relative," Mordecai Siegal 1935-2010.

scotty
Resident
Posts: 1044
Joined: Wed Apr 08, 2009 10:07 am
Location: Dublin / San pedro de Alcantara.

Re: That subject again - importing a car!

Postby scotty » Thu Sep 17, 2009 7:02 pm

Without meaning to offend...... Why would you import a car with the steering wheel on the wrong side ? Its not going to make driving an easy experience :roll:

Miro
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 3584
Joined: Tue Feb 27, 2007 8:20 pm
Location: Merseyside, formally Torremolinos

Re: That subject again - importing a car!

Postby Miro » Thu Sep 17, 2009 7:13 pm

I suppose my last post wasn't very helpful really? Sorry.
If you have the time and inclination, I would start by going to your town hall and asking what you need to do, and also to the ITV station in Algorrobo. If you're lucky, you may find friendly helpful people who will explain exactly what you need to do. If you haven't already done so, you will need to change the headlamps and probably the rear fog / reverse lamps. You will need the EU compliance certificate for the car along with duplicates and triplicates of everything as usual.

Scotty - damned good question and one that baffles me, but in this case, it's too late anyway! :?
Don't worry about what people think, they don't do it very often

"Acquiring a dog may be the only opportunity a human ever has to choose a relative," Mordecai Siegal 1935-2010.

markwilding
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 7776
Joined: Fri Aug 14, 2009 11:02 am
Location: Bilbao Spain

Re: That subject again - importing a car!

Postby markwilding » Thu Sep 17, 2009 10:11 pm

I have a neighbour (Spanish guy) who is a pilot who also imports BMW and Mercedes cars from Germany reregisters them and sells them on. I can't see how Spain can stop this type of import from within the EU.
I too would wonder why a Britsh car for use in Spain.

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

Re: That subject again - importing a car!

Postby peteroldracer » Fri Sep 18, 2009 9:51 am

El Cid wrote: I have heard of classic cars being allowed
It can be very difficult as I understand it to get an Historic plate - it seems to need the technical expert or president of the Spanish owners club for the marque to confirm technical details etc, and they may be at the other end of Spain from you.....sooner or later Trafico will realise that they can have a field day with all those old motors with personalised or age-related British plates, obviously owned by residents (as few would risk driving their precious toys up and down Europe?).
An acquaintance spent a year and many thousands of Euro getting approval for his Cobra.
I used to cough to disguise a [email protected] I f@rt to disguise a cough.

fearless nige
Andalucia.com Amigo
Posts: 73
Joined: Sun Aug 05, 2007 1:24 pm
Location: Torrox

Re: That subject again - importing a car!

Postby fearless nige » Fri Sep 18, 2009 10:21 am

Thanks all for your opinions/advice - all welcome. I figure that maybe she was referring to Algeciras as the only place outside of Madrid in this region that you can have the test done - although I must admit I was surprised to hear it and would like to know for sure if it's true - I will go to the ITV station in Algarrobo and talk to them there.

THe reason we have purchased a car in the UK is because for us the whole buying experience in the UK is one we are familiar with. We can carry out numerous checks on vehicles through various agencies and verify perhaps that what is perceived as a genuine car is in fact not on occasion (we nearly travelled some distance in the UK to look at a car that the owner/trader claimed to have 63,000 miles on it - we were lucky enough to discover through a simple check on the computer that 3 years prior the car was recorded as having done 95,000 miles!). We don't speak enough spanish to have confidence in our ability to buy here without misunderstanding something and perhaps ending up with something that is actually a bad deal. (our fault!)

Overall, for us we think that 2nd hand cars here are outrageously overpriced - so on balance we preferred to buy a car with a full service history (is that common here? I suspect not). We have imported a car before and have had no disadvantages whatsoever driving a right hooker over here (with the one exception that getting tickets from a machine when entering or leaving a car park is a pain!). Plus, the car we have bought was in very good condition - how many 2nd hand cars can you say that about over here?!

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

Re: That subject again - importing a car!

Postby El Cid » Fri Sep 18, 2009 10:35 am

I would agree about secondhand prices in Spain but I understand they are now going through the roof in the UK due lack of supply - no one buying new.

However, the s/h value of a RHD car in Spain is absolutely zilch so you will need to run it into the ground to make it a decent financial proposition.

Sid

fearless nige
Andalucia.com Amigo
Posts: 73
Joined: Sun Aug 05, 2007 1:24 pm
Location: Torrox

Re: That subject again - importing a car!

Postby fearless nige » Fri Sep 18, 2009 10:37 am

True Sid!

Part of our dilemma was also that we wanted a particular car (VW Passat diesel estate with manual box).

Miro
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 3584
Joined: Tue Feb 27, 2007 8:20 pm
Location: Merseyside, formally Torremolinos

Re: That subject again - importing a car!

Postby Miro » Fri Sep 18, 2009 4:52 pm

I'd have bought one from a VW dealer in Germany. But that's just me. :wink: Good luck with it all.
Don't worry about what people think, they don't do it very often

"Acquiring a dog may be the only opportunity a human ever has to choose a relative," Mordecai Siegal 1935-2010.

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

Re: That subject again - importing a car!

Postby peteroldracer » Fri Sep 18, 2009 6:17 pm

Our (Spanish) builder bought one new from Holland - reckoned he had saved a fortune!
I used to cough to disguise a [email protected] I f@rt to disguise a cough.

fearless nige
Andalucia.com Amigo
Posts: 73
Joined: Sun Aug 05, 2007 1:24 pm
Location: Torrox

Re: That subject again - importing a car!

Postby fearless nige » Sat Sep 19, 2009 9:09 am

Our problem was partly that we had limited finance - ended up with a 2002 model with a genuine 95,000 miles on it. Being a diesel we consider that to be a fare mileage. Paid over the odds for it (almost 3,500) but it is immaculate - was very well looked after, not a scratch and with a very clean interior. Even after import costs, on balance we consider it a better deal to have a car we can trust in (mechanically/authenticity). Besides, as we were looking in the southeast of england including London, it meant that we were always going to be within passing distance of numerous cars. Over here, bearing in mind that we wanted a particular car, we might have had to travel to any corner of the country.

Whilst on here and for future reference - is there the facility to check a car's history here in Spain (as in the UK) such as the HPI check????

User avatar
dxf
Resident
Posts: 573
Joined: Thu Jun 10, 2004 5:51 pm
Location: Chiclana Cadiz
Contact:

Re: That subject again - importing a car!

Postby dxf » Mon Sep 21, 2009 7:49 am

Hi

There are several ITV stations that can do the first importation ITV's. Our local San Fernando (Cádiz region) ITV does them, but there is another ITV only a few kilometers away that doesn't.

I have no idea why it is so, the only differences are on the VIN number (Bastador) and measuring the vehicle. There may of course be other checks in the background that one does not see (lost or stolen for example).

Davexf


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Google [Bot] and 12 guests