BUYING A SPANISH USED CAR WITH NO DOCUMENTS

Hi, I have the opportunity to buy a Spanish registered car in the UK but it has no documents such as previous owners NIE or passport. It is now being sold by a trade garage who tell me it was seized by the UK border agency.

Other than the informe de carga which I could get done myself, what obstacles do I have to overcome and what other steps would I have to take to get the vehicle transferred into my name or any idea of the costs involved for replacement documents?

I would appreciate any constructive advice with solutions to any of this problem (not posts telling me to buy a different car!)

cheers

You need to check there are no Spanish taxes outstandng on the car if you're planning on taking it back to Spain.

If you're planning to keep it in the UK, you'l need to switch the headlights and brake light over.

Is it Spanish LHD or a UK RHD that has been converted to Spanish plates?

Carl

First step is as you say get a informe done, you can do this online if you want. What the report reveals will determine whether you will want to go ahead with the purchase. If you do want to go ahead I would definitely employ the services of a Gestoria in Spain to sort all the paperwork out, it's not that difficult for them, the informe will also reveal the NIE number of the previous owner.

Do you know why it was impounded by the UK border agency? I think I would want to know, maybe it was just a case of driving with no insurance

Thanks, that's helpful. Its spanish LHD and I will be taking it to Spain. I am curious as to why it was seized by customs myself but I would speculate it was used for smuggling tobacco or something like that. Its usually the police that would check for insurance and ITV and not a customs issue. I think I'll use the DGT for the informe report and take it from there.

Thanks.