UK Car or Spanish Car?? Would love some advice please.

Hi, I've just bought a property in Spain, which we will use for holidays 10-12 weeks a year on average, I am and will remain UK resident, but as I said own a property and therefore have NIE etc.
I want to have our own car over there rather than hire cars every time we come over, as it will work out roughly €2,000 per year with all the extras such as car seats, so long term I may as well buy.

From what I can gather I have 3 options....'I think'....could someone tell me if all, either, or none of these are legal for me to do....

1. Buy a used car here in the UK as it is much cheaper, drive it to Spain and leave it there all year round.
I will use the car 10-12 weeks a year spread out over the year, the rest of the time it will either be in the garage of the house, or in an airport parking compound, but it will definitely be off road.
Am I right in thinking I can leave the car in Spain indefintely, as long as I don't drive it for more than 6 months a year in total, and I then have to bring the car back to the UK for MOT every year (unless it's less than 3 years old), and it has to be UK taxed and insured. (Ensuring my insurance covers me long term in Europe.)

2. Buy a used car in the UK, drive it to Spain and re-reg it as Spanish and leave it permenantly in Spain, Spanish MOT, Tax, change lights etc. Again from what I've read this process can be anything from very simple, to ridiculously difficult? I also wanted to clarify that as a non-Spanish resident, but owning a property there, I can re-reg a UK car to Spanish? Or do I have to be actually permanantly resident in Spain?

3. Buy a car in Spain either new or used and register at my Spanish address.
Again I also wanted to clarify that as a non-Spanish resident, but owning a property there, I can buy a Spanish vehicle and reg it at my holiday address? Or do I have to be actually permanantly resident in Spain?

Would love some advice from anyone who has done any, or all of the options!

Thanks 

Hiya,

Assuming you want to be perfectly legal, I would suggest that it is much easier to buy your new/2nd hand car in Spain and then find a decent carpark at an airport to garage the car whilst back in the UK.  This is what my neigbour does.  However you could try buying a Spanish reg car in the UK apart from it probably being cheaper, but beware of the pitfalls regarding any oustanding fines/taxes etc. that stay with the vehicle that may not be discovered until you get it back to Spain.

Bringinging over a UK car and having it reregistered is a simple matter and there are a few companies that will do this for you at around 1k. You could do it yourself of course and you will find lots of advice on how / where to do this on these pages.  Above all though, stay legal, it will certainly give you peace of mind in the long run.

It may be a relatively simple process to re-register a UK car using a company but it's expensive. Depending on the car allow €2,000 euros. Remember you have to buy a new set of headlights and the fees these companies and the traffico charge are high. Also it's dead money because the value of a RHD re-registered vehicle is low.

My advice is buy a secondhand car in Spain from a regular dealer who will do all the paperwork for you and give a guarantee. It may cost more than the UK but when you eventually sell it you will get a better sale price. Also no hassles with MOT or UK road tax.

Thanks for the replies guys, so by the sound of your replies, the first option isn't legal?

From what you say option 1 is quite legal. Desirable is another matter.

Why's that? Because of the hassle of driving back to the UK to MOT annually?

The main reason I was contemplating a UK car, is they generally seem a lot cheaper to buy used, and also as we're ou just starting the process of holiday homes, if I decide after a year or so I don't actually need a car every time I'm over, it would be easier to bring it back to the UK and sell it. 

Also I can't seem to find many Spanish places that sell used online, unless the cars all have 100k + miles. 

Do all Spanish main dealers sell used, as well as new?

From what I have read on this and other forums, option 1 is not legal. It's the amount of time that the vehicle is in Spain not the driver that counts but I'm sure that others will have their opinion as to the legality of option 1.

I would go with option 3.

See I've read the opposite of that, that the car can remain indefinitely as long as it's not used for more than 6 months a year, and is garaged or off road and not used for the rest. 

Then I read this new law about 'all' cars having to be re-registered, but that sounds like it only applies to residents not tourists? 

I genuinely don't know which option I'll take, but want to make sure whichever I do is legal. 

I think the critera is used on the road. If the vehicle is on private land it's not being used on the road. In practice it would not matter. If you take it back to UK after 6 months then the legality is not in question.

The re-registering requirement applies only to residents not tourists.

Most car dealers in Spain sell secondhand cars.

Thanks Mickeyfinn, that's what I'd interpreted it as. But wanted to check I had understood it correctly. 

I think the best thing for me to do is actually go round a few Spanish dealers and look at prices, mileage, etc and compare to the UK cost and factor in MOT trips etc to see what is the best option. 

And also the cost of re-reg a UK car. 

Thanks

Here are some cars for sale in Murcia i bought from here a few years ago http://www.kalydautos.com/ Ive just bought a UK car for 1k its in mint cond im looking into having it changed onto Spanish plates, so if a spend 1k on the change in Spain, im happy to spend 2k for a good car in Spain.

Most Expats we know dont bother with MOTs and Insurance ,they have continued driving for many years like this I do not agrree with this and do not drive in Spain as the spanish are terrible drivers ,but the police dont seem to bother, a lot of them are like ghosts they stay on uk plates and park where ever they want and pay no road tax 

The police just cannot be bothered with all the paperwork they would rather target the legitimate drivers who wander 3 clicks over the limit

Love Hugh

Hugh, as a fellow Brummie, I'm a bit annoyed with your post. How is it helpful to the OP?

Personally, as someone who does drive in Spain, I would say the French are worse drivers.

To be fair I have no intention of driving illegally, I just wanted to know if the 3 options were all legal. 

Whichever one suits me best I'll do, for some reasons a UK car would be better, it won't gain a deal of mileage, and when I decide to change it I can just bring it back to the UK and sell it. I don't think Id re-reg it if I didn't have to. 

A Spanish car would be better for the simple reason I think Id get stopped less by the police, and there's no paperwork registration changing. My only gripe with buying Spanish is they all seem to have VERY high mileage!

if I end up buying Spanish Id probably go for a smaller brand new car I think. 

If I go UK it'll probably be a bigger low mileage used. 

Tough call!!

Here's a tip for you. Buy a secondhand Spanish car from a reputable British dealer. They usually buy in cars from other expats leaving Spain who have kept them as holiday cars. They have low milages as a consequence.

Yes I'm looking at that at the minute actually.  Definitely a better option that buying in Spain I think.