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Hi all,

could anyone give me the latest info on importing a rhd car into spain.

my wife has owned her car for two years and wants to take it across with her when we move in june.

do you still have to pay import tax?

are there any other charges to pay?

how do you get it registered in spain?

                                                     any info welcome,

                                                                          COSMO.

Hi,

I am looking for the same information but my car is already here in a lock up. I have been quoted 800 euros from a small one man business to do it all for me. My car is a 1993 merc. in very good condition. I have also been told that I can do it myself for a fraction of that cost but can't find the relevant info. on how to do it correctly.

Has anyone registered their Uk car recently?

Many thanks.

Mike

For cars over 12 years old, the registration (matriculation) tax should be pretty low since the value for tax purposes will be depreciated to 10% of the book price. Assuming it's a bit of a polluter, the highest Co2 tax rate is 14.75%. So if it's, say, a '93 C class with an original book price of about €20k, the tax should be less than €300. You would also have to get an engineer's report (homologation) and ITV (MoT), register it with the local council for road (circulation) tax, and don't forget about changing the headlamps. Factor in your time and more significantly STRESS - I've not done it myself, but maybe €800 ain't too bad actually. How much is the car worth?!

You can see why I usually recommend people to buy a car in Spain rather than bring one with them!

Still waiting to hear how TechNoApe is getting on with the process????

Gracias Roberto,

The car is only worth about £200 but a lot more to me as I have had it all checked out with new tyres etc. I have been told that itshould run for another 4 to 5 years without a problem and I have had it for over ten years so it would be a shame to get rid of it as it is a very reliable car.  800 Euros would be cheap to keep the car for that length of time but it may be better to put the money towards a second hand Spanish car.

I don't know. You won't get much for €1000 here, if anything at all, and if you do find something cheap it will almost certainly be a complete load of cr*p and have been run into the ground. Maybe try and get another quote to see if you can get it done any cheaper? Or maybe just leave your old Merc in storage and hope that soon it'll be a classic and appreciate in value! Or maybe someone returning to the UK would give you more than £200? It's surely worth more than that? Meanwhile, get yourself a cheap LHD run-around. After all, driving a rhd here can become a pain in the ar5e.

Thanks again Roberto. I will get another quote and then go from there. If I get the car registered over here it will be cheaper than buying one and then perhaps I can get a little scooter for the small runs that I do. I need to sort out the best way of of getting my driving licence legal too as it is the old paper licence. 

There have been discussions about this previously (you can probably find them with an appropriate search) and opinion tends to be divided.

On the one hand, some staunchly stick to their belief that any EU issued licence is perfectly legal and acceptable in Spain, even once you are a resident. Although I still feel that the info on Tráfico's website is a little ambiguous, I concede that it would appear that strictly speaking this is true. However, if you have an old green UK licence issued before the pink EU ones, I wouldn't chance it. I'm unsure whether you can even change this type for a Spanish equivalent. Maybe you'd first have to update it with DVLA.

On the other hand, and my personal opinion, for the sake of a small fee and a couple of hours at a Tráfico office, exchanging your UK licence for a Spanish one will avoid any potential confusion (and pointless arguments) with the Guardia Civil if you're ever stopped.

Info on what you need to change it can be found here

Just had a thought. Would getting an International Licence be acceptable to all those who REPRESENT the law while driving in Spain? Driving a UK or Spanish reg. vehicle.

Probably just confuse them even more

If you're driving a Spanish reg car, (unless it's a hire car) they will presume you are a resident, in which case I don't think they'd accept an International Permit.

Yes I agree, driving a Spanish reg. car other than a rental one would confuse the police. I have heard of this happening and the police were not very happy. I think the best way is just  getting a Spanish licence then your safe............I presume.

Exactly.