Was going to Spain from start to finish but now I, Luca have taken over

moonbeam said:
Wednesday, July 25, 2012 @ 7:02 PM

Just read your blog about the possibility of buying a car. I would recommend buying in Spain as if there are any problems you have some comeback near at hand. From experience, the strange thing here is that second hand cars are so overpriced! You will find that you will get a better and safer deal buying from a dealership brand new. Look out for the many offers they have, especially a brand new car, not used, but is probably just about to be replaced by a new model and so the stock is going to be out of date and they want to get rid of their stockpiles of the older versions. Or can be a car produced a couple of years ago, but didn´t sell, again not used, but using valuable stock space and they want to offload it, and this is often called Kilometre Zero (KM 0) offer. They also have many offers of zero interest on payment plans.

I have always been so surprised by the lack of second hand cars for sale here, and the ridiculous prices asked when compared to a new one on offer. Apparently, a lot of the second hand cars are shipped over to Africa to be sold with no questions asked.

moonbeam said:
Wednesday, July 25, 2012 @ 7:27 PM

Forgot to mention the situation regarding Road Fund Licence etc:

Road Fund Licence varies depending on the municipal area you live in - but usually not too terrible.

MOT (ITV in Spanish) First one after four years, then every two years up to a car age of 10 years. Then a car older than 10 years has to have one every year.

Driving Licence - if you live here permanently you will have to exchange your English one for a Spanish one. Very easy to do just go to a Gestor Office (a place where they do the paperwork for you so you don´t have to queue in places!) and they will do it all for you. Or even some driving schools will do the paperwork for you as sideline work. Not complicated at all. The big difference is that you have to have a medical check for eyesight ,hearing, blood pressure, reflexes etc as you are not allowed to self assess here! There are special centres that do these for renewal of the licence, and can be every 10 years, 5 years, or 2 years depending on age. However, even if you keep your English Licence, legally you are still bound to have these checks if you are living and driving in Spain!! A lot of people think keeping the English Licence circumvents these controls as this licence is for life. But you could find that your insurance cover is invalid as you are breaking the law by bypassing these medical controls whichever licence you hold. These checks are not terrible, as some people say the ones who actually fail must be pretty bad!! Everyone says after the ´Space Invaders´reflex test that they were sure they had failed, but they all got enough points to pass!

Insurance is very similar to Spain with lots of well known companies such as online ones like Direct Line (Linea Directa),
Royal (Regal) etc.

Hope this helps a bit.

moonbeam said:
Wednesday, July 25, 2012 @ 7:28 PM

Forgot to mention the situation regarding Road Fund Licence etc:

Road Fund Licence varies depending on the municipal area you live in - but usually not too terrible.

MOT (ITV in Spanish) First one after four years, then every two years up to a car age of 10 years. Then a car older than 10 years has to have one every year.

Driving Licence - if you live here permanently you will have to exchange your English one for a Spanish one. Very easy to do just go to a Gestor Office (a place where they do the paperwork for you so you don´t have to queue in places!) and they will do it all for you. Or even some driving schools will do the paperwork for you as sideline work. Not complicated at all. The big difference is that you have to have a medical check for eyesight ,hearing, blood pressure, reflexes etc as you are not allowed to self assess here! There are special centres that do these for renewal of the licence, and can be every 10 years, 5 years, or 2 years depending on age. However, even if you keep your English Licence, legally you are still bound to have these checks if you are living and driving in Spain!! A lot of people think keeping the English Licence circumvents these controls as this licence is for life. But you could find that your insurance cover is invalid as you are breaking the law by bypassing these medical controls whichever licence you hold. These checks are not terrible, as some people say the ones who actually fail must be pretty bad!! Everyone says after the ´Space Invaders´reflex test that they were sure they had failed, but they all got enough points to pass!

Insurance is very similar to Spain with lots of well known companies such as online ones like Direct Line (Linea Directa),
Royal (Regal) etc.

Hope this helps a bit.

Gerald said:
Thursday, July 26, 2012 @ 3:33 PM

thank you my little moonbeam (just an expression - really), That has really been helpful & has cleared up a lot of questions.
Yea, I looked at the second hand cars in Spain & was amazed at the rarity & the high mileages. Suppose all the good 'uns have, as you say, gone overseas.

Tamara said:
Sunday, July 29, 2012 @ 7:48 PM

A thought about whether you plump for town/village centre, or out in the campo. I live in the centre of a village (well, technically it's a town because it has a Town Hall, but it's one of the smaller communities that has it's own Town Hall). For me it is absolute perfection as it's small enough for there to be a real sense of community, but large enough to have a Ferreteria (DIY shop) which is invaluable, plus it has its own insurance office, two banks, the electric company and gas company have offices, many mini-supermarkets, and enough bakers to have different favourites for different things! Also important, I have enough immediate neighbours to be friendly and helpful, one keeps a key, and who keep an eye out when I'm not there.

Most of the Brits and other foreigners live out in the campo, as most prefer more land, and of course a pool. I don't, so being right in the centre really suits me. However if you do go for village/town setting, make sure you go and walk around the streets you might buy in, at ALL times of day! I checked mine at 6am (in case of early risers, agricultural workers with tractors etc), lunchtime (in case of an un-noticed restaurant with noisy diners) and of course evening right through to 2am.

My "first night blog" is about the sounds of Spanish night-times. Have a look at another VERY new homebuyer's story if you're interested - I only moved in earlier this month!

Very very best of luck. I couldn't have found a more perfect home - I wish you the same good luck and judgement :-)

Tamara
http://tamaraessexspanishblog.wordpress.com