Car rental/to buy - Estepona area

Hi,

As you might have seen from my other post, after 2 years of hard work John has got a job in Gibraltar and we are moving over to Spain 4 weeks on Monday. I will be 32 weeks pregnant by then so we are very excited but a bit anxious too.

We will be needing two cars. One initially as I wont need one for the first 2 months until baby arrives. We are considering rental for the first 2 months or at least for the first 2 weeks and then looking at buying one car. We are looking at maybe buying one brand new - Opel Zafira and then just a run around. Any advice on cars would be really appreciated.

Thanks for your time.

Sarah and John

Hi Sarah & John - looks like you're going to be busy!!  

When I first came out I rented for 2 weeks and then had to extend it by about a week or so until the car I bought was ready- a Seat Leon, wonderful car!  The rental company said that they could do cheaper rates by going in to talk to them about extending the rental, rather than doing it online or on the phone, so if you need to do that you should go and talk to them.  Also you should choose the rental company with the location of their office in mind, in case you have to go back and forward to sign papers.

As for buying, I decided to buy new as the price for one year old wasn't much different - ie hugely expensive!  Cars are very expensive here so be prepared for a shock.  I did my initial homework online but the garages then added so many charges it ended up much dearer than the prices quoted online.  They do demonstrators (Kilometro zero) but I couldn't find one for the model I wanted. 

There are lots of second-hand cars around from small garages (I assume it will be the same in your area) but some of them are pretty dodgy.  If you can get personal recommendations then that would be a good start, and you may get some members here to advise on who to avoid and who you can trust.

I can't remember if you need to have your Residencia certificate to buy or not, but you will need an NIE number so you should apply for this as soon as you arrive, rather than leaving it until later.

Hope that is helpful and best of luck with the move.

Hi Sarah and John

Congratulations on your move over here to Spain.  Arrow Cars specialise in long term car rental and their rates stay the same price all summer, give them a call on 902 012 287 or freephone from the UK on 0800 198 1107.  If you ask for Helen Parker and say I recommended you, she will look after you.

Sam

We moved here (CDS) in November and after researching both UK and here in Spain, I bought a Kia Sportage from the Marbella dealership. Delighted with the car and the sales guy Leo was excellent. I highly recommend them to you.

Used cars here are very expensive and you may end up with real problems buying one. If you do decide to go for used, make sure all the papers are in order and that there are no outstanding fines etc.

You will need a NIE and escritura or rental agreement when you buy. (proof of address)

Go give Leo a chance, I'm sure that you'll not regret it.

Good luck

K

Thanks guys, I will look them up and see what is on offer.