Car hire or car purchase?

Hi folks

First post, fingers crossed I have posted correctly!
Firstly what an invaluable forum, excellent information and very informal, good work!!!!
Can you help please, looking for some advice from you experienced folk:-).

My husband and I are soon to purchase a property in Quesada for us and family to use throughout the year. Would be non resident. However during a recent week long visit to the area we found the car hire very expensive and wondered if we would be best to buy a car and keep it for use while in Quesada.

Advice and suggestions please.

Wonder what other non residents do to get around in Quesada area?

Is there a bus which travels from alicante airport to torrevieja and if so does anyone have more details?

Aud n Ed.

Welcome to TalkQuesada Audbro. So pleased you are enjoying the forum!




I hope you get some good advice to your questions but in the meantime there is some information here on TalkQuesada that may help you, if you click on the following links:

About the airport bus: http://www.talkquesada.com/quesada-tips-guides-and-frequently-asked-questions-f46/is-there-a-bus-from-alicante-airport-to-quesada-t508.html

About the buses around Quesada: http://www.talkquesada.com/quesada-tips-guides-and-frequently-asked-questions-f46/what-are-the-local-bus-services-like-in-quesada-t529.html

and here's some other frequently asked questions about Quesada that may be of interest, if you haven't seen them yet: http://www.talkquesada.com/quesada-tips-guides-and-frequently-asked-questions-f46/


Hope this helps. If I think of anything else I will get back to you.


Good luck with your purchase.

Jan.

Hi Audbro,
Welcome to the website and I am sure you will find it most useful. Regarding car purchase v car hire I expect most non residents who have a property in Quesada have faced the same issue.
We have had a property here for almost 10 years and took the decision about 4 years ago to purchase a car. That was around the time car hire was much more expensive than it is today and in fact there was even a shortage of cars for hire that year.
Without looking closely at my figures I reckon it costs me anything between 800 to 1000 euro's excluding fuel to have a car in Spain. That would cover Insurance,Tax, ITV and a normal service plus car parking at airport when necessary.
Unfortunately this year that figure is much higher as I had to replace tyres and a starter motor.
Obviously you need to purchase the car in the first place and second hand cars in my experience are not cheap to buy in Spain!!
I do offset some of these costs by charging family members for the use of the car when they use the property but to be honest I don't think I will purchase again once my current car is ready for the scrap yard.
I hope this helps a little but quite sure you will get loads of advise on the forum but whatever decision you take you will not regret your house purchase in Quesada.

Best Wishes.

Thanks theboundary for such sound advice, sooo excited boy the hose purchase and the lifestyle change.

And thanks Jan , will check out the links you have posted for me.


Cheers y'all

Hello Audbro,
Just a quick one - To add to The Boundary's good information - We have weighed up the pros and cons of keeping a car in Spain a few times and it always comes back to the fact that as we only spend about three months of the year here it appears to us to be too much bother.

Unless we bought a new car, we would need to be here at the correct time to get the Spanish MOT (ITV) and then there's the general maintenance and leaving the car here for months at a time would mean the battery needing charging each time. Also leaving the car at the airport, although a good option, is not cheap. Therefore adding up all costs including insurance and inconvenience, for us it doesn't seem worth it.
We are lucky though to be within walking distance of the supermarkets / bars and restaurants, so I suppose it does depend on where you have your property.
We find it's worth it to us to hire a car for the first week or last week of our holiday sometimes, especially in the warmer months, so we can go to the beach if we want and then we get a taxi from or back to the airport. We always use 'opencar' for car hire because they have an office in Quesada and the car can be picked up at airport and dropped off in Quesada or the other way around.
All added up it's probably cheaper for us and less inconvenient not to leave a car here but everyone's circumstances are different.

Jan

After "buying a car" a few times over, with car hire, I decided to take the plunge! The Suma (road tax) for my car is only just over €40 and the insurance around €300 (but you could probably shop around and get a better deal). The ITV needs to be done every 2 years - up to the car age of 10 years and then it is every year. The battery seems to be the most problematic part if you are only in Spain two or three times a year. I know people who remove them whilst they are away; use trickle chargers; use mobile mechanics who will just come around and give an extra boost etc. I have someone to look after mine - and to take it for runs. I have a carport for mine as I know that if you leave the car in one place it can affect the tyres and paintwork - not to mention dry out the windscreen wipers!!

Hi Sandra thanks for your post and will take this into consideration when making our decision. Aud

Thanks jan for your reply, would seem sound advice and your right it depends individual circumstances.

Sandra wrote:After "buying a car" a few times over, with car hire, I decided to take the plunge! The Suma (road tax) for my car is only just over €40 and the insurance around €300 (but you could probably shop around and get a better deal). The ITV needs to be done every 2 years - up to the car age of 10 years and then it is every year. The battery seems to be the most problematic part if you are only in Spain two or three times a year. I know people who remove them whilst they are away; use trickle chargers; use mobile mechanics who will just come around and give an extra boost etc. I have someone to look after mine - and to take it for runs. I have a carport for mine as I know that if you leave the car in one place it can affect the tyres and paintwork - not to mention dry out the windscreen wipers!!

Hi Sandra,

Sounds like you have arranged it well. It's good if you can have someone looking after the car for you and give it a run. At least you know it should be 'ready to go' when you get to Spain. I just have visions of us spending the first couple of days of our holiday getting the car ship-shape each time.

We notice that some people put a cover on the car when they leave it but I imagine this could bring other problems, like damp or corrosion where the car sweats under the hot sun. A car port sounds the best option!

Jan.

My German neighbour tightly "engulfs" his car with a tarpaulin and ropes, but some cars have suffered from a "sandpaper" effect - when the sand has got under the cover and then the cover has moved about on top of this - very nasty - but can give you a good surface for a respray!!

The car port seems to be a good option, because previously when the car was in the direct sun the paintwork was peeling. This carport has not only got a roof on it, but has got protection on the sides where it can be caught by the sun - and this is very effective. No doubt a garage would be better!!