Pros and Cons of bring a UK car to Spain

ALAN T wrote:So if i get a Spanish reg. car transported to Dover (im not very far from there) can i drive it through France to Spain as long as it is legal in spain ,ITV,ins,car tax ?

That’s basically correct. It’s illegal for a U.K. resident to drive a foreign car in the U.K.
In the same way, it’s illegal for a Spanish resident to drive a Foreign (including U.K.) registered vehicle in Spain.

But, are you aware that you need a Permissio de Circulation certificate to drive in Spain? You get a provisional one when you register the vehicle in your name, and the full one follows around 2 weeks later. The PDC, and the transfer of ownership, payment of purchase tax etc, can be done by a solicitor in Spain who has accesses to the DGT computer system. However, they’ll need the details of the current registered owner, including copies of passport, NIE, etc and the same info from you. They will need permission from the current owner to do the transfer, which will normally be a sales receipt signed by the current registered owner (as opposed to the garage that’s selling you the car).
You will also be liable for any outstanding speeding/parking fines, so it’s important to have the full checks done by a Spanish solicitor.

Pete.

Iam purchasing the car in the UK so why do i have to pay purchase tax ?
Would the reg. owner details already be on file from when they purchased the car, if not how am i going to get passport ,NIE details from said person ?? The reg. owners permission for any transfer i thought would be covered by there sig.on any relative paperwork.
Outstanding fines is a worry and needs to be checked out, maybe the dealer would do this when they buy any foreign cars ,similar to an HPI check .

It is Tranfer Tax not Purchase Tax and you can check the history of the car and any fines due on the N332 website you can apply for the full report there
https://n332.es/2015/02/07/buying-a-used-car/

Apologies, yes, as Jpeg pointed out, it’s a transfer tax rather than a purchase tax, but you’ll still have to pay it.

I’ve heard of situations where a cat can’t be transferred to a new owner because the previous owner hadn’t provided the correct paperwork. Ear in mind that the DGT will have no knowledge of the sale of the vehicle in the U.K., as far as they are concerned it belongs to the registered owner and they won’t allow a transfer without the appropriate paperwork.

Pete.

Thanks for the link jpeg, very helpful !!
Am i correct in thinking that the transfer tax is no where near as expensive as the purchase tax ?

Thanks for the info pete,never thought it would be so involved.!!
I would only buy from a dealer in the UK so my guess is they probably work with a spanish dealer
so therefore you would hope they have the appropriate paperwork from previous owners .

As an ex UK motor trader for over 45 years if you believe that you will believe anything
Best advice is to buy a decent car here in Spain there are plenty up for sale and the prices are not too bad considering they will be a lot better maintained and no rust also if you buy from a reputable dealer you will get a 12 months warranty by law . Youcan get a new Darcia for under 7500 euros or a Nissan for under 10,000

https://configurador.nissan.es/micra

Quite a few ex-demo with zero miles on clock also with Opal dealers

ALAN T wrote:Thanks for the info pete,never thought it would be so involved.!!
I would only buy from a dealer in the UK so my guess is they probably work with a spanish dealer
so therefore you would hope they have the appropriate paperwork from previous owners .

I enjoy a challenge too


I have seen a few LHD specialist traders (particularly on ebay) who advertise to enquire about their Spanish registration service and suggest they have a solicitor in Spain who can sort the transfer tax and paperwork etc. I would be intrigued; as said earlier, I hear of many many hurdles laid down but also of many horror stories but many based on hearsay. Not saying that such stories may not be correct, just that I hear few of those who have actually been in those shoes themselves.

No jpeg ,i would not "believe anything" especially when it comes to car dealers .
Do not want to spend £5-8k on a car just need a half decent runaround when we are visiting Spain, about 6 times a year, still think it is cheaper to buy in the UK, just need to understand the system and the way it works and the best way forward.
Thanks all for the info, pete, jpeg etc.