Driving in other countries

Visiting another country with a UK European Union License
You may use your GB license for driving in all other European Community/European Economic Area [EC/EEA] member states. Check with a motoring organization if you want to drive in a non-EC/EEA country. They will advise you whether you need an International Driving Permit [IDP]. IDPs are issued by the AA, the RAC, RSAC and Green Flag Motoring Assistance Recovery Club. You must be resident in GB, have passed a driving test and be over 18 years of age.

Moving to another country
If you move to another country, you should check with the driving license authorities there for information about driving and exchanging of licenses. If you return to GB from a non-EC/EEA country and are not in possession of a GB license, you may: drive for up to 12 months on your foreign license and apply for a duplicate of your GB license on payment of the appropriate fee

Buying a Car

If you do not have an NIE number in Spain, you cannot purchase a car or a property. Please go to the section here on this site where you will find full instructions about how to apply and where to go and what you need etc.

Spanish law prevents you from buying a new Spanish registered vehicle but you can apply for an NIE number (which is a temporary National Insurance Number for Spanish non-residents) and this is sufficient for the purchase of a vehicle. This NIE number is a fiscal identity number and identifies you to the Spanish authorities. (We thought we had done well to do everything from buying our property to enrolling the children in schools and acquiring our padrons without having our NIE numbers only to find when we wanted to buy a second vehicle we had a delay until we had acquired them because the law had changed!)

Although new cars in Spain are relatively cheap, second hand cars tend to keep their value more so than in the UK.

New Cars

Whilst sales of cars in Spain have increased slightly over recent years, it remains a buyers market for new cars. Although cars in Spain are cheaper than in the UK prices are 20 per cent higher than in some other EU countries with the choice of vehicles available being somewhat restricted.

New car tax is higher in Spain than in any other EU country due to the registration tax of 12 per cent, which is charged in addition to VAT at 16 per cent. It is normal for cars to be offered for sale at list price but you should not hesitate to ask for discounts, extended guarantees or anything else you can think of. You might not get everything but most dealers will do what they can to encourage you to buy from them.

As an investment, if the purchase of a car could be ever considered such, Spanish vehicles are a much better buy than is the situation in most other EU countries in that they hold their second-hand value for an unbelievably long time. The fact that Spanish vehicles don't seem to rust, may have a bearing on this.

A foreigner may only buy a Spanish registered car if they meet one or more of the following requirements:

They hold an official residence permit or NIE number
They can present the title deed to a home they own in Spain which must be for a dwelling, not a place of business and which must be in the personal name of the owner, not in the name of a company.
Presents a certificate from the Town Hall showing that they are registered inhabitants of the municipality - in other words a Padron.
Produces a contract for property rental for a period of at least one year.

Whatever means you use to purchase your vehicle we now come to the question of vehicle documents. In Spain, as previously mentioned, it is mandatory to carry all car documents when the car is being used. This includes driving license, passport (if you are British), insurance, car registration document and MOT (ITV if necessary). All very strange to us expats who would assume that should our car be stolen we have made it somewhat easier for the thief in that he now not only has the vehicle but the documents to boot! You can carry copies if you are worried about this but if you are stopped by the police you will more than likely be told to produce the originals at the local police station within 7 days. Should this be necessary that will be another half day wasted on Spanish bureaucracy? Expect fines in the region of 300 - 800 euros for not having your documents with you if needing to produce them for any reason. Strange, to us-yes but also the law in Spain.

Many people ask us whether it is possible to buy a new tax-free car in another EU country and then bring it to Spain. In a word, yes, it is possible. You can buy direct from the factory in some countries where cars are produced but the cheapest country in which to purchase cars is Denmark.

However, personally importing a car from the USA is usually much cheaper than buying the same car in Spain or anywhere else in Europe come to that but of course, there is the problem of the paperwork and the homologation discussed earlier in this section.

Any person, regardless of whether they are a member of the European Union and who intends to take up official residence, may bring a car with them providing that they own it. Remember, this applies only to people who are going to become official residents of Spain. There are conditions that you must comply with if you are to avoid Spanish VAT (IVA) and the Spanish car registration tax of 12 or 7 per cent, whichever applies to your particular circumstances.

Used Cars

When it comes to used cars in Spain the first thing that will become clear to most buyers is the fact that they are quite expensive. However, they do also hold their value for longer because of this so its not all bad!.

When buying this type of vehicle it often pays to opt for one that is about two years old as depreciation prior to this means you are still paying a high price for your second hand motor.

If you buy a used car on foreign plates, accept the fact that it will more than likely have been clocked. Our neighbours purchased a car, only to find out on getting it home it had actually clocked 100,000 km more than what it showed in the advert!

If you check accelerator, clutch and brake pedals, finding considerable wear on the rubber covers and the odometer is showing 500 miles it may be better to move on. Conversely, if the rubber covers are virtually unused then it may be because they have been replaced which in itself is quite suspicious. There are other obvious signs of wear such as door sag, seat wear, frayed seat belts, state of carpets and so on and so forth. Beware though; don't go looking for signs of rust. Spanish cars rust very little, despite the fact that a large number of them are on the coast, close to the sea.

If at all possible, try to ascertain that the car has a genuine service history and the services confirm the mileage or kilometers shown on the clock. If the numbers on the clock do not line up correctly they may have been tampered with.

You must pay registration tax at the current rate to transfer a car onto Spanish plates and frankly this is something you really don't need to become involved in if it can be avoided. Without the original or previous owner or both, it may not even be possible to comply with the necessary things to carry out a transfer procedure. It really is better to buy a vehicle already on Spanish plates if you can. It has however been done but often with a lot of time trouble and headache.

If you intend to buy a used car in Spain from either an owner or a garage it may help if you check the following:

That the vehicle has a current ITV (MOT) or test certificate if one is required
There is no evidence of involvement in a major accident or rebuild
Chassis and engine numbers tally with those on registration documents
Name on the registration document is that of the seller. (Passport)
Service coupons are stamped by accredited dealer
That you receive a transfer of ownership document from the seller
What guarantees are available and in writing?

It is quite common for used vehicles to be given good warranties by garages and these will depend largely upon the age and type of vehicle. 12 months is not unusual and in expatriate areas probably more common than in other areas.

There are advantages and disadvantages of living in areas where there may be a significant number of expatriates. One of the advantages is that there is usually an excellent choice of most things including cars and car parts. For many expatriate retirees, their car becomes their hobby, as well as their method of transport.

As in the UK and other countries, Spain is no different in that it has its share of newspapers advertising used cars. In many of the property free-sheets you will find advertisements for garages selling new and used cars as well as advertisements placed by owners. Prices for vehicles seem to depend upon which area of Spain you happen to be in. There are also many garages now run by expats so language is not a barrier anymore.

You may drive an EU plated car in Spain for up to 6 months in any one calendar year so if you arrived here in July, you could drive it until July the next, making it 12 consecutive months, however if you get stopped it is up to you, not the police, to prove there and then you are not contravening the law. Beware though, the policia local sometimes have a blitz and wait outside such places as schools and note down details to use in 6 months time! They are then ready to pull you over and may serve a denuncia (Report) and or fine.

If you work here legally you have 30 days to re-register your foreign-plated car with Spanish plates. Keeping your non-registered car in Spain brings it's own set of problems in any case, as they need by law a British MOT to be legal, which needs to be carried out in the UK. Then there is the problem of insurance, which will need to checked to see if it is valid here in Spain for an unlimited time, even if you do re-insure you still need to double-check. You may know of someone who has been driving an English registered car here for much longer than this but remember neither are they safe, insured or legal. So if you or someone else were to be involved in an accident then they would have no insurance and the innocent party could pay with with more than their money. They are breaking the law and they are not paying their taxes. Is that fair?

Is it worth Buying a left hand drive car to re-register here in Spain?

Please Note that if you are contemplating bringing over a commercial vehicle there are some Registration Difficulties - All commercial and leisure vehicles with RHDrive have a problem that does not exist on the ordinary car - The drivers vision is restricted especially when pulling away to join the traffic flow.

You need to ask yourself in your own set of circumstances whether it is worth buying a left hand drive vehicle in the UK where it may be cheaper, and drive it over or buy one here, if you have a right hand drive vehicle then consider who would want to buy it if, and when you want to sell it as well as the other problems previously mentioned?

When you buy your car it will be necessary for it to be transferred into your name. If you buy from a car dealer he will no doubt arrange the transfer and necessary documentation for you in consideration of a modest fee. If you purchase a vehicle privately, whilst you can sort the paperwork yourself, good advice would be to seek the services of a Gestor who specializes in this type of work. Again, the fee is likely to be quite modest but the saving in time and frustration will more than justify it.

If you want to take on Traffico (the Spanish motor vehicles department) yourself this is the procedure. You must have:

An application form from the provincial traffic department.
The Circulation Permit of the car, with the transfer of owners shown on the back, including the seller's signature.
A receipt showing that the municipal vehicle tax has been paid and a photocopy or computer scans of it.
A receipt showing that the 4 per cent vehicle transfer tax due on the sale has been paid.
The current ITV report and a photocopy or computer scan.
Residence permit and photocopy.
35 Euros to pay the fee.

Take all your documentation to the traffic department and ensure that you include a large self, addressed, stamped envelope so they are able to return the completed documents to you.

Whilst the above does not appear too complicated, the fact of the matter is likely to be different. The Spanish can make a drama out of the most insignificant happenings and together with any language difficulties there may be, you could end up regretting the day you decided to cope with your own paperwork.

For 2,000 - 3,000 euros it is quite possible to pick up a clean car in good condition. If you spend a day wandering around the various garages you are almost certain to come up with a quite acceptable vehicle that will be quite adequate for your purposes in Spain. You may be rather surprised at just how well some Spanish garages renovate and refurbish second hand cars.

One final thing on this subject - if you are selling your own car in Spain, ensure that the transfer is completed into the new owner's name. As with the UK, failure to do so could have you being chased for parking tickets and other offences you did not commit. It is your responsibility to make sure the transfer tax is paid even though the buyer has to pay it!

If you want a bargain
Please note our Live Spain for Life Top Tip...

Whilst the thoughts uppermost in your mind at the moment may concern getting to Spain, there are others who are planning a trip in the other direction. For a variety of reasons, many foreign residents decide that as nice as the sun is - it's not home to them and return to their own country.

For the majority of foreign nationals, their car does not represent a problem. For the British or Irish resident it does because they now have to think in terms of a right-hand drive vehicle. Many sell their Spanish cars for what they can get and you may pick up the odd bargain.

Something to bear in mind is that those returning to the UK often advertise their vehicles in exchange for a UK registered vehicle. This solves problems for both parties. If you are interested in "swapping", the best place to look is in the expatriate English press