Bringing Car Over from England, BEATS CAR HIRE PRICES!

Can anyone tell me what I will need to do to make my car legal in Spain.  I am bringing and keeping my car over here it will have an MOT but will I need to insure it here, Tax it etc.  Anyone out there done this?

Thanks

Paul

As a starter I would suggest you take a look at

http://www.eyeonspain.com/forums/posts-long-11192.aspx

plus possibly other threads under the driving in spain thread on Spanish discussions, there has been lots of advice on this subject.

MOT will be no good as Spain has an ITV and you will need to change lights as well as re register the car at the local Trafico office but worth employing a Gestor to advise you.

It will be illegal to keep UK reg car in Spain indefinitely

For insurance try Linea Directa, very helpful.

more articles on re registering UK cars in Spain

http://www.myspain.es/forum/motoring-spain/52-faq-registering-your-uk-vehicle-spain-inc-new-2008-laws.html

http://www.carimportinspain.com/index2.html

Legally, you can continue on UK plates for a MAX of 6 months provided you have full MOT and Road Fund Tax in the UK to cover you for that period. After 6 months the car must return to the UK for a full continuous six months. You cannot just take it back for an MOT and Roda Tax and then bring it back two weeks later. 

Once in Spain, you cannot LEGALLY get an MOT or Tax Disc - people will tell you that it is possible but it is being done ILLEGALLY!  It is highly likely that noone will insure a vehicle on UK plates here. You need to make sure that this is done before you come. When we moved to Spain, we drove down in our UK reg car, making sure that we were fully legal - our insurer (Direct Line I think) extended our European cover for the 6 months at no extra cost. We bought a Spanish car and sent the UK one back from whence it came!

There is a fair amount to do including modifying the headlights and rear fog lights to re-register it. Get someone to do the re-reg for you as if yu get it wrong then it could end up costing you a alot of money!

I was recently informed by a member of the Spanish local Police that the department responsible for importing cars will no longer be accepting right hand drive vehicles for import, therefore, you need to also include the cost to "move" the steering wheel to the left hand side in your considerations.

I've looked on the web and found out a bot more. If you also have your "residencia" you can only drive the car from the port of entry to your home and then it must be garaged. You then only have 30 days to re-register it. You only get the 6 months if you don't have residencia.

Regarding RH drive cars, have a look on this website http://spain.angloinfo.com/countries/spain/motoregister.asp where it says

"Note: Registering a right-hand drive vehicle in Spain could prove to be difficult as the Spanish government is increasingly considering them to be unsafe due to limited visibility. It is important to note that a person who is already a resident of Spain who buys a foreign, right-hand drive car with the intention of importing and registering it in Spain may be able to go through the importation process, but then be refused an ITV test. This would make the car illegal to drive. Residents of Spain considering importing a right-hand drive foreign car should consult a local ITV station for advice"

I have checked up with one of the big companies who willdo the paperwork for you.

So far, they have not had any RH drive cars refused at ITV. They have also said this is probably a rumour. Cars are acceptable but it is not possible to re-register a motor-home or van.