How long

If you are talking about a brand new car, then as with anywhere else, I suppose it depends entirely on what make/model you are buying. If it's a bog standard model from a manufacturer like Ford, Opel, Seat etc, then you may well find what you want is in stock at the dealer, especially if you are not too fussed about the colour. If you're looking for a customized Maserati, you may have to wait a while! Just as in the UK, if you can find a "pre-registered" car you could save a lot, although Spanish dealers don't generally do this to meet quotas as in the UK. However, a few years ago, I was in a Ford dealer, and pointed to the manager's car, which had 3000 kms on the clock at the time, and said "I want that one". The manager was happy to sell it to me (at a considerable discount off the new price) because it meant that he could order a new one for himself!

I'm quite sure most dealers will happily accept a deposit before you have your NIE, but you won't be able to register it and drive it away (at least not legally) until you have one.

We are moveing out to murcia in Feb next year and are looking to buy a new car.

could any body advice are we better to wait till we get out  to buy in spain

or buy a left hand drive in the uk and re register it when we arrive,

 Thanks

Rob/Jac

Buy it here in Spain - far too much hassle and expense involved to re-register it here, and no advantage buying it there anyway. (Apart, perhaps, from being able to use it to get your "stuff" over here!)

Bear in mind also that the exact same models are not always sold in each country, and although all new car warranties should be valid throughout Europe, it doesn't necessarily mean that a dealer here will be happy to, or able to, fix any snags that materialise in the early days. I bought a new car in Spain with an engine/transmission configuration not available at that time on the UK market. When I brought it to a dealer in the UK for some warranty work, it wasn't a major problem, since mechanics these days are basically men in white coats who plug your car into the diagnostic computer and follow the instructions issued forthwith, but it did raise a few eyebrows, which didn't inspire a huge amount of confidence that they knew what they were doing with it. Had it been the other way round, I would not have been surprised to receive one of those Latin shrugs of the shoulders where the chin virually hits the chest, that says "ain't got a clue, amigo - never seen one of these before!"

Oh, and by the way, if you do decide to buy it in the UK, don't even think about getting anything without Air-con, because you'll never sell it again in Spain. I don't know about the UK market, but even the most basic Smart car has A/C here now. And boy, are you glad of it now!

Thanks Roberto

  Thought it was the best idea to buy in spain  we are looking for a scenic, spoke to a dealer today in uk and he's told me better to buy here thought it was a bit of a joke when i just got his price back. car 14,990

 english pounds and 3500 for spanish registration and thats not the top of range not even brand new ( I THINK HES HAVEING A LAUGH OR HE THINKS I MIGHT BE A BIT OF A MUG)

ROB/JAC

Generally main dealers in Spain do not offer discounts as per the UK, which takes a bit of getting used to, but does make it easier to figure how much you're likely to pay. I just had a quick look at the Renault Spain website and worked out the price for a Scenic 2.0 DCI 150CV E4 (manual, with metallic paint but no other options - this I think is the top of the range anyway) to be €27,810 incl. IVA (VAT). It doesn't seem to specify, but I imagine this includes registration etc (i.e. on the road)

Visit www.renault.es and click on "configurador", even without any Spanish you'll be able to follow the process for working out a price for your exact specification of any of the 27 models available! Enjoy.