Insuring a Spanish car not in my name please help

Hello All

I have bought a Spanish reg car in the UK.

Its currently in the UK.

I have the papers but not a copy of the guys passport or NIE.

The car has a UK mot but its spanish ITV has run out

Do all Spanish car insurers start to get funny if you dont prove you have got the car in your name after a certain time?

Some people say they have been driving cars in other peoples names for years and its no problem.  Some people say their insurance gets arsey.

Whats the concensus here?

our spanish car is in my wife's name. The insurance is in mine. Wasn't a problem at all

Are you certain that the car is actually registered with Trafico in Spain in your wife's name?

If it is still in the name of the previous owner, any person driving may need the written permission of the registered owner to be able to legally drive the car.   That is the law in Spain and not having it may be a problem in UK if stopped and ask to prove you have permission to drive the car.

 We all know that in serious claims,  insurance companies wriggle to show they are not responsible. So take care that you don’t find you are driving without insurance when the very small print is examined !

PS  I would not worry about what is the 'consensus here'  is.  Ask the insurance company concerned and preferably get it in writing that in the disclosed circumstances, set out in that authority,  you are really covered.  Transferring a car to your name in Spain is not a bit like doing it in the UK.

Is a UK MOT valid on a Spanish registerd car? How would the MOT be registerd with the DVLA as the car won't be? Surely it woudl not be valid in UK or Spain

I am sure a Spanish ITV is not valid on a UK registered car whilst in spain or in the UK

Sorry but either way it is probably irresponsible of the car owner to do this

Also I am sure any garage doing an ITV or MOT would gladly take yoru money

Johnzx - Nowhere in the op does coldinengland say the car is registered in the wife's name, in fact the registered owner remains unknown apart from the name on the Permiso de Circulation "I have the papers"

I would be careful how you go forward coldinengland

The car is insured in Spain not the person, so you can quite easily arrange insurance. I know a couple of what I call the expat insurers that will offer you a policy whereby you are insured third party while in the UK and when you arrive in Spain (if that's what you are doing) it will become fully comprehensive.

If you don't have the previous owners passport or NIE I'm wondering if you know whether the car has any fines, debts or emargos attached to it? If you buy a report (informe de trafico) this will give you a lot of information. Not only will it tell you if there are any financial problems but also it will let you know the previous owners name, address and NIE/DNI number.

Not sure how you managed to get a UK MOT maybe it was part of a aborted process to get it registered in the UK but it is a worthless document here in Spain, you would be taking a risk driving without a ITV in Spain and here you can't even drive legaly to a pre booked ITV appointment. There are differing views on whether or not having a ITV invalidates insurance, I don't think it does per se but if the car was proven to be unroadworthy well that's a different story.

I surppose it boils down to if you are intending to register the car in your name or just drive around in a car registered to someone else

Johnzx - Nowhere in the op does coldinengland say the car is registered in the wife's name, in fact the registered owner remains unknown apart from the name on the Permiso de Circulation "I have the papers"

Opps!  I was confused with the post by Johnmc.

Nevertheless, I really suspect that the ownership of the vehicle is probably 'confused' and I would be very surprised if it is in the name of the OP.   I think he/she might have problems if stopped and the situation was thoroughly looked into.

As for the MOT, of course as they are carried out by authorised, but privately owned centres,  Baz will correct me, I believe they can test any vehicle regardless of the place of registration.   But as you say a  UK MOT has no significance in Spain.

Nevertheless, I really suspect that the ownership of the vehicle is probably 'confused' and I would be very surprised if it is in the name of the OP.

John, the OP knows that the car is not in his or her name!

It seems to me that the real issue here Is. Is it a offence to drive a otherwise fully legal Spanish car that is not in your name and for which you don't have written authority to drive.

I don't know the answer. John, I think you are saying it's Illegal, can you post any information 

Please note a UK resident cannot drive a foreign car on UK roads

http://www.hughesguides.com/foreignvehicles.pdf

https://www.gov.uk/importing-vehicles-into-the-uk/overview

The rules for foreign cars in UK are pretty much the same as here in Spain and rest of EU

I don't understand how you can obtain a MOT on a Spanish registered car the first thing a mot inspector does is check the V l N and registration number match with the information on log book issued by the dvla  this is all carried out on the mot stations computer why would the dvla issue a mot on Spanish registered car the car has got to be insured/the lights would have to comply /the number plates would have to British.you must have a bent mot.

Good point Tadd.

Tadd I understand that.

You reverse the situation to read " A Spanish resident can't drive a foreign car in Spain.

But that is not answering my question, maybe I should have clarified, I'm talking about a Spanish car on Spanish roads  Is it a offence to drive a otherwise fully legal Spanish car that is not in your name and for which you don't have written authority to drive.

A Spanish resident or non resident can drive a Spainish car in Spain

Windtaker

As I said earlier, the only situation I can imagine whereby a UK MOT Station would undertake a test is if it was part of the process to re register the car in the UK, otherwise, as you say it's probably bent.

~~Is it a offence to drive a otherwise fully legal Spanish car that is not in your name and for which you don't have written authority to drive.

If you do not have approval or permission to drive a car that it is not yours then you are commiting an offence when you drive it and it could be deemed as theft of the car.

Just imagine the questions

Is this your car sir? - answer NO

Do you have permission (wriiten) from the owner to drive this car? - answer NO

Does the owner know you have this car?

It is not your car and you do not have permission to drive so it must be illegal simple really

Do you have a bill of sale yo prove you have bought it signed by the owner?

 Is it a offence to drive a otherwise fully legal Spanish car that is not in your name and for which you don't have written authority to drive.

If you do not have approval or permission to drive a car that it is not yours then you are commiting an offence when you drive it and it could be deemed as theft of the car.

Tadd you are missing my point again, I'm not taking about a criminal offence ie theft, purely from a road traffic standpoint?

I'm looking for authoritative links not just your opinion!

What offence ?

TeamGB you keep moving and I apologsie if i am mis understanding you. |Good luck but I think you have afew problems which you need to decide the risks involved in whatever you decide to do

If you are dirving a car that you cannot prove is yours and have no permission to drive it may be deemed as theft maybe the owner has not reported it stolen, but it would be illegal to drive it in spain (and UK) because of other issues, import export rules, MOT lack of ITV etc etc).

Good luck in whatever you do

~~Hello All

I have bought a Spanish reg car in the UK. OK but is transfer of ownership complete in Spain?

Its currently in the UK. OK is it legally in UK taking into account all rules of import etc?

I have the papers but not a copy of the guys passport or NIE. How are you going to transfer ownership (assuming it is not done)?

The car has a UK mot but its spanish ITV has run out  UK MOT is not valid on a none UK registered car in Spain or UK

Do all Spanish car insurers start to get funny if you dont prove you have got the car in your name after a certain time? Not sure but I would think if the insurance company had any chance of getting out of paying any claims on a technicality they probably would as risk you have to decide to take or not

Some people say they have been driving cars in other peoples names for years and its no problem.  Some people say their insurance gets arsey. I think it would be in the event of a claim or an accident

Whats the concensus here? I would not drive the car in the UK until I got all the paperwork from the sale then take legal advice on how best to get it to Spain and get a full ITV. you could simply take the risk and drive it to Spain (via ferry of course!) and head to an ITV station as soon as you get off ferry

Hi Tadd

Sorry, I think you may have miss undertood me again, the information is not for me. I own a fully legal Spanish car, and beleive it or not, I do also keep a letter of authorisation (to drive the car) in the glove box in respect of my wife and family. We still don't know if this is a legal requirement though!! I just do it because Johnxz said I should 

I'm not going to comment further on coldinengland's dilemma until he or she comes back and updates the thread as to their intentions, they've had enough info to be thinking about.

There are lots and lots of Spanish cars available for sale in the UK, the vast majority, but not all, will have problems. It may be just something small like the current years road tax is unpaid or in the worst case you could have thousands owing to a finance company. This is why I always SHOUT get a Informe de traffico report before you do anything, all you need is the registration number, you can get one online emailed to you for under 20€.

Team GB

I enquired this morning at the National Police. 

They said no one who is not resident in Spain (EU Citizen registered or residencia card holders for non EU citizens) may drive a Spanish registered vehicle, with the exception of those hired from legally register car hire companies.   

He was unable to explain what happens if a person, say with a property in Spain,  buys a vehicle and drives it.

The officer I ask could not say yes or no if there is a requirement to carry a written authority when residents are driving someone else’s Spanish Reg vehicle.

Incidentally, car hire companies in Spain were required to give details of persons hiring vehicles within few days of the hire starting.   They would attend the police station with 2 copies of the info, one copy would be stamped and returned to them as proof of presentation.  I do not work in that office at the police station now, so I do not know if they are still required to do so.

They said no one who is not resident in Spain (EU Citizen registered or residencia card holders for non EU citizens) may drive a Spanish registered vehicle, with the exception of those hired from legally register car hire companies.   

Well how many thousand non resident home owners have Spanish cars? And we keep getting told that the Europeans are breaking the law because they have their foreign cars in Spain too long. If this is true it's a no win situation for them.

Seems like your contact at the National Police doesn't know what he's talking about johnzx. I actually had to read that several times before it sunk in. That would mean someone who isn't resident in Spain (on the EU register) couldn't buy a car which is tosh. I had one for 2 years before getting the residence card during visits. As is my neighbour, who only visits twice a year, but had to change the plates on his UK car to a Spanish one. Plus the dozens of cars on our urb which are Spanish registered but driven by British visitors.

Your contact either misunderstood your question or is getting the answer completely the wrong way round.

He was unable to explain what happens if a person, say with a property in Spain,  buys a vehicle and drives it.

The officer I ask could not say yes or no if there is a requirement to carry a written authority when residents are driving someone else’s Spanish Reg vehicle.

John

If a officer of the National Police said that what hope for the rest of us!!

Bob,  . That would mean someone who isn't resident in Spain (on the EU register) couldn't buy a car which is tosh.

I said in my post (16 Mar 2015 14:35)  He was unable to explain what happens if a person, say with a property in Spain,  buys a vehicle and drives it.

I will ask at the Guadia Civil when I get around to it.