English MOT and English road tax

Hi

Faro & Gus, great info.

Am I right in thinking that you have to have owned the car for six months before you can go through the process below?.

Steve

Correct - but being Spain you can fabricate the invoice and anything else for that matter - just try to make it look official!

Only the tax office seem concerned on this point and ask for a copy of the invoice for the car. She was a nice girl and just wanted some copies to staple to her form!

It might be the Spanish accept that it's perfectly normal to buy a car and not do the formal change of registration on time (as in Spain!!) so V5 may not be in your name?

I bought a Spanish car 4 years ago and have still not changed ownership details. I could not be bothered paying the transfer tax at the time. I keep meaning to do it every year as it gets cheaper. Not a major problem the registered owner (Spanish in Madrid) pays the tax and gives me the bill and I give him the money. I probably sort it out soon as I'm trying to do things more legal but it's always so complicated as it's not sign a form and post it off as it is back in UK etc.

Faro

Thank you for clarifying what you actually meant, but i guess by definition "professional'' means they are in it for the money!

And let it be noted i respect your "opinion''!

I would not sell a Spanish plated car and not transfer it to the new owner at point of sale. Any 'fines' the new 'owner' aquires would be the liability of the legal owner on the paperwork.

He seems quite happy to pay my road tax and I re-imburse him and If he gets any fines I'm sure he'll forward them onto me as well.

But you are of course right but this is a private matter and not something you would do with some unknown individual.

Regarding Spanish Insurance brokers or companies insuring UK plated cars,one of my customers told me yesterday that his friend had a UK plated car on Spanish insurance.He had an accident involving some rather large rocks and no other car(fortuneatley) which wrote his car off.He went to the insurance company filled out the claims form and the company then said "That`s fine Mr X,if you just bring in a copy of your MOT and road tax disc we will process your claim !!

Needless to say that had long expired so be warned,the best option is either to sell the UK car in UK and buy Spanish or re-matriculate when you get it here.

Jimbo

Hello,

I am also curious about the registering of a car in Spain.

My situation is a little bit different as the left hand drive car I have purchased in the UK this week was originally in France; I am hoping somebody can advise me on what needs to be done in order to be fully legal in Spain by that I mean Spanish plates etc...Anyway be gentle as this is all new to me, I have read different articles on this subject tonight and they don’t really add up/are the same.

I won’t be staying in Spain for 6 months out of the year and perhaps only 100 days as I work abroad and travel back to the UK now and again, I don’t have a rental agreement as it’s a family owned property and my name is on no paperwork what so ever regarding the property

I assume given the above that I can’t get residency or NIE number here to avoid paying import tax on the car if I have to pay any at all, also the price paid for the car is almost a 1/3 what the insurance companies have valued it at today.

The car will be used by me whilst I am here but family members will also have use of it when they are over on holiday.

I am an ex mechanic & MOT tester so know about the ITV and headlight replacement carry on.

So as you can see it’s a little bit complicated and hoping someone can offer me some sound advice, I don’t speak any Spanish but have a good friend who is fluent to help me with the forms etc.

My understanding is that the Spanish itv is legal for a French reg. vehicles  but not for British, German ,etc. Don't know why but that's the info. from my itv station. Pity you can't pay the French road tax then you wouldn't have to change it. I've got an aquaintance who's legal French van hasn't seen France for 40 years ! I'd let a gestoria do it for you, it'll be easier. There is a scam going on with French reg. vehicles @ the moment that involves selling them for export  & then finance is taken out & when the person goes to re-reg. in another country it all comes to light. Hope it's not in your case.

Kevnew - what coutries plates are on the car at the moment?

Hello and thanks for the nifo so far.

guslopez - thanks for that, the car has been back in the UK since 21/05/2004 as per DVLA records so hoping thats not the case.

Faro - Car is on UK plates.

 Hi Everyone,

Thankyou all for this info, it's good to know that we aren't the only ones that are a bit confused by all this info to do with cars.

Our situation is similar to kevnew.   We have the chance to buy a left hand drive car here in the uk,  and want to take it to Spain and leave it there.  It has UK plates.   We are  not  resident in Spain but do have property there so will be using the car when we are there for holidays, and will not be spending 6 months at a time there,  so is the procedure different for us?  We do have NIE numbers.  

Also, you say you have to have had the car for 6 months?  We have been told you can have a car in Spain for 6 months before having to change anything?

Grateful for any help

A very confuddled June

My understanding is that if you have owned the car for less than 6 months, the Spanish will regard it as a commercial import and tax you on it.   But you can drive it in Spain for 6 mths without worrying about changing plates, re-taxing etc.  They are also pretty hot on emissions which worries me as we have a very old Ford albeit LHD.  I will keep you posted via my blog Biking & Baking in Las Alpujarras as we also have the bikes to do...

 Thank you for the help Casalinda

June

Bizarre....How can you use a heading that makes no sense as neither of them exist???

No such thing as an ENGLISH MOT... In case you have missed it...the MOT is in force for the whole UNITED KINGDOM...Yes its true!! Scotland, Wales & N Ireland have exactly the same..!!! Oh and just in case you missed the other thing...Road Tax...yes you guessed it Not English.... that is also a UK Necessity And not just for England....(if only)

You are probably one of those English people who also think Your money is English and also you have an English Passport..? sure you are.... Totally unbelievable!! Im sure it seems petty to you..but it is not to the rest of us... A Scot would NEVER talk in such terms...far less a person from Wales....And they are hyper patriotic..!!! Go on make a change... think about it next time..

The original (2009) post from someone out there, did indeed make these incorrect assumptions, but everyone since has used the term 'UK' so it seems that the majority posting messages are 'British & Northern Irish' and not 'English'!

As I am 1/4 English, 1/4 Scots, 1/4 Pole and 1/4 Italian, but I live in Spain, I consider myself to be European!  :)

 Any car thats is bought in to Spain must be put on to Spanish plates after 6 months and must have a Spanish ITV (MOT) . You must also pay the Spanish road tax as well.  There are people here who are driving British plated cars with no UK tax disc showing in the window, so it is not on Spanish plates and from the fact that there is no dics tax shoing one must wonder if it asw any tax at all, if this is the cast the MOT as possilbly runout too?!  If all this is ture then any insurance on the car is void as will and the car is illegal.

You're absolutely right!  We have taken 3 motorbikes and a car through the Spanish system (in our first 3 mths here) and are glad we did so.  It improved our Spanish, we learned a lot about the process, everyone was very helpful and we can drive around secure in the knowledge that we have all the correct paperwork AND insurance.  I think the local police are very interested in uninsured vehicles, no matter who drives them or from what country, and the net is tightening all the time! 

Casalinda

 If you are resident in Spain - i.e. you have Residencia - then you have ONE month to get the vehicle on Spanish plates - not 6 months.!!

There are also moves afoot, to stop RHD vehicles being able to be put on Spanish plates - for visability reasons.

Finally, the Policia data-share with DVLA. So they now know pretty quickly if a car is Taxed, MOT'd or Insured.

Just think about that, the next time you are stopped at a road block in your illegal car. you could be saying  to it...!!

My own experiences:

In September 2010 I drove a car - Citroen Xantia 2.0i - over to Spain with the view to keeping it there. It had 12 months MoT, 12 months road tax and12 months fully comprehensive insurance. I checked with the insurers about the legality of keeping it in Spain for the year and they were quite happy provided that I could show that neither myself or the named driver used it for not more than 60 days in the 12 months by keeping all return flight details. I deliberately chose this car because a) I like them, and b) there should be plenty of them around continental scrap yards for parts etc.

Over the following year he became known affectionately amongst our Spanish neighbours as 'El rana Inglese, 'cos he is green, French and on British plates! Then, in August this year I took the plunge after taking some very useful advice and info from Faro on this site - thanks for that, Faro.

Firstly, I went to visit a local insurance agency who gave me Spanish fully comprehensive insurance on the UK number - all I needed to do was go back after re-registration and inform them of the new number. I was very pleased to note that he is now covered FC, 24/7, Europe-wide, for ANY driver over 25, with all-singing, all-dancing Europe-wide roadside repair/recovery, and for LESS THAN 50% of what I was paying in England for insurance only for two drivers! 

Next, I went to the local autosdesguaces and bought a pair of LHD headlamps for the grand total of 50 euros. Just three screws each side and these were fitted in a couple of minutes. Double rear fog lamps are standard on this car so nothing needed there. I then found a perito for the engineers report - he didn't even need to see the car, just the UK V5 document.

Then off to the Itv station - my first little slip-up! Although the Itv is nowhere near as stringent as a UK MoT, they are very keen on tyres. Both tyres on any axle must not only be the same size and construction, they MUST also be the same MAKE! Although both my rear tyres were perfectly legal, there was one Avon and one Firestone, so off to the tyre depot for a new pair. We then sailed through the test with no further worries. As this was a test for re-registration, the docs and paperwork had to be checked and signed by a senior engineer so I had to go back the next day to collect them Remember to put the red sticker in top o/s corner of the windscreen..

Now down to the SUMA office to pay the road tax - as usual, remember to take originals (and plenty of copies) of passport, NIE, padron or residencia etc. Into the bank to pay the cash over and then to the local revenue office to sort out the import duty. Queue up, get the paperwork and away to the bank again to pay the cash and get the all-important blue stamp. Back to the duty office and exchange for more docs with more blue stamps.

Over to Traffico, pay the registration fee and queue again to hand everything in. Get a reference number (with blue stamp) and told to return next day to get the number and Permisso de Circulation (I think that's what it's called) - the Spanish log book.

Back again to Traffico next day, hand over my number, collect all the relevent papers and, at last, across the road to the number plate shop for the new plates. I wasso excited I even took my cordless drill into town with me and fitted them there and then!

In summary: dead easy to do so long as you have the time, patience and can put up with the burocracy with a smile. Yes, I would - and will - do it again. Excluding the insurance and tyres, the total cost was less than 500 euros, a fair chunk of which was the import duty - I now know to do the job earlier next time and avoid much of this. Also, as the tax and duty calculations are based on the manufacturer's stated CO2 emmissions figure, the next one will be either a diesel or a smaller, more efficient petrol engine which will reduce costs considerably, but these are all things you learn from trial and error. I also find that Spanish drivers seem to treat us with a bit more respect - less hooting and carving-up at junctions!

Incidentally, on my way home from my second visit toTraffico, for the first time in five years I was stopped in a roadside check by the Guardia Civil; just glanced at the red sticker and waved me on!

Hope this may be of help to those of you who want to try.

Steve. 

 Sten46 - glad it all worked out for you. I have re-registered a total of 4 cars (don't ask - long story) The first 3 saw me doing exactly what you did - LOTS of patience required - but all worked out in the end. My 4th car was an American import, delivered to the UK and then a ferry trip (Santandar) and a lovely drive down to Murcia.

The vehicle is a HUGE SUV 4x4 with a rather large 5.4 litre V8 under the bonnet. Being American, it was already LHD with the correct Xenon headlamps and only needing the rear indicators to be added - red indicators being OK in America, but Europe demands amber. This I did myself and took less than 20minutes. The red indicators were disconnected.

Off to the ITV, I went.

Then I hit trouble. As it was American, the specification, CO2 emissions etc etc., didn't exist. I was also told that the side-steps had to be removed as they were 'protruding' beyond the bodywork. I argued that the side-steps were an essential component to the structure of the vehicle and that Ford knew a bit more about building vehicles than a mechanic working at an ITV station in Spain, did.!

Futher measurements were taken of the side steps and ITV accepted they were wrong and that the vehicle was OK.

But I still came away without an ITV sticker.

Time for the experts..!

I contacted a company who specialised in re-plating imported vehicles. 5 days later, all the paperwork was in place. I needed an homologation certificate - 70€ if you know the right person, 600€ if you don't..!! - and I had my ITV sticker, logbook, road tax paid and import tax paid - and my new (Spanish) plates.

Apart from the taxes I paid - I was charged 200€ for all the running around the Agent did on my behalf - Bargain.!

Best of all, because the SUV wasn't on the official 'list' and therefore the CO2 emmissions are unknown, I pay the minimum amount of 'road tax' - The job was a good'un..