UK car in Spain

Hi

I have an classic Jaguar MOTd and Road taxed in the UK.

Could I drive it out to Spain - keep in my underground garage while I am in Uk and use when we are out every couple of months?

Could I get insurance to cover this use of the car as it is costing a fortune for hire cars this year.

Any comments would be welcome.

dd

You'd have to take it back to the UK every year for it's MoT. Probably that alone would outwiegh the cost of car hire.

I suppose that would depend on how much you spend on car hire!

Roberto is correct in that you would have to send your car back to UK every year for it's MOT, however, I'm not sure about the 186 days rule in Spain which may affect you ... but your car must be legal in the country it originates from for it to be legal in Spain

I have a "summer" car on UK plates and for me (I am non-resident in Spain) it is cheaper to send it back with a transport company for it's MOT rather than hiring cars here ... if you can book your return journey with them at the time you book your outbound you may even get a discount!

For me personally the return journey with the transport company is far cheaper than actually driving it over to UK one way - and of course - it doesn't add the mileage on as it's on a car transporter....

I have the vehicle insured fully comp' inc' roadside assistance (which I have used twice without any problems) ....

I think it's down to personal choice (except for the 186 day rule and it may be different if you're resident) - PM me if you want any info re who I insure/use for transport etc

I think most fully comp policies only actually give basic third party cover when abroad, so check a UK policy carefully before using the car extensively in Spain to be sure what cover you have.

I think the 186 day rule (isn't it 183?) applies to the individual rather than the car, so you'd probably get away with leaving the car in Spain - except for the MoT problem. You'd probably be better off trying to find a cheap old run-about on Spanish plates.

If you are resident in Spain, you cannot legally drive a UK plated car.

There is a lot of info on a couple of  other threads, see

UK Registered Cars in Spain

Car Insurance for UK Plates 

Hi

In my short time as a member of EOS there has been so much written on the subject of UK cars in Spain, the two links posted below are just scratching the surface.

This subject will constantly reappear as people consider moving over to Spain, I for one still can not decide whether to buy a car here or bring mine over from the uk, what we need is a short and concise bullet pointed guide that would provide the definitive answer to all the issues.

Justin

If you were to create the above and offer it as a download from the site at say 10 euro’s you would be on to a winner, I would certainly buy it, and I'm not given to splashing out.

SV

Hi

Justin, in fact I've got my money making head on right now, what we need is a menu of short downloadable guides priced at 10 euros each to cover all major issues faced by people moving to or living in Spain, I guess this is probably covered somewhere in your 'Spain Uncut' publication but I'm not talking here of personal experiences, property or legal issues just two page fact sheets.

For example

UK cars in Spain

Tax liabilitys for non residents

Tax liabilitys for residents

etc etc, thre are loads you could do, the correct answers are on this site somewhere posted by someone, but I'm talking about the official definative EOS fact sheets.

s

Charging for this sort of general information!   No way not in my humble opinion.

I thought that this forum was about sharing information.  I, for one, am very happy to share any information that i have gleaned as part of my Uk /Spanish adventure or indeed any other life experience that i have had.

The whole think of paying a bit of money for this sort of info encourages the rogues amongst us who are after a fast buck (again in my humble opinion).  I think most of us, in the past,  have paid for some 'information' and then been left bitterely disappointed.

Lets keep it free and friendly.  I scratch your back, you scratch mine seems good to me ;-)

Agree with TP1 on this.

New members will always find it easier to ask a question, than trawl through old message boards trying to find something relevant. That's the nature of forums. Someone will always reply, or at least offer a link to find previously offered advice quickly, so no harm done. Sometimes I groan when I see an old topic raise it's head yet again, but so what? If I can't be bothered someone else will, and if I do feel like answering, then I do.

There are problems with the suggestion of offering paid for factsheets. Firstly, things change so frequently that any such info can quickly become out of date. The popular book You and the Law in Spain by David Searle is published in a new edition every year for this reason. I doubt that Justin has the time or resources to constantly update such info. Secondly, once you start charging people for "facts", those facts have to be pretty concrete and come from reliable qualified sources. There are plenty of qualified professionals who can charge for their expert advice, but any info obtained from members of an open forum such as this should be accepted for what it is - opinions & personal experiences. Team GB's idea is a good one in principle, and I'll bet many people would welcome it, but who's to say that information compiled from answers found within the EOS forum would not end up being just another source of misinformation? If it was offered freely, and perhaps with some sort of disclaimer, it would be a good addition to the site. But paid for? Different ball game, methinks.

That's not to say that the information that people exchange here does not have it's value, because there are many knowledgeable and well informed contributors, but in my opinion EOS should stick to what it's good at, namely providing a medium for the members to communicate through, and we the members should treat it as a sort of online cafe where we can stop by when it suits us, for a natter, and to exchange those opinions and experiences. I could have made a packet selling downloadable copies of the Horizontal Law, but since it's available to anyone who has the time to do a quick search, I don't mind pointing people in the right direction every now and then. If they ever feel like buying me a coffee, that's fine. If not, no matter.

P.S. By a car here. But that's just my opinion!!

We're seriously considering buying a car in Spain to use when we're over. I'm coming on Monday and this will be my 5th car hire this year.

We keep trying to work out if the pro's outweigh the cons - the cons being the car won't be at Malaga when we arrive so we'll have to take the train and bus or a cab (but the cost of a cab is 50 euro+) We have no dedicated parking space so the car would be have to be regulary moved by our property managers. I'm pretty sure there aren't any of our underground parking spaces up for sale either.

I assume there's a Spanish RAC/AA or would our UK RAC membership cover us?

This year we just seem to have spent soooo much hiring and I doubt that the prices will go down next year.

Any advice would be gratefully received

Have you thought about storing your car at one of the many long term facilities near Malaga airport? Safe, secure, regularly turned over by the staff, and there when you arrive. Go Google!

Brilliant idea Roberto!

I just Googled for Alicante Airport and came up with: www.alicanteairportcarparking.com

This is 300 Euros per annum (with up to 15 free shuttle bus services per annum).  

I have had the same dilemma re Hiring/buying car.  But up until now the cost of getting to Calpe and the time it takes has put me off the own car approach.

This could be the solution i was looking for :-)

Anyone know any cheaper alternatives?

Hello Roberto. This is just what the forum is about sharing information therefore assisting. Reference the 15 shuttle trips I think after paying the 300 you would be entitled to the shuttle each time you arrived and that I am sure would be agreed by the company. Mind you unless you are coming on business 15 trips are probably more than one would make.

"Anyone know any cheaper alternatives?"

A couple of thoughts:

1) if you buy an old banger and aren't too worried about it getting damaged or nicked, just park it somewhere near the airport - there's plenty of industrial estates and the like within very short taxi ride or even walking distance of Malaga airport.

2) not sure what the fine is if you park in the short stay and claim to have lost your ticket? At Malaga I've often noticed several cars that, judging by their grimey condition, must have been there for ages, so unless they're stolen or abandoned, someone must think it's worth it. Mind you, since they introduced number plate cameras at the entrances, it would be hard to deny how long you've been parked there, and maybe they charge accordingly.

Just to help anyone looking for long term car parking at Malaga, there were a few advertising in this week's Sur:

www.parkingsanisidro.com

http://airportparkingmalaga.com/

http://nordiqcar.com/parking-en.html

None quite as cheap as Costa Blanca, it would seem, but nothing is down here

I've saved the parking info - very useful information, thank you Roberto. We're going to sit down and do the maths and make a decision when we are back in February.

 hi all, i was going to start a new tread but seen this one, iam taking an irish car over to malaga in the new year, irish reg cars only need there mot  every 2 years, witch is great because i only need to bring it back every two years, thing is iam looking for a good inturence comphany in spain , also how long of a drive is it from santander to malaga?

Remember the car must be road legal in it's country of registration, so as well as it's MoT, any tax due in Ireland must still be paid. Also, if you become resident in Spain (living there more than 183 days in a year) you should really re-register it on Spanish plates.

Can't tell you who to go to for insurance on a non-Spanish plated car, but there are other threads about car insurance with several (English speaking) suggestions.

Santander to Malaga is a good 10 - 12 hour journey. Roads are good, with plenty of convenient rest places.