Spanish car in UK - Returning to Spain ?

[Vetxpat]

My husband and I are relocating to Spain in 2 weeks time, and would appreciate some advice on a car we have been offered.

A friend of a friend used to live in Spain and 2 years ago drove their Spanish car to the UK, intending to return a couple of months later. Their plans later changed and as such they have had this car in their garage the last 2 years that they now want to sell at a bargain price.

To their credit, they have told me that the Spanish tax has gone unpaid for 2 years, and that it is 2 years out of ITV, but neither have they exported the car from Spain or imported it into the UK.

If WWe go ahead and buy the car is it likely to be difficult to transfer it into our name, ITV it and pay the outstanding taxes, or should I avoid this car like the plague ?

[SimonCarter]

Given that the car is still in your friends name and has not been imported into the UK, the new owner will become liable for the taxes, but (depending on the make & model of the car and the town hall where it is registered) it shouldn't cost you more than a couple of hundred euros at most to pay this off. It seems quite popular in Spain to accumulate car taxes over a number of years and pay them all in one go whenever you change your car, and not something that is strictly enforced like it is in the UK.

[sinbad]

So the car won't have a valid MOT in the UK or a Spanish ITV ?

The best suggestion would probably to get the car on a Ferry to northern Spain and book an ITV as close to the Ferry terminal for as soon as possible after you dock. The fact that the car is legally registered in somebody else's name shouldn't really be an issue as I have taken a friend's car for an ITV on a number of occassions without any problems.

Once it passes it's ITV you can then legally transfer the vehicle into your name and pay the outstanding taxes.

If it fails, you should be goven a failure certificate, which under normal circumstances allows you to drive from the test station to a garage near your home and then to another station for a re-test within 10 days, but I'm sue if this will apply if you are driving hundreds of miles across the country to get home, and that your car will have been without an ITV for so long. Might be a good idea to get a thorough service done in the UK before you start your Journey !

[Vetxpat]

Sinbad : No, it doesn't have either UK or Spanish Test, and in the eyes of the law it is still a Spanish vehicle.

Given that I have had no really scary replies to my Q, I am tempted to give the offer some serious thought, thanks for your input guys !

[Robster]

Get it on a Ferry to northern Spain, look online to book an ITV in the closest possible station to the port and then that's 75% of your problm sorted. If it passes, great. If it fails, get a failure cert , get the work done and do a retest somewhere locally to you in Spain. Then you just need to get a Gestor to do the name change for you.

[Vetxpat]

Get it on a Ferry to northern Spain, look online to book an ITV in the closest possible station to the port and then that's 75% of your problm sorted. If it passes, great. If it fails, get a failure cert , get the work done and do a retest somewhere locally to you in Spain. Then you just need to get a Gestor to do the name change for you.

Do you happen to know of any way that I can book an ITV appointment whilst I am still in the UK ?

[Robster]

Assuming you are going to be doing the Ferry to Spain thing, you can locate and make an appointment with a station here >> http://itv.com.es/

[Vetxpat]

Assuming you are going to be doing the Ferry to Spain thing, you can locate and make an appointment with a station here >> http://itv.com.es/

Thanks, that looks useful - time to dust off my Spanglish !