Buying a car

You're quite right, Mike. In the UK, I used to buy 12 month old fleet cars at auction at about 40% off retail. When I moved to North Yorkshire, where there wasn't a good auction, I used the Vauxhall website, where you can plug in exactly what you want. When I moved out here, I looked at the Opel website - no facility to search for what I wanted. When I clicked links to their dealers, what did I get - a picture of the dealer!

You'll just have to grit your teeth and buy new - at least you'll have the benefit of a full warranty. If you buy a car a year old, you'd be lucky to get 10% off retail.

The other alternative is to buy from, say, Germany, but the you've got the hassle of putting it onto Spanish plates.

Interesting comment about buying in Germany....what sort of hassle would there be buying a car in Germany and putting it onto spanish plates, after all, Spain and Germany are both E.C.countries?  This forum is wonderful for getting information and advice about subjects I would have little or no knowledge about.

My husband and I have decided that we are sick and tired of car hire companies and must buy a car soon. Part of me thinks we should simply buy a new car which would do us for years but then I think perhaps a second hand car may be the answer but then I start thinking that a used car might breakdown and where would that leave us? The whole thing is a minefield and your comment about buying in Germany suggests a better price but also suggests a hassle. As far as I can see, older cars seem to be quite expensive in Spain compared to similar cars in the U.K.  Does anyone have any good advice as to what we should do? Are there any good deals being offered in Torrevieja now?  Many thanks to all you wonderful people who take the time to reply offering the wisest advice, you are the best!

Happy New Year to you all. We have been out celebrating with friends in Northern Ireland and just home now and ready for bed......isn’t life wonderful? We must be the most fortunate generation ever!  Looking forward to returning to good old Torre soon.

Cheers!  Rosemary.

Try searching on autoscout.es

It works almost exactly like autotrader does in the UK.

For pre-registered cars, use the Km0 search.

You can set the language to English, and limit your search radius from your Spanish postcode.

Good hunting ...

Hi Kelvin, thanks, that's a great tip. I've had a quick look and found several cars of interest.

All the best

Mike

Thanks Jim, you may be right, I might end up buying new. However, another poster has suggested the autoscout.es website. I've had a quick look and it seems promising.

cheers

Mike

You could also consider buying a proper car lol 

That's 30 seconds of my life I'll never get back.

The major difference is in the lack of pressure to have the latest letter on your number plate.  Whilst there is a whole industry set up in UK to disguise the age of your car you will find that in Spain nobody cares.

This is one reason why car owners hold onto their cars for longer and view them as a mean of conveyance rather than status symbol. 

Hence used cars are generally more expensive and could have much higher mileage.

The best deals are usually done by buying from someone who is leaving Spain,

Good luck

Couldn't agree more with Woolly Moving to Spain is less about status symbols, latest cars, TV etc and all the other things that seem to be important in the UK. What it is about is QOL in a relaxed country and family....Spanish people care very little for material things....just look at some of their cars. After a time most oeople moving to Spain will be in the same mindset. I personally wouldn't want to spend 1000's of Euros on a new shiny posh car, simply for it to be knocked about in a car park.