Keeping a British Car in Spain

Under current rules, you can keep your UK car in Spain for up to 6 months. Then is has to leave Spain for 6 months. It must return to the UK for its annual MOT.

If you keep it in Spain for more than 6 months, you need to re-register it in Spain.

Many thanks Kelvin.

If I register the vehicle in Spain does it still have to be returned to the UK for its annual MOT?

No.

Re-registration in Spain gets the car a Spanish identity. It is taxed and tested in Spain (An MOT is called an ITV here).

Step 1 - present the car at an ITV station, with the British V5 document. Most cars don't have LHD/RHD switchable headlights, so they fail. But the failure notice lists the necessary remedial work. The rear lights sometimes need minor modifications. They will also do the normal safety stuff (brakes, seat belts, rust checks etc), and they don't like modified cars. You get 2 months to correct any issues. They keep the V5, so make a copy before you go.

Step 2 - when the work is done, take the car back to the ITV station for the sign-off. As long as you take it back within 2 months, they only re-check the listed items. Assuming it passes, you get the V5 back, and a new Spanish "matriculation" document that enables you to progress to Step 3.  Steps 1 and 2 cost around 230 Euros in total.

Step 3 - you will probably need a gestor to help with this ... the new documentation (and the V5) goes to the tax office, and an import tax is paid. You then get the full set of Spanish registration documents, and your car is Spanish. From memory, you don't get the V5 back (I assume the Spanish authorities notify the DVLA in the UK - not sure).  The cost of step 3 depends on the age/value/pollution rating of the car.

One thing I learnt ... I left it a bit late for one of our cars. It took it for step 1 about 2 weeks before the UK MOT ran out. It took nearly 2 months to complete step 2. The car had been modified from standard, and it took some time to get the parts to re-standardise it, and the Christmas holidays got in the way. The car failed at step 1, and the failure notice specified that the car could only be driven between my home, my mechanic and the ITV station. So once my UK MOT ran out, the car was grounded.

No, it becomes Spanish and subject to the same rules as any other native Spanish car.

Note whilst you remain UK resident then once Spanish registered you will not be able to take it back and drive it in UK.

Also to be precise it's not simply 6 months but 6 months in any 12.

That’s great information and very useful. Thank You

Kelvin above is spot-on with his advice on changing to Spanish metriculation.

In my humble experience, it is seldom worth re-registering a UK car in Spain. Much as you like the car, it will cost you a lot of money and will turn it into a "white elephant". You will suffer all the awkwardness of driving on the 'wrong' side, car park machines, motorway tolls etc, and then when you get fed up with all that and decide to sell it on, you will find that it's a 'white elephant' that very few people will want to buy. Far better, in my opinion, to bite the bullet, sell it in UK, and buy a left hand drive one already registered in Spain.

Geoff.

Thanks Geof 

I agree entirely with your analagie and I have decided to do just that.

The forum has been extremely useful for the responses and vital information received so Thanks to all that have responded and allowed me to evaluate the situation and come to a conclusive decision.

Much Appreciated!!

Have just matriculated our uk car I would suggest going to a Gestor first because you have to pay import tax of 16% of the value of the car plus the registration fees of about 450 my car is old but worth more to me than the sales figure but cost me about 1700 in total on a newer car could be a lot more if it’s an expensive car, so it might be worth buying a second hand car for out here but they ain’t cheap hope this he

Good point.

Of the two cars that my wife and I brought here, one is an old sports car (that I didn't want to leave behind), and one is an old LHD Honda that we bought in the UK - it is a nice car, but has little financial value, and we knew in advance that it would be quite cheap to import.