I am American. Please help with process of buying a car.

Posted: Wed Apr 6, 2022 6:42am

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Hi everyone.

I own a home in Alicante. I am not a resident. I am buying a used car. I have a man/friend checking out the car that knows about cars. My friends are mostly Spaniards.

What is the process? What do you do with deposit and paying when I come back into Spain

I have a Florida license and an international license As I understand that I do not need a license thee because I am only there a short amount of time.

One of my main questions is… someone said that if I do not have a Spaniard license I can not own a manual car. And that I have to buy an automatic car. I looked everywhere. I can not find this to be true.

Help. Let me learn from your mistakes. I am single. And I made too many mistakes with the house. I am hoping this is easier.

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Posted: Wed Apr 6, 2022 9:17am

DUI

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Posted: Wed Apr 6, 2022 9:17am

I’m not sure of the licensing details,best to pay for legal advice or maybe go to Police station.How long are your visits?Would it not be better to rent a car?Always best to get it right because if you’re stopped by the Police and they are not happy with paperwork etc they just impound the car and sort out the details later.

Posted: Wed Apr 6, 2022 11:14am

Cheryl

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Posted: Wed Apr 6, 2022 11:14am

https://www.spainmadesimple.com/insurance/car/buying-used-cars/

Find a gestor (advisor) as even locals will often use one for buying a car.

I've never heard of the manual/automatic thing but a gestor will clarify this for you.

Posted: Wed Apr 6, 2022 11:34am

Swimmer57

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Posted: Wed Apr 6, 2022 11:34am

21tammynatalia wrote on Wed Apr 6, 2022 6:42am:
Hi everyone.

I own a home in Alicante. I am not a resident. I am buying a used car. I have a man/friend checking out the car that knows about cars. My friends are mostly Spaniards.

Read more...

What is the process? What do you do with deposit and paying when I come back into Spain

I have a Florida license and an international license As I understand that I do not need a license thee because I am only there a short amount of time.

One of my main questions is… someone said that if I do not have a Spaniard license I can not own a manual car. And that I have to buy an automatic car. I looked everywhere. I can not find this to be true.
Help. Let me learn from your mistakes. I am single. And I made too many mistakes with the house. I am hoping this is easier.

Make sure that the car you are buying doesn't have a loan outstanding on it, or any fines, as you will inherit them with the car when you make the purchase. A gestor is a really good suggestion.

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Posted: Wed Apr 6, 2022 3:06pm

killjoy

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Posted: Wed Apr 6, 2022 3:06pm

As long as you are not resident you cannot register a vehicle in Spain. Then, I would never buy a car in Spain. They are redicuously overpriced and as things are you will not find a dealer selling cash down w/o a huge markup on the published price. An Opel Grandland costs 10K more than in Germany. Take your time and look around. Some time ago I rented from Alamo in North Bergen, NJ the cheapest deal available, a Nissan Micra, but on pick up due to non availability got a full size Buick for the same money. Have some more nice stories but don`t wanto to bore you with them. The bottom line: in the US always got more than expected while in Spain you rarely get what is promised. Have travelled AZ, FL, NY state, NJ, CA, NV, OH, MI, TN, UT, AL, GA.

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Posted: Wed Apr 6, 2022 3:32pm

Cheryl

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Posted: Wed Apr 6, 2022 3:32pm

You can buy a car as a non resident.

https://spain-real.estate/faq/how-to-buy-a-car-in-spain-for-a-foreigner/

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Posted: Wed Apr 6, 2022 3:33pm

julietony

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Posted: Wed Apr 6, 2022 3:33pm

killjoy wrote on Wed Apr 6, 2022 3:06pm:
As long as you are not resident you cannot register a vehicle in Spain. Then, I would never buy a car in Spain. They are redicuously overpriced and as things are you will not find a dealer selling cash down w/o a huge markup on the published price. An Opel Grandland costs 10K more than in Germany...

Read more...

.... Take your time and look around. Some time ago I rented from Alamo in North Bergen, NJ the cheapest deal available, a Nissan Micra, but on pick up due to non availability got a full size Buick for the same money. Have some more nice stories but don`t wanto to bore you with them. The bottom line: in the US always got more than expected while in Spain you rarely get what is promised. Have travelled AZ, FL, NY state, NJ, CA, NV, OH, MI, TN, UT, AL, GA.

Hi, I have seen a couple of posts stating that non residents cannot register a car, and others that state that they can. Does anyone know for absolute certain( I'm assuming that registering, and owning a car are the same?)

Thanks Julie

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Posted: Wed Apr 6, 2022 3:35pm

Cheryl

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Posted: Wed Apr 6, 2022 3:35pm

julietony wrote on Wed Apr 6, 2022 3:33pm:
Hi, I have seen a couple of posts stating that non residents cannot register a car, and others that state that they can. Does anyone know for absolute certain( I'm assuming that registering, and owning a car are the same?)
Thanks Julie

See above post. Many holiday home owners own a car in Spain.

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Posted: Wed Apr 6, 2022 3:50pm

julietony

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Posted: Wed Apr 6, 2022 3:50pm

Cheryl wrote on Wed Apr 6, 2022 3:35pm:
See above post. Many holiday home owners own a car in Spain.

thank you Cheryl, I think you must have posted that as I was typing!

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Posted: Wed Apr 6, 2022 4:25pm

21tammynatalia

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Posted: Wed Apr 6, 2022 4:25pm

julietony wrote on Wed Apr 6, 2022 3:50pm:
thank you Cheryl, I think you must have posted that as I was typing!

I know you can own a car. I live in a village. 20 percent are not residents and ones cars. I almost got a lease from a Mercedes’ dealership. The last day the bank said they would not get me the lease because I could leave and not pay the car. It makes sense.

But if you pay cash I know most definitely you can own a car. Just like I can get a mortgage from a bank at a non-resident.

I will definitely use a gestor . Does anyone have one that you could recommend?