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2nd hand car - annual costs

Posted: Fri Dec 18, 2020 6:03am
19 replies1123 views10 members subscribed
scottyrob

Posts: 24

3 helpful points

Location: Villamartin

Joined: 9 Feb 2020

Hi - we are looking at the pros and cons of buying a small second hand car when we eventually get to visit our newly purchased property more regularly in Villamartin. I’ve read that second hand cars in Spain are relatively expensive and you need to be careful when purchasing regards ownership etc however what I am trying to understand is, what annual costs we would have when owning a car in Spain ? - is there the equivalent of road tax, MOT and service that needs carried out each year, and how much can we expect to pay ?
Also , can you purchase breakdown cover in same way as we do in UK ie roadside, home cover etc ?  If so, again , what sort of price can we expect to pay ? - Is there companies similar to home , AA, RAC etc that do this and any recommendations please ? 

Asking these questions as we hope to retire in the next 18 months or so and then spend 90 days in Spain / 90 days UK. We are looking at the pros and cons of buying a second hand car against just hiring a car for short periods here and there when we need it , though it would be good just to have a car available. If purchasing, we would likely use one of the annual airport parking companies I’ve seen discussed on here when going back and forward to the airport. We have our NIE numbers but don’t plan on applying for residency.
Any help would be appreciated, thanks.

Kenneth1

Posted: Fri Dec 18, 2020 9:38am

Kenneth1

Very helpful member

Posts: 827

887 helpful points

Location: La Marina

Joined: 3 Feb 2017

Posted: Fri Dec 18, 2020 9:38am

I have a Ford Focus.1,6

Comprehensive insurance €380. 

Road tax €65.   

ITV(MOT) €45.  My mechanic checks everything and drives it for the test for approx €50.

Total €540/year. 

Airport parking approx €300/year. A taxi to Villamartín would cost you €70 each way. 

Kenneth. 

Kelvin1960

Posted: Fri Dec 18, 2020 9:46am

Kelvin1960

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Posts: 1488

1767 helpful points

Joined: 5 Mar 2017

Posted: Fri Dec 18, 2020 9:46am

All much the same as the UK.

Insurance and SUMA (road tax) maybe slightly cheaper than UK. SUMA is CO2 based, so bigger engine = higher cost.

Usually cheaper to bundle breakdown/roadside recovery into your insurance deal. We use Liberty Seguros; we have "breakdown cards" with phone numbers for English-speaking agents, but we have never had to test that.

ITV much the same as MOT, but ITVs are only necessary every 2 years on cars up to 10 years old (I think).

Cars don't rust much here like they do in the UK.

Expect to pay around 250-400 Euros/year for airport parking/storage. The cheaper cost relates to having your car available at one airport only. If you want to fly out of (say) Alicante and back into Murcia, expect to pay the higher figure (for unlimited pickups/transfers).

We used https://www.planeparking.com/        .... they offer ITV/servicing etc., while you are in the UK.

You can pay your car SUMA online.

killjoy

Posted: Fri Dec 18, 2020 10:32am

killjoy

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Posts: 3232

1849 helpful points

Location: Orihuela Costa

Joined: 4 Nov 2017

Posted: Fri Dec 18, 2020 10:32am

A special transfer tax applies debending on make and age of the vehicle, not it's shape and condition. Buying a used vehicle in Spain is much alike Russian roulette - with one or no empty chamber. If it must be used try a major car hire.

Stephanie86

Posted: Fri Dec 18, 2020 1:41pm

Stephanie86

Legendary helpful member

Posts: 2748

2065 helpful points

Location: Lliber

Joined: 4 May 2017

Posted: Fri Dec 18, 2020 1:41pm

Buying a second hand car in Spain can be problematic if buying privately; not least because of the paperwork involved with. Reregistration to your name and the necessity of checking that there are no outstanding debts on the vehicle, which will become your responsibility.

Would advise you to deal with one of the myriad perfectly reputable main dealers, who will undertake the necessary paperwork on your behalf and also ensure that the vehicle has no debts or other problems.

We bought a small vehicle as a second car a couple of years ago as we are miles out in the campo and it can be difficult with only one; we trailed around endless side-of-the-road dealers , none of whom inspired confidence and eventually went to a large main dealer, who had a perfectly good small vehicle for a reasonable sum of money. Having said which, it was still much more expensive than the equivalent would have been in UK. I understand that this is mainly because the Spanish tend to keep their cars for much longer and that there is virtually no ‘fleet’ market putting used ‘reps’ cars up for sale.

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Aspen1992

Posted: Sat Dec 19, 2020 12:06pm

Aspen1992

Helpful member

Posts: 367

319 helpful points

Location: Villamartin

Joined: 16 May 2020

Posted: Sat Dec 19, 2020 12:06pm

Hi ScottyRob

We are looking at doing the same, a friend of mine brought a Saab convertible down from the UK it cost him 1300 euors to change over to spanich plates, I drove mine down in July when we awere over for a couple of months but I would say long term a left hand drive would be better. I would say overall your probably better off having a car than renting as this would work out very expensive over the summer months, be carefull buying private as someone said if there are any debts to the car these are passed on, ours would get good use between the family and as someone pointed out its 140 euros return to Alicante airport alone which would be 6 months car parking.....

I used to own a garage and the prices in Spain are very high, there were some good lease deals on Nissan Qashqui earlier in the year so it maybe worth a trip to the dealers to check these out, I was looking at Citroen Berlingo, Peugeot Partner size just for luggage when we come out with Golf Clubs or the family is out plus they are very economical and reasonbly cheap to maintain.

Good luck with whatever you decide hopefully we will all get back sometime next year and looking forward to the golf.....!!

Regards

Andrew

scottyrob

Posted: Sun Dec 20, 2020 8:10am

scottyrob

Original Poster

Posts: 24

3 helpful points

Location: Villamartin

Joined: 9 Feb 2020

Posted: Sun Dec 20, 2020 8:10am

Kenneth1 wrote on Fri Dec 18, 2020 9:38am:

I have a Ford Focus.1,6

Comprehensive insurance €380. 

Road tax €65.   

ITV(MOT) €45.  My mechanic checks everything and drives it for the test for approx €50.

Total €540/year. 

Airport parking approx €300/year. A taxi to Villamartín would cost you €70 each way. 

Kenneth. 

Thanks for this Kenneth , these costs don’t seem prohibitive at all - I guess the important point is to find the right car so that repair bills etc don’t start running out of control . 

scottyrob

Posted: Sun Dec 20, 2020 8:13am

scottyrob

Original Poster

Posts: 24

3 helpful points

Location: Villamartin

Joined: 9 Feb 2020

Posted: Sun Dec 20, 2020 8:13am

Kelvin1960 wrote on Fri Dec 18, 2020 9:46am:

All much the same as the UK.

Insurance and SUMA (road tax) maybe slightly cheaper than UK. SUMA is CO2 based, so bigger engine = higher cost.

Usually cheaper to bundle breakdown/roadside recovery into your insurance deal. We use Liberty Seguros; we have "breakdown cards" with phone numbers for English-speaking agents, but we have never had to test that.

ITV much the same as MOT, but ITVs are only necessary every 2 years on cars up to 10 years old (I think).

Cars don't rust much here like they do in the UK.

Expect to pay around 250-400 Euros/year for airport parking/storage. The cheaper cost relates to having your car available at one airport only. If you want to fly out of (say) Alicante and back into Murcia, expect to pay the higher figure (for unlimited pickups/transfers).

We used https://www.planeparking.com/        .... they offer ITV/servicing etc., while you are in the UK.

You can pay your car SUMA online.

Thanks Kelvin , never gave it a thought I could get breakdown cover with the annual insurance ( like uk) - I’ll have a look at that . 

scottyrob

Posted: Sun Dec 20, 2020 8:15am

scottyrob

Original Poster

Posts: 24

3 helpful points

Location: Villamartin

Joined: 9 Feb 2020

Posted: Sun Dec 20, 2020 8:15am

Stephanie86 wrote on Fri Dec 18, 2020 1:41pm:

Buying a second hand car in Spain can be problematic if buying privately; not least because of the paperwork involved with. Reregistration to your name and the necessity of checking that there are no outstanding debts on the vehicle, which will become your responsibility.

Would advise you to deal with one of the myriad perfectly reputable main dealers, who will undertake the necessary paperwork on your behalf and also ensure that the vehicle has no debts or other problems....

...

We bought a small vehicle as a second car a couple of years ago as we are miles out in the campo and it can be difficult with only one; we trailed around endless side-of-the-road dealers , none of whom inspired confidence and eventually went to a large main dealer, who had a perfectly good small vehicle for a reasonable sum of money. Having said which, it was still much more expensive than the equivalent would have been in UK. I understand that this is mainly because the Spanish tend to keep their cars for much longer and that there is virtually no ‘fleet’ market putting used ‘reps’ cars up for sale.

Thanks Stephanie, is  there companies that you ( or anyone else can suggest ) have had personal good experience with that you’d recommend ? Thanks , Scott  

scottyrob

Posted: Sun Dec 20, 2020 8:19am

scottyrob

Original Poster

Posts: 24

3 helpful points

Location: Villamartin

Joined: 9 Feb 2020

Posted: Sun Dec 20, 2020 8:19am

killjoy wrote on Fri Dec 18, 2020 10:32am:

A special transfer tax applies debending on make and age of the vehicle, not it's shape and condition. Buying a used vehicle in Spain is much alike Russian roulette - with one or no empty chamber. If it must be used try a major car hire.

Thanks Killjoy - others haven’t mentioned the transfer tax . What is this ,is  it paid on purchase by the person buying the car ? 

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