When I moved to Spain four years ago it was very easy to drive to Spain in my UK car.
It meant I didn’t have to think about hiring a car in Spain and wasting money on that while I looked around for cars – as if I had time for that anyway – there was a to-do-list with about a million other jobs to do – one less was great news.
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For 30 years, I built businesses with one goal in mind: the finish line. Like many, I pictured the classic dream—moving to Spain, soaking up the sun, and finally switching off. But now that I’m here, I’ve started questioning everything.Watch the video below and let me know in the comments: are you ready to retire or are you ready to reinvent?
Of course I now wish I had concentrated on that one job and forgot most of the others!
It is an easy trap to fall into though. One thing that played on my mind was whether I would like living in spain and want to settle down in Spain.
At the very least I would always have given it a couple of years surely – it wasn’t like I was just going to arrive in Spain and turn back!
Another issue/excuse is the high second-hand price of Spanish cars. Why are used car prices in Spain so high – I still haven’t figured out why! People say it is because there are no company car fleets in Spain – maybe.
I Recommend Strongly
My advice now – in hindsight – is not even to drive over to Spain but to sell your car in the UK and buy a Spanish car once you are here in Spain.
If however you do drive over, I would certainly advise importing your car and getting it re-registered onto Spanish license plates as soon as possible. Officially you have 60 days to do this. A bonus is the fact that you don’t have to pay import duty on the car as you have to after that period expires.
Why You Should Re-Register Your UK Car in Spain.
Stress
The principle reason is stress – how many times have I been concerned when I have spotted the police ahead in their yellow jackets randomly stopping cars. I felt like Christopher Walken in The Deerhunter, playing Russian roulette.
Wasted Time
Another reason is time. I have spent considerable time surfing the Internet, reading on expat forums the reasons to register your car in Spain and the reasons why it is a complete waste of time.
Police Purges
Many people have tried to persuade me that the police haven’t the time or inclination to stop UK registered cars. They have tried to persuade me that English cars have been driving here in Spain for years without any road tax and probably without insurance. They have tried to persuade me that you can get a Spanish ITV, insure the UK registered car here and it is legal.
Another key reason to re-register your UK car onto Spanish license plates is the fact that the police now seem everywhere and frequently operate roadblocks where they pull over every car and ask for documentation.