Spanish Car Registration (1 Viewer)

[Cat53]

not sure if anyone is aware of this, but just a heads up!

 

[Mikeco]

Only applies if you get residential status so no problem.

 

[tonka]

It's being called ' fake news" by the police themselves on the N332 website / Facebook page..
Being spread about but not worded very good. The 30 days ONLY applies to people who become residents in Spain. It's still 181 days for visitors.

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[Cat53]

Only applies if you get residential status so no problem.

Yes, I read that, but when reading further down the article it said the police didn't care and would impound your vehicle for a week until you could prove you were a tourist.

 

[John & Joan]

The link is fake news check the N332 website for confirmation. They have been inundated with enquiries.

The rules have not changed. A car with Foreign plates is allowed a maximum of 181 days to circulate on Spanish roads
If you are resident and bring a car from another country you are importing the car, so the vehicle has to be re registered to Spanish plates within 30 days. If you are just taking up residency you have 60 days to re register but if you are already resident and import a vehicle you only have 30 days.

 

[GWAYGWAY]

?With the cost of a car now it is cheaper to sell here and buy another there. unless of course you want a newish one, and the ?LHD /RHD problem which means the UK car has no value there and it has to be reversed to come back here to be sold. Car prices have dropped through the floor for anything less than new.

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[EuroTrotters]

I keep a car in Spain for 8 months of the year. But, not the same one.

I take one over in August/September and then swap it over around December / January until May.

I do see cars with UK Plates on in Spain, that must be there more than 6 months.

The Problem with buying cars in Spain is that they are very expensive compared to the UK. A second hand Mercedes E class that is £5,000 here, will cost you €11,000 + in Spain. Upside is, if the car has only been used on the costas, there is likely to be less rust due to lack of salt.

Here in the UK, I have a Mercedes Traveliner that is, according to MB, the only one of its Spec ever built and shipped to the UK. Despite what the poster above wrote. It is more beneficial to me to get it registered in Spain and leave it there. Downside is, it is RHD. But that has never been a problem when we have used it on the continent.

I think the link supplied is a good advert for those charging to get the cars registered (Gestors etc)

TM

 

[gus-lopez]

?With the cost of a car now it is cheaper to sell here and buy another there. unless of course you want a newish one, and the ?LHD /RHD problem which means the UK car has no value there and it has to be reversed to come back here to be sold. Car prices have dropped through the floor for anything less than new.

Not here in the south of Spain. Farther North in Spainyou go the cheaper they get. Buy in Madrid/Barcelona,half the price of here, 20% of the kms & far better condition.

I keep a car in Spain for 8 months of the year. But, not the same one.

I take one over in August/September and then swap it over around December / January until May.

I do see cars with UK Plates on in Spain, that must be there more than 6 months.

The Problem with buying cars in Spain is that they are very expensive compared to the UK. A second hand Mercedes E class that is £5,000 here, will cost you €11,000 + in Spain. Upside is, if the car has only been used on the costas, there is likely to be less rust due to lack of salt.

Here in the UK, I have a Mercedes Traveliner that is, according to MB, the only one of its Spec ever built and shipped to the UK. Despite what the poster above wrote. It is more beneficial to me to get it registered in Spain and leave it there. Downside is, it is RHD. But that has never been a problem when we have used it on the continent.

I think the link supplied is a good advert for those charging to get the cars registered (Gestors etc)

TM

that's if you can. Theoretically as it is a 'van' based vehicle ,albeit with windows in ,they will refuse here to register it due to it being commercial & right hand drive due to 'lack of visibility'
I have even been present when van based pvc motorhomes have been refused at the testing station.
Having said that there are a plethora of rhd commercial vehicles around , especially around Alicante area, that are now on Spanish plates. I have even seen Renault traffic pvcs right hand drive replated locally.
Whenever you look at the paperwork on them they all appear to have been replated at "Redovan" testing station in Alicante.
Then we move on to "are they legal ?"
Because just the fact that they have been re-registered on to Spanish plates does not mean that in the event of an accident with injuries/deaths that ends up in court that the re-registered right hand drive vehicle will not be declared as "incorrectly re-registered", the registration withdrawn thereby meaning that you were illegally on the road & then the whole lot ends up with the blame placed with you.
It has happened before some years ago.

 

[EuroTrotters]

Not here in the south of Spain. Farther North in Spainyou go the cheaper they get. Buy in Madrid/Barcelona,half the price of here, 20% of the kms & far better condition.


that's if you can. Theoretically as it is a 'van' based vehicle ,albeit with windows in ,they will refuse here to register it due to it being commercial & right hand drive due to 'lack of visibility'
I have even been present when van based pvc motorhomes have been refused at the testing station.
Having said that there are a plethora of rhd commercial vehicles around , especially around Alicante area, that are now on Spanish plates. I have even seen Renault traffic pvcs right hand drive replated locally.
Whenever you look at the paperwork on them they all appear to have been replated at "Redovan" testing station in Alicante.
Then we move on to "are they legal ?"
Because just the fact that they have been re-registered on to Spanish plates does not mean that in the event of an accident with injuries/deaths that ends up in court that the re-registered right hand drive vehicle will not be declared as "incorrectly re-registered", the registration withdrawn thereby meaning that you were illegally on the road & then the whole lot ends up with the blame placed with you.
It has happened before some years ago.

Thats good to know.

The UK reg doc lists it as "MPV" and you are correct. It does have windows all around. But so do many vans in Spain?.

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[The Nomad]

The link is fake news check the N332 website for confirmation. They have been inundated with enquiries.

The rules have not changed. A car with Foreign plates is allowed a maximum of 181 days to circulate on Spanish roads
If you are resident and bring a car from another country you are importing the car, so the vehicle has to be re registered to Spanish plates within 30 days. If you are just taking up residency you have 60 days to re register but if you are already resident and import a vehicle you only have 30 days.

Another good example of how even many of the traffic cops of the Guardia Civil don't know the intricacies of the law here in Spain. Its actually a limit of "6 months in any year" in Spanish law, not 181 days. That is because the EU Directive on this "guesting vehicles" from one Member State in another member State specifies that as the limit,and that's what the domestic regulation here actually says. They are also not correct on the 60 days limits for importation either. ..that limit is only on the avoidance of an import duty levy.

 

[gus-lopez]

Thats good to know.

The UK reg doc lists it as "MPV" and you are correct. It does have windows all around. But so do many vans in Spain?.

Yes & I hope you are lucky. Any of what is known in the UK as "car derived " vans could never be re-registered here as they are classed as commercials. I.e. Transit tourneo connect, peugeot partner, berlingo ,etc.

With Spanish 'vans ' there are differences. A van with no windows is a 'furgon' & is subject to the same speed limits as HGV's . It has to have a bulkhead protection behind front seats.
A van with windows is a 'furgoneta' & if not fitted with any additional seats is still subject to the same speed limits as the 'furgon'. Whereas if it has rear windows & additional seating rows for a total of 5,6.9 persons it is a 'furgoneta ' but registered as 'mixto-adaptable' ( mixed use) This should usually also have the bulkhead protection behind rear most seats. This is then subject to same speed limits as cars.
Another difference between furgon/furgoneta & Mixto -adaptable is that the former is due mot after 2 years from new up to 6 years ,then every year to 10 & from then on every 6 months. The latter is the same but after 10 years it remains at yearly.
You must have rear windows in any vehicle that has rear seats.
There are so many 'classes' in which it is possible to register identical vehicles that it is a minefield.
There are about 5 different categories of class that it is possible to register a motorhome in.
Problem with it here is that assuming they aren't worried about rhd is that they will look at the identical model sold here & what category that it is in. If an equivalent isn't sold here then it will be 'closest to'. If they are classed here as minibuses, then you will struggle to get it registered as an mpv ( Monovolumen) . That then poses problems if you only have a car licence ,B.

Here the Gypsies buy the Traveliners to get around in.
If your vehicle has tinted windows in front of 'B' pillar , the drivers /passenger doors ore even windscreen, it would not be able to be replated ( unless glass was changed) if spotted as it is illegal here.
If it did have & it wasn't spotted & replated & then at a future mot it was spotted the offending glass would all have to be changed. The fact that it had been re-registered with it would count for nothing.

 

[John & Joan]

Thanks Gus. Glad we have guys like you on the forum to keep us properly informed.

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[EuroTrotters]

Broken Link Removed

No Bulkhead

 

[gus-lopez]

Broken Link Removed

No Bulkhead

Like everything here, nothing is simple. If it was a van then it would have to have a manufacturer's fitted bulkhead. As a mixto -adaptable it doesn't have to have it fitted by the manufacturer ,although you occasionally see them, but still requires the owner to utilise one if carrying anything. Most who buy don't usually bother or use a thing like a dog guard or cargo net.or pay the 80€ fine.

It also it doesn't make it legal when you are stopped with items in the back. Even a cargo net is sufficient to comply. We also had a works van here , a VW LT28 with capacity of 9 seats + load. We had no bulk head/net behind.Chance we took.

Additionally that is the sort of ad you have to put up with. Dozens of photo's of the exterior & a couple of the inside, some showing tyre tread & the gear lever. Rarely will you ever see one of the engine & only occasionally will you get photo's of what is the most important item & that is the Ficha tecníca which is what you want. So you can see what it is registered as , weight, everything.
If it is registered as an mpv ( which it isn't) then technically it wouldn't need a bulkhead as long as nothing is ever put in the back.As soon as you place items on the rear floor, even bagged shopping, then it becomes an " insecure load" & you should have cargo net/bulkhead division.
Even with car based mpv's ,Or even cars that you can remove seats,fold seats down to put in a load they become illegal without a division between driver/passenger & load.

Back to your ad. Reading between the lines I would make a reasonable guess that the vehicle is registered as a mixto-adaptable ,commercial & used as a mini bus. Reasons;
1) vat is added to price which can only mean it has been reclaimed previously so therefore was used in a business or by someone self-employed. Purchased privately then no vat would be chargeable.
2) You can only now register what are known as "car derived vans" as 'turismo' (cars) if they have 5 seats or less. My Ford Tourneo connect had 5 seats & new ones now can be registered as a car. If you buy the one with seven seats it is classed as 'mixto-adaptable' & a commercial vehicle. If you buy the 5 seater & are self-employed then it can only be registered as a mixto-adaptable & commercial.
That Merc has 9 seats in total so is mixto-adaptable & a commercial vehicle .
3) As it is derived from a larger van ,then it can never be classed as a car (turismo) , & has seating for 8 + driver it is commercial.
At the end of the day the bulkhead , same as in any car/ mpv, is down to the driver.

 

[jumartoo]

Like everything here, nothing is simple. If it was a van then it would have to have a manufacturer's fitted bulkhead. As a mixto -adaptable it doesn't have to have it fitted by the manufacturer ,although you occasionally see them, but still requires the owner to utilise one if carrying anything. Most who buy don't usually bother or use a thing like a dog guard or cargo net.or pay the 80€ fine.

It also it doesn't make it legal when you are stopped with items in the back. Even a cargo net is sufficient to comply. We also had a works van here , a VW LT28 with capacity of 9 seats + load. We had no bulk head/net behind.Chance we took.

Additionally that is the sort of ad you have to put up with. Dozens of photo's of the exterior & a couple of the inside, some showing tyre tread & the gear lever. Rarely will you ever see one of the engine & only occasionally will you get photo's of what is the most important item & that is the Ficha tecníca which is what you want. So you can see what it is registered as , weight, everything.
If it is registered as an mpv ( which it isn't) then technically it wouldn't need a bulkhead as long as nothing is ever put in the back.As soon as you place items on the rear floor, even bagged shopping, then it becomes an " insecure load" & you should have cargo net/bulkhead division.
Even with car based mpv's ,Or even cars that you can remove seats,fold seats down to put in a load they become illegal without a division between driver/passenger & load.

Back to your ad. Reading between the lines I would make a reasonable guess that the vehicle is registered as a mixto-adaptable ,commercial & used as a mini bus. Reasons;
1) vat is added to price which can only mean it has been reclaimed previously so therefore was used in a business or by someone self-employed. Purchased privately then no vat would be chargeable.
2) You can only now register what are known as "car derived vans" as 'turismo' (cars) if they have 5 seats or less. My Ford Tourneo connect had 5 seats & new ones now can be registered as a car. If you buy the one with seven seats it is classed as 'mixto-adaptable' & a commercial vehicle. If you buy the 5 seater & are self-employed then it can only be registered as a mixto-adaptable & commercial.
That Merc has 9 seats in total so is mixto-adaptable & a commercial vehicle .
3) As it is derived from a larger van ,then it can never be classed as a car (turismo) , & has seating for 8 + driver it is commercial.
At the end of the day the bulkhead , same as in any car/ mpv, is down to the driver.

My head's spinning 'cos I don't do technical, that's Martin's province. BUT ... we sometimes carry bikes in our 2002 Peugeot Partner (Spanish registered and tested every six months ) standing upright and strapped down with ratchet straps. We've never had a cargo net or anything else, should we???

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[gus-lopez]

My head's spinning 'cos I don't do technical, that's Martin's province. BUT ... we sometimes carry bikes in our 2002 Peugeot Partner (Spanish registered and tested every six months ) standing upright and strapped down with ratchet straps. We've never had a cargo net or anything else, should we???

No strapped down with ratchets straps is acceptable for a secure load. Shopping on passenger seat/back seat/floor isn't

I took seats out of my mpv once to pick up a large air compressor & secured it with straps . No problem.