My experience of Importing a Car from England…..
Living in the small village of Castril, an English car does tend to stick out like “a sore thumb”. Having been here for some months, it was not until I was told the Guarda Civil were gunning for me because my car was still on English plates that I said “but I am allowed it here for 6 months” . I was then told “no”, if you are seen to be living here you can only have it on English plates for ONE month!
This was a shock to me, but it then made us sit down and think should we import the car or buy a second hand Spanish car.
Unfortunately for us, being on a limited budget, it seemed that buying a Spanish car was out of the question because we could not afford it, so we decided to see how much it was going to cost to import it.
After contacting Pepe El Mano, he liaised with the Gestaria Mesa in Baza, who quickly came back with a quotation of 500 euros plus 120 euros for my initial ITV.
I thought well it seemed cheap enough (far cheaper than trying to sell an English car, then getting a Spanish one), so I asked him to proceed with it.
Once the process started it was fairly straight forward.
I put my car into the local garage for a pre-ITV (recommended if you have to travel far and don’t want to fail)!! I had to have 2 new headlights fitted. Fortunately, I did not need new rear fog lights as I have a light on each side. I met a man from the Gestaria Mesa at Castril who took measurements and details of my car. He then went back to his office and within a week, telephoned to say that the document was ready for collection. I then had to take this document along to the local ITV centre and get my car ITV’d. After going through what seemed like an alternative to Blackpool Pleasure Beach funfair and a giggle with my friend at the local ITV centre, I came away with a bright yellow sticker which I proudly put on my front windscreen! A week later, I had to return to the ITV centre to collect the documentation which needed to go back to the Gestaria Mesa in Baza.
At this point I was told I may have to pay up to 30 euros more for the importation, and I said no problem. They took the documentation and said it would be about a week. I received a phone call from my friend to say, the new number plates would be available a few days later, and hey presto I went back to Baza, collected my new plates, registration documentation and even got a few cents change!!
So I am now the proud owner of a red Rover on Spanish Plates. I don’t get people staring anymore and it keeps the local polica and Guarda Civil happy – that’s all that counts. We are in Spain so need to respect their rules…….
There are many misconceptions about importing a car from England, so just to confirm I have my NIE number – which was required.
I was originally told I had to have my residency – which I don’t have as yet – which was why I did not import my car sooner. I successfully imported mine using my Passport but did need to get a “Certificate of Residency” from the Town Hall and stamped by the mayor.
P.S. You do need to take out new car insurance once the transfer is complete on the new plates!