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Many people move here thinking that life will be all beaches and barbies! Well a lot of it is, but you also need to deal with the practicalities of life. This series of articles is designed to make this easier for you. |
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Motoring Matters Should I bring my UK car with me? Should I bring my UK car with me? This is certainly possible. There is a weekly ferry service from Cadiz in Spain. This takes about two and a half days - with a day in Gran Canaria while you wait for the onward ferry to Fuerteventura. Tickets and Information are available from http://www.trasmediterranea.es/. Advantages are that you can bring some of your personal goods with you - including pets - but what happens when you get here? Registering a UK car in Fuerteventura This is a lengthy and costly process. Allow over 1,000 euros, the newer the car, the higher the import tax. The Spanish authorities don't like registering these vehicles, especially those that are right hand drive. You will need a translator and it can take up to three months. In the meantime non residents are allowed to drive their British vehicles here for up to six months. Cars must be taxed, insured and have an MOT from their country of origin. Be aware that the Spanish police may be tougher on foreign vehicles. I had a British car here and parked it legally in a side street. I returned to it a week later and it had gone, instead there was a hole in the road. I went to the police station where they explained to me that they had towed it away because it had a FOR SALE sign in the window. When I said that lots of cars over here display these signs, I was told that there were lots of cars in the cars pound! Luckily the reason I had left the car so long was because I had just picked up a new car, and I wanted to dump the old one as no-one was interested in buying it. I was presented with a form to fill in and the police dumped the car for me! So go ahead and bring a car with you, but unless you are prepared to go to a lot of trouble and expense, make sure its an old banger that you are happy to dump after 6 months. New cars in Spain generally represent better value for money. The second hand market tends to be proportionately more expensive as the Spanish tend to hold onto their cars until they go to the scrap yard in the sky. Buying new cars here is more expensive than on mainland Spain, but still cheaper than the UK. Most major motor manufacturers have outlets here and the garage should take care of all the paperwork for you. You will need an "empadronamiento" - a certificate of residence from your town hall or a residents card. Much of the time, the car will not be available immediately and you will have to wait for one to be imported for you and for the car to be registered in your name. This will inevitably take longer than they say it will so be prepared for a bit of a wait, especially if you are trying to register the car in August or around holiday periods. Many garages sell second hand vehicles and if you buy this way the process is straightforward. The garage will organise the change of owner for you. Try to get at least one year's guarantee on the vehicle. If you are buying privately, you will need to register the change of ownership yourself. for this you will need the car's documents; technical data and permiso de circulacion - both signed on the back by the seller. You also need a copy of the sellers identity document and a contract of sale signed by both of you so that they can work out the tax - this is based on the sale price. Finally you'll need a receipt for the car tax for that year and an ITV certificate - MOT - if the car is more than 4 years old. The local traffic office will then give you the appropriate forms to complete the process. For both new and second hand vehicles you will need to show proof of insurance before you can drive the car away. For more information on the legal side of car purchase click here Every car more than 4 years old needs an ITV. There is only one ITV station on the island, located near Antigua. Understandably, this gets very busy so allow a whole day for the process! There are also no food or drink facilities so you may want a packed lunch. The testing process is very different to the UK where you leave your car and then pick it up later. Here you have to stay with the vehicle and operate the various functions they are testing, such as lights and brakes. So you are subjected to a battery of instructions - in Spanish! The scariest bit is when you drive over a deep pit and the car is joggled about while you are sitting in it! How long a certificate lasts for depends on the age and type of your vehicle. If your car does not pass, the authorities have the right to keep your vehicle if they consider it dangerous. You then have to arrange to get it towed and repaired before repeating the testing process. Many garages will do a pre-ITV check for you to ensure that you only have to go through this once! Some will even arrange for someone to take the vehicle through the test for you - although this will cost you - probably around 50 euros. For more information on getting an ITV click here. Servicing your vehicle, in contrast is fairly straightforward. The major problem here is getting hold of any replacement parts. If these have to be imported from the mainland they can take weeks to arrive. In the main, the simpler and more popular the make of your vehicle, the easier and quicker it will be to maintain. If you breakdown here, don't forget that Spanish motor insurance policies include a breakdown service by default, so just call the number they give you and you can get a tow to a garage - usually of your choice. Car Tax is much cheaper here than in the UK - around 75 euros a year. You are not sent a reminder, you just have to go and pay it yourself. This is payable at your local neighbourhood office - Oficina de Vesinos around March or April. take your id document in with you and they will supply you with a bill and happily take your money from you.
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