Date: 28-03-24  Time: 23:22 pm

Author Topic: Is it compulsory (Spanish registration)  (Read 1373 times)

lew600fazer

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Is it compulsory (Spanish registration)
« on: 30 August 2014, 10:01:49 am »
 Hi Rustyrider, Moved this away from the TAX DISC thread. The Spanish have now changed the law it is now 3 months from when the vechicle first enters the country, this maybe in contrevention with EU law but this is what they are enforcing.
 If you have spanish residencia you are legally required to transfer the bike /car to spanish register otherwise the Traffico will and can confiscate the vechicle. Actually this is not a new law , it has been around for sometime.It was announced earlier this year that it was going to be more rigidly enforced. The reason they are pursuing foreign reg vechicles is a lot of people are NOT doing as you say and getting the vechicle back to the UK and getting the MOT or road tax. So if the vechicle has not got a valid MOT or road tax it is not insured. I know you can put a UK vechicle through an ITV(MOT) here in Spain on Brit plates but the certificate is not worth the paper it is written on, also you can insure a UK vechicle out here but if you are stopped the Guadia Civil will not recognise the ITV cert as it is not a Spanish reg vechicle therefore they will say the vechicle is not insured.
I am speaking from expeirence here I got stopped by the Guadia Civil on a spot check coming off the AP7 two months back.He asked for an address in Spain as I said I lived here,should have kept me gob shut, entered the details on a computer and pulled up my NIE Number and Residencia number. He issued me with a notification to apply for spanish registration within 3 months of receiving this directive. I pointed out that the bike was insured , had a valid tax disc &MOT. He asked for my licence and pointed out that I was still using a UK licence and as a spanish resident I should also have applied for a spanish licence. I pointed out that my licence had the EU symbol on the front. He looked at the licence and the address on the licence, then looked at the copy of V5 log book(keep that +copy of MOT&insurance cover note under the seat) he pointed out that the address on the log book did not tally with the address on the UK licence, bike was registered at my brothers address , my UK property is rented out. I was lucky with this Guadia, he pointed out that if he really wanted to push it he could inform the DVLA that I was not living at the address on my licence(£1000.00 fine in the UK for failure to notify a change of address) I took the directive he issued me got on the bike and buggered off home. I went to a Gestor and we did the paper work. Cost for registering on Spanish plates €918.00, new headlight €425.00 a very very expensive process, thank god I got the FZ1 at a give away price.
In the process of getting a new spanish licence, which does seem to be taking sometime to come through???
« Last Edit: 30 August 2014, 10:10:03 am by lew600fazer »
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rustyrider

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Re: Is it compulsory (Spanish registration)
« Reply #1 on: 30 August 2014, 07:07:26 pm »
A mate lives in the South of France and has done for over 20 years now.  Both his and his wife's cars are UK registered at his mothers address and his UK driving licence is also at his mothers address.  He gets to come over here often enough that both cars get an MoT and tax.  That isn't quite straightforward as DVLA will only accept insurance from a UK insurance company (one that lists on MID so can be checked online) and French insurance is far cheaper.  French insurers aren't bothered what plates are on the vehicle as long as it is legal in it's country of registration, so he has been known to get UK insurance on a car online, tax it and then cancel the policy.  There was a situation about 5 years ago where an ex-pat with a UK registered car, with a valid Controle Technique (French MoT) and French insurance was involved in an accident.  There was an argument over who was at fault and an assessor got involved.  As it was a UK registered car, he checked on what it needed to make it legal here and asked for the UK MoT certificate and tax disc, neither of which it had so the rejected the claim and cancelled his French insurance.  This scared a lot of ex-pats as the cost of driving to the UK, getting an MoT, insurance and tax and then driving back would come to around a grand so the cars were put up for sale at stupid prices as they daren't carry on using them.  I bought a £2k Seat Alhambra for 200 Euros, a £30k SL55 AMG Merc for £8k and had an Audi A4 given to me, bought them all back here and sold them on.  In France you can do it legally if are prepared to do a bit of work and have a reason to come back to the UK at least once a year but if you don't, then it looks like you are going to be stitched up and have to change registration.  Not so much of a problem with a bike but it is with a car.  Trying to sell a French, or Spanish, registered RHD car would be pretty nigh impossible so changing the registration isn't such a good idea if you ever intend selling the car.  What some have done is not cancelled the UK registration, just put a car on SORN then put it on French plates.  At least then it is still registered in both countries so you can swap plates over if you want to sell it.

lew600fazer

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Re: Is it compulsory (Spanish registration)
« Reply #2 on: 30 August 2014, 08:10:51 pm »
I wonder what it costs to put a car/bike on french plates? I would reckon it would not be as expensive as Spain. The spanish are really taking the piss with the costs. As you say you can pickup UK reg cars out here at give away prices. The cost of second hand LHD cars out here are a bloody joke as well. A good order 10 year old Ford Focus could cost you anywhere between €2500/3000.
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rustyrider

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Re: Is it compulsory (Spanish registration)
« Reply #3 on: 01 September 2014, 05:37:19 pm »
Not sure what he cost to register in France is but I think it's a lot less than it cost you.  One thing they have started asking for these days is a copy of the EU certificate of conformity in French which most manufacturers will charge around 100 Euros for.  Secondhand car prices in France are also ridiculous, you'd pay between twice and three times as much over there as you would for the equivalent car here.  My mate runs a 2003 Peugeot 406 Coupe, a UK car bought over here for £1050 but the same car in LHD on French plates would cost him at least 3000 Euros.  As long as he has a need to come over here at least once a year and keep it MoT'd and taxed, then he'll carry on using it on UK plates.  It isn't only the price of the cars but bits too.  Just about every time I go over I get asked to take brake pads, oil filters and oil because they are just so much cheaper here.

lew600fazer

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Re: Is it compulsory (Spanish registration)
« Reply #4 on: 01 September 2014, 07:37:21 pm »
Very true rusty, spares are a joke here as well. I recently had to put a new eu headlight on the FZ1 €420.00, I could have got one on ebay from the US for $180.00 and I think that included posting. It is cheaper for me to buy tyres in the UK and pay for them to be shipped out here.
I drive an old 1.8 TDI Ford Focus 2003 it is in great condition and had less than 50kms on it but I think I still paid about €3000.00 for it. Don't get me started on insurance. I have max NCB they wanted €670.00 for fully comp, screw that 3rd party only with med cover and recovery, which I believe is compulsory here €157.00 I was not even paying that fully comp in the UK.
Thank God the sun shines here nearly all year round and a bottle of Gin is €9.00.  :D For all my moaning I do love the life out here.
Lew
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rustyrider

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Re: Is it compulsory (Spanish registration)
« Reply #5 on: 01 September 2014, 09:25:11 pm »
That's one thing that's different in Spain then.  His insurance is 19 Euros a month.  That's only third party admittedly but it gives him a 12 month green card rather than a UK policy which will only allow up to 30 days use outside the UK.  Even though it is with AXA, AXA France and AXA UK are different companies so his French insurance doesn't get entered on the Motor Insurers Database so doesn't show up when he's over here and gets pinged by ANPR.  He's only been stopped once over here and once he'd shown his documents then it was fine.  At the end of the day, insurance is insurance no matter what country the company that issued it is in.

I think the problem with spares is that nobody in France repairs anything so a motor factors as we have over here would go bust as they would never sell anything.  Consequently, other than NorAuto, a sort of French equivalent to Halfords, you have to go to a main dealer and pay main dealer prices.