[Closed] How much!?! Second hand cars in Spain...

We are a bit spoilt in the uk. Second hand cars are very expensive pretty much everywhere else.

We are a bit spoilt in the uk. Second hand cars are very expensive pretty much everywhere else.

Or we have a bizarre belief that if its not less than 4 years old its about to expire. On the continent they seem to priced more in line with their intrinsic value and capacity to fulfill a job as opposed to an arbitrary date on the front.

What @nick says, likewise expensive in France too compared to the UK. You tend to see many more smaller cars partly based on price and partly as parking is tight.

If you want "value" look at Seat, Peugot, Renault or Fiat. If you are going to be there longer term a new car on finance / pcp tends to look complelling

Or we have a bizarre belief that if its not less than 4 years old its about to expire. On the continent they seem to priced more in line with their intrinsic value and capacity to fulfill a job as opposed to an arbitrary date on the front.

actually western Europe has fairly similar beliefs, however old/battered cars get quickly exported to other, poorer, LHD markets, (africa & eastern europe) with cheap labour to keep them running (say a ~15 year old car needs 5 hours labour a year to keep it on the road - that's a tenner in gambia vs £200 here), and the intrinsic value of those cars to exporters supports the rest of the market, keeping prices higher.

That doesn't happen nearly as much with RHD cars (its illegal to import them into a lot of countries), as a result there's lots of cars that not many people want - supply and demand means the prices drop appropriately.

it is a mixed blessing - it means we can get cheap older cars, but it means newer cars are effectively more expensive due to the higher depreciation.

another difference is that Germany (the biggest car market in Europe) is very unlikely to lease/buy cars on credit - one of the reasons there is a €500 note is so Germans can buy BMWs with actual cash

The buyer pays a one-time tax on the value of the car, so if it's an expensive car it's common to have two sales contracts drawn up, one at a lower value so you pay less tax. Or look for ads where the seller will pay the transfer (eg if it says llave en mano)

Thanks for the responses. Funnily enough we had bought an imported Toyota Estima Aeras from Japan for our move to Estapona. It was perfect for this, but proving to be a bit large for daily use. That and the automatic transmission isn't brilliant on the hills...

We were thinking of selling it here and getting a smaller car, like a LHD Fiat Panda, but aren't sure how to, or even if there would be a demand for the Estima in Spain. It would be a perfect taxi. The other option is to drive it back to the UK and to see if we could pick up a LHD small car there...

I've re-registered two UK cars in Spain (a VW T3 and a Suzuki jeep thing) and both times were a total PITA because of their age which predated type approval IIRC. A newer, ie post '96 say, car would be easier but still a faff. I'd not bother again.

I dunno what an Estima is, but a search on Milanuncios doesn't turn up anything at all. Where I am, taxis are all new E class Mercs with the odd Skoda Superb.

and before I got the cars re-registered, insurance was a problem too. I ended up with a policy from a Spanish broker which was underwritten by Lloyd's, but iirc you can only use the car for 6mths on UK plates if you are resident in Spain. That doesn't stop folk on the COstas though, I'd imagine a lot of UK plated cars down there are illegal and thus uninsured.

@5slab....rubbish. I know plenty of people who have their cars on tick.

@ op.... If you are in the UK, try finding a LHD motor and taking that to Spain.

Friend of mine used to finance his trips from Germany to the UK by buying a RHD motor here and taking it to the UK and doing the opposite for the return.

The other option is to drive it back to the UK and to see if we could pick up a LHD small car there...

What side do they drive on in Gibraltar? Could save a lot of faffing about!

suburbanreuben - Member
The other option is to drive it back to the UK and to see if we could pick up a LHD small car there...
What side do they drive on in Gibraltar? Could save a lot of faffing about!

I like your thinking 🙂

EDIT

Transport in Gibraltar

The Gibraltar Cable Car runs from outside the Gibraltar Botanic Gardens to the top of the Rock.
Within Gibraltar, the main form of transport is the car. Motorcycles are also very popular and there is a good modern bus service. Unlike in the UK and other British territories, traffic drives on the right, as the territory shares a land border with Spain.

Doh!!!

There are a few LHD dealers in the UK - The LHD Place being one in Berkshire who have a range of previously enjoyed motors available and seem to get good feedback. FWIW I'm looking at the same thing in France - to re-register my Freelander 2 its about 350 Euro for a set of LHD headlights, 60 Euro for the Controle Technique (MOT) and roughly 1500 Euro registration tax based on emissions - and a load of faffing about. I can source a perfectly serviceable large estate from the classifieds Le Bon Coin) for between 6 & 10,000 Euro and return the Freelander to the UK. I'd expect trying to register a Japanese spec vehicle in Spain or France would be a real PITA given the fuss they make about Type Approval here.

I believe that to re register a UK car in Spain,the owner has to have lived in Spain for less than 6 months. Also the purchase tax on the car may be based on the tax offices book value of the car and not what you paid.