By David Hudson of Torrevieja´s classic and specialist car club
How many times
have I heard that or read it in the papers here. Do not
believe all that you have read in the papers or even been
told by experts as they may be in a different Province with
different laws.
It is a very
simple law. If the car (and not the person) is
in Spain for longer than 6 months, the car must
be on Spanish plates, full stop.... But if you
have a residencia you have no option but to be on Spanish
Plates within 30 days! An alternative to this is
if the car is a Classic/Historic car you can apply for a
day’s exemption to drive it but this would have to be done
legally and most people would consider this not worth the
time nor effort. There are no short cuts, paperwork
has to be submitted and it is for one day at a time, only
for Classic events and it's costly!
Going to the UK without the car to Tax it or having an ITV
as alternative MOT does not hold water with the authorities
or the Police. You can forget what you consider to be the
law or any EEC Directives and any rights you may think you
have, as it is the interpretation of the law, by the police
officer, which shall determine whether or not you receive a
ticket. Be warned; start to argue your case and you may
even find your car being impounded on the stop followed by
a long walk home, a trip to the pound and further fees for
towing and storage!
You may meet a Guardia Trafico on an isolated road at night
and it may be raining and he does not like foreigners or
maybe he has had a bad day and all he wants is to get back
home. Please remember that in Spain, you have to prove your
innocence not the other way around, so the car could be
impounded until you convince them you are right with the
necessary documents. If you are wrong, or you can't prove
that you are in the right, then you will have to pay a fine
and for a Grua (Breakdown Truck) to get it to an ITV
station and go through the procedure with the Tax office
(HACIENDA), Car Tax with Suma or the Town Hall finally
dealing with Trafico for the necessary papers and
going back to the Police!
Is it worth it?
Already the Police are aware that you should have a current
Tax Disc if on English Plates, which has not been the case
until recently. Some police forces have agreements with the
DVLA and can access your UK Driving record and MOT passes!
Be aware that Technology is not your friend in these
circumstances, if you are NOT 100%
legal.
My
experience comes from being a founder member of a Spanish
speaking Classic Club for almost 8-years, also having
friends in the Orihuela Police and with the Owner of
Redovan ITV, which is why anyone I send there will be
helped to sort out the problems to make their car legal in
Spain. While Vice President of the Spanish Club in
Orihuela, one of my jobs was to help the English/German
members to change to Spanish plates and 7-years ago Jose
Maria, the engineer of Redovan ITV and Paco, a Guardia
Civil Agent helped me set up the system for
foreigners. The system is very successful; case in
point being one member who spent 4 years trying to get his
car sorted out. After visiting Redovan, he had new Spanish
plates sorted in 2 weeks! Others with Kit cars have been on
Plates within days and someone contacted me from near
Valencia who could not get anywhere with changing plates:
they came down to Redovan on my advice and told me it took
just 2 days! Some newspapers mention that there are
problems in getting tests. This is not the case with
Redovan ITV, but to save time telephone for an appointment
(CITA). They are also excellent at helping owners of
American cars, even brand new ones, which can be very
difficult elsewhere, especially becuase of the lights used
in North America.
If
there is an expensive accident, it is likely that the
insurance of an illegal car, one not on Spanish Plates,
would become null and void. This has happened here on
more than one occasion. If your Insurance says that there
is no problem, be very careful because with a large claim
the person valuing the wreck or death may not be so
obliging. Make sure you have everything in writing.
Regarding the
subject of Spanish Registered Cars, Club Torrevieja
have an
information sheet that will take you through the system
and give you advice and addresses. Please
contact us
if you
require more information.
If you change to
Spanish Plates please check with your Town Hall, to whom
you pay the Rates to, as you will have to pay a Car Tax.
However, there is a Law from the Spanish Government that
allows local authorities to waive payment for Classic Cars
(over 25 years old)! Each local authority sets its own rate
for the Car Tax. To get this tax waived can be quite a
saving on cars with larger engines. The Orihuela, Elche,
Alicante and Murcia authorities waive payment on proof it
is a Classic Car. Club Torrevieja, being a registered club,
can supply members with an accreditation letter stating the
age of your car, and with the car documents, this should be
sufficient proof. You should go though this process prior
to finishing the change over to Spanish Plates, otherwise
you may have a lot of explaining to do to get a refund! If
you want to be on Historic plates then the Club can save
you 50€. For details please read our information
sheet.
Included in the
information sheets is what you need to know about changing
ownership of a car. Also if you need to deregister the car,
temporary in case of theft, or permanently in taking it
back to UK, or to scrap it because it is not wanted. This
means that you do not have any charges made against the
vehicle.
All information sheets are available at Club Meetings on
the first Wednesday of each month.
Disclaimer.
This
information is written purely to advise, based on the
author's 20 years of experience in Spain. Copyright
The above information is a guideline and should not be
taken as law. Please always check with the club or your
lawyer if you have any questions prior.