[77Dinaartickire]

Hi all, I'm after more information!!

I'm taking a car down to GA next month and subject to my wife being OK with a RHD car I will be getting Spanish plates for it...........the solicitor above the commercial centre in Novamar charges 300E for the service...on top of that you have to add taxes, ITV, plates, headlights.....total cost she calculated for me will be about 1,350E for the car I am taking...........still saving me a fortune (about 20%) on buying a similar car in Spain.

The information I am after concerns the availability of an RAC/AA/Green Flag type of operation in Spain...........my "Spanglish" would neccesitate a service with English speakers at the other end of the phone.

Does anyone know if this excists............and if you have been unfortunate enough to have to call them what was the subsequent response/service like?

Thanks in advance

John

PS I will keep you posted of how the process goes!!

[DraidodaRip]

[QUOTE=john hannon]Hi all, I'm after more information!!

I'm taking a car down to GA next month and subject to my wife being OK with a RHD car I will be getting Spanish plates for it...........the solicitor above the commercial centre in Novamar charges 300E for the service...on top of that you have to add taxes, ITV, plates, headlights.....total cost she calculated for me will be about 1,350E for the car I am taking...........still saving me a fortune (about 20%) on buying a similar car in Spain.

Does anyone know if this excists............and if you have been unfortunate enough to have to call them what was the subsequent response/service like?

Thanks in advance

John

++It is NOT a question of money, surely, it is one of safety! If I were to be elected Zapatero's successor the FIRST thing I would do is ban RHD cars. Over 15 years I have seen so many accidents/near accidents with RHD cars in Europe. Try overtaking in moving traffic - especially with a van or lorry with no side windows.

There's no point anybody flaming me. I have seen enough to KNOW that it's dangerous. It's my red spotl! Why they are allowed is a complete mystery,

[bellson]

we bought a car last month and when insuring it through Linda Rowlands in Santa Pola we found that the roadside assistance comes as part of your policy and is not something that you can ask to have removed from the policy cover.

Worth giving them a ring to quote for your car insurance very helpful and competitive rates also.

[Fiesialenp]

I agree with Steves point on safety. Mark what you dont mention is that your van is LHD & originally registered in Belguim. John in addition to the very strong argument on safety it is also financially a mistake. Yes I work in the industry and my job involves selling cars. So you may expect me say this. You can ask anyone in the trade and they will tell you, the worst thing that you can do is put a RHD on Spanish plates. Give Frank a call at FWR he will tell you exactly the same. Franks buys a lot of RHD PXs from us and ships them back as long as they are on UK plates. Unless you are going to keep the car and "Run it into the ground" You are throwing money away. Just ask yourself this one question.

Two cars indentical in every way Age, Mileage, Condition Equipment Etc.

How much cheaper would the one with the steering wheel need to be before you would consider buying it. When I asked this question during a presentation, hands started to raise at €3.000. So you are going to pay €1500 to wipe €3.000 of the value. Thats what will happen when you want to sell the car. The only benifit is that if you keep it until it is 15 years old at least on Spanish plate you qualify for plan prever.

[Avoireeideree]

Sorry your question was about road side assistance. All of the main stream Spanish insurance companies include Roadside assistance in the policy for accident and breakdown. The call centres are all able to cope with English speaking clients, as the policies cover you for the whole of Europe.

With have an insurance department and can arrange cover for Spanish regd cars with all the leading companies. Linea Directa, Mappfre, Palayo, Zuric. Allianz to name a few. One of the benefits of using our office is that part our the business is a very large accident repair centre. Here we repair any make and model. We are able to manage the claim for you dealing with the insurance company on your behalf.

[RLRWai4B]

Thanks all for your replies, I have never subscribed to a break down assistance service in the UK.....however it will give me "peace of mind" to have it in Spain.

Re the comments about a RHD car in Spain....I have driven c.25,000 miles in France, Italy, Spain, Portugul, Greece over the years and I have never had a problem (except car park & toll ticket collection and payment). If the problem was of the magnitude hinted at why dont the insurance companies charge hefty premiums for European travel........why dont insurance companies charge a hefty premium for insuring RHD cars in LHD countries and vice versa?
We all know that insurance companies are not charities and that they load their polocies in line with the the risk.........ask anyone below the age of 25 driving a car!!

Finaly in terms of the "value" of cars.............please let me know if I can buy cars at prices any were near these prices in Spain.

My wife has a 2002 VW Beetle 1.8Turbo automatic with 18,500 miles on the clock, bought five months ago,full VW service history with all the bills, absolutely immaculate, on purchasing I had two new front tyres fitted, had it serviced (nothing needed doing..just a standard service), I had it MOT'd and I had a full professional valet..........a total cost of £7,650 inc 6 months road tax


I have a 2000 Jaguar XJ8 with 62,000 miles on the clock,bought two months ago, loaded with extras, full Jaguar service history with all the bills, I had to have a "ding" on a door repaired by Dentmaster and a parking scrape on a bumper sprayed, on purchasing I had it serviced (new discs and pads needed front and back), I had it MOT'd and I had a full professional valet.......a total cost of £5,190 inc 6 monthe road tax.

I know from the adverts I see in the CBN and from looking round several dealers sites I can not come any were near these prices in Spain............unless some one tells me it is common place to negotiate at least a 30% discount of the screen price.

As promised I will keep you informed of how I get on in importing and running a RHD car...........and maybe selling it a year later at a profit!!!!!!

Regards all

John

[PemiaGefe]

I've noticed how high second-hand car prices in Spain are as well.

[panholio]

You had better stay indoors as of the 8th November for about 6 weeks.

I noted your comment about your single handed clean up of Cardiac Hill and how no one came to help you, I did send you a private message asking what time to meet, you chose not to reply.

I have noted your responses on this forum to challenges to your opinion Mark (of which you are fully entitled), I will not enter into an online "debate".

Regards all

John

[ephennaCypota]

The details of the cars that you are thinking of importing do throw a different perspective forward. Putting aside the RHD issue. Then I can see the value in bringing over, what could be termed as specialist cars. I too would consider importing something a bit special from the UK, as you quite rightly say, very hard to find here & expensive. However to me this would be a second car, purely for pleasure. One of the benefits of living here is that away from the main coastal and inland city areas, it is still possible to drive on un congested roads, and I could imagine the enjoyment of doing this behind the wheel of a classic Jaguar.

On the insurance issue, you do pay more for non Spanish registered cars, as the mainstream Spanish companies will not insure them. One thing to be careful of if you are driving round on UK plates is that, the car is only legally allowed to stay here for a maximum of six months at any one time. Please check out the small print, in the event of a claim proof may be asked for to show that the car has left the country. If you can’t prove it beware the get out clause in the small print. "Legal for use on the highway". I am not aware of anyone falling foul of this yet. But it is a possibility. Compensation vastly outweighs the cost of repair these days and I for one would not want to be exposed to this risk. Remember these days the over whelming majority of the cost of your insurance policy is to insure you against third party action.

Second hand car prices reflect market conditions and local taxation laws. The cost of trading in the business here is higher than the UK. When you px a car with your local dealer he should transfer the car from your name immediately and then when sold it has to be transferred again. For this you have to pay transfer taxes & a gestor. These cost all affect the price. There is IVA (VAT) on 2nd hand cars as well as new unlike the UK where VAT is only levied on new cars. You have to give a guarantee by law for a minimum 12 months. We all have been sold, or know of people that have been sold used cars with the insurance backed guarantee policies, which 1st time you come to use them cover absolutely nothing due to obscure condition hidden in the policy. After twenty years as a Service Manager the one that always amazed me was “The repair must be as a result of sudden component failure & cannot be due to far wear & tear” Right so what we need is a 60,000 mile 4 year car with no wear & tear? Good news is cars cannot be sold under these terms here. If it goes wrong we have to fix it within the period of guarantee. This obviously means that we make as sure as possible that the cars we sell are not going to end up costing a fortune in guarantee work.

[HedgeYourBets]

Hi Paul, what is "plan prever" mentioned in your post?

[cbUDaNFRu]

Hi Paul, thanks for the reply.

I plan to bring a car across in early November and in as long as my wife is OK driving it....she just can not get use to LHD cars and feels she would cope far better with RHD...........I have to wait and see how she gets on.........I will within a couple of months complete the transfer to Spanish plates.

As you quite rightly point out I want to remain completely legal and fully insured.

Hi Mike, let me know when the next "clean up" campaign is being held.....post 10th November.....and I will be there to help, and just for your safety I will come on my push bike as long as its not up the hill!!

Regards all

John

[massons]

Have to agree, think right hand drive cars in Spain and anywhere else in europe are lethal, overtaking is guess work, drove a RHD car in France quite a few times and thought it dangerous, would not entertain the idea of using a RHD in Spain permanently unless you have a death wish.

[awagsFare]

Many, many moons ago, as a 21 year old student and a relatively novice driver, I drove an old, low-powered RHD car (without ABS or airbags) over to Spain, all round Spain, up to France, round the Pyrenees for a winter, back to Spain again and then home to the UK. The roads were falling apart, the car just about holding together...

Using a bit of common sense, respecting the cars capabilities and the laws of physics, I had no incidences whatsoever.

I don't doubt the facts on the forum, but then again, I also ride a motorbike (defensively), and the statistics are stacked against us bike riders too. ;-|

Take it easy and you'll be fine! Regarding your insurance over here (probably the easiest way to get roadside assistance) make sure you bring details and proof of your "no claims bonus."

The quote you have been given for the import paperwork is high - I know of someone who charges E 150 and this covers the fee (I think 86 euros) you pay to Tráfico.