Car insurance on Irish car

You can bring a car from Ireland and leave it in Spain. After six months the car must be re-registered in Spain and will be subject to suitability tests (equivalent MOT, NCT). There are several insurance companies looking for business. You may have to employ a solicitor to have the Irish car re-registered (Cost €1000.00 approx).

Back in the day we could bring an Irish car to Spain and just leave it there with Irish number plates and transfer the insurance from your car in Ireland whenever. Those days are long gone.

Those of us who bring our Irish cars to Spain just take out any necessary insurance in Ireland. The AA website is helpful.

Thanks for the tip Matthew, may be better to increase my budget and buy one there. 

I'd think you'd be better off buying a car in Spain all things considered. If you haven't got sheltered parking be prepared to rent such. Exposed cars can receive some dreadful damage from the hot sun.

To add to Mathews reply 

If you stay longer than six months and decide to matriculate your car (register in Spain) you also may have to pay for the lights to be replaced The head lights of right hand side drive cars point slightly to the left, so you can see the ditches in Ireland 😁

Right hand side drive cars tend to blind drivers on the left. 

On some cars these can be adjustable, so check the cars manual or Google to see if they can  be adjusted without replacing them. This will aslo aviod you being ripped off by some unscrupulous types.

Then there are the rear lights. A lot of cars only have reverse and fog lights on one side. Thus a right hand side drive - car reverse and fog lights on right hand side.

So you will also have to pay for the lights to be swithced over. As this is considered car electrial work there maybe a higher charge than your standard car mechanic charge.

Or you maybe lucky and have a car where both sides light when switched on. 

My 2008 Volvo cost the guts of 5000€ with the main cost being new head lights costing €2200.

Luckly enough ny car ahs reverse and fogs  that illuminate on both sides.

The rest of the cost were split between other works done by my mechanic.

Who was not cheap but has a very good reputation. A good chunk of the cost was labor This was so he could check the car over and servcie the car so it would pass the ITV.

There is then was the  import fess and taxes,lawyer and gestor fees plus the fee of the car dealer I had do it for me. 

The reasoning behind why I got it matriculated-

1- Irish insurance will only cover you for 3rd. party here and if you are insured in Ireland they can get sticky if they discover you have been out of Ireland for more than 3 months.

2- You must have a vaild tax, insurance and NCT displayed. Not a problem if they are up to date but if you need to return for say an NCT there is the costs for travel to take into consideration.

3-   To replace my car with a second hand car of a similar typ, in good nick, it have would cost from €12.000 upwards.

I thought it was a good idea to reregister the car. 

Now there are cons to a right hand side drive but you get learn to live with them. 

One peice of advise-

If you do have a right hand side drive try to ALWAYS have a passenger. 

Hi airtane, thanks very much for the very detailed reply, I'm obviously mistaken in thinking bringing my own car over would be cheaper bearing in mind the cost of second hand cars in Spain, I was aware of the headlamps thanks but the rest of it sounds very expensive so I think I've changed my mind and look for an overpriced Spanish piece of c@#p. Thanks again for your help

You are very welcome. 

As a post script if your budget streches to it by all means buy a second hand car. I did not mean to put you off the idea just  wanted you to be aware of the extras that a lot of people find out after they move to Spain. 

As for buying a second hand car in Spain yes they are expensive and there are some bangers but there are a number of reasons that they hold there resale value. 

if you decide to buy a second hand car here you will have less worried than at home The below  article will give you some useful information about consumer’s rights when buying a second-hand vehicle in Spain.

About consumer’s rights when buying a second-hand vehicle in Spain

Perhaps it had a hidden flaw or defect? Will the dealership not honour the guarantee?

The Spanish consumer protection law (Texto Refundido Ley de Consumidores y Usuarios) states that when you buy a used vehicle from a garage or a dealership the vendor should offer the buyer one year guarantee.

When buying a second-hand vehicle through a private purchase the Spanish consumer protection law no longer applies. Nevertheless according to the Spanish Civil Code (article 1484) states the guarantee period on private sales is six months and if any hidden faults or defects that the vehicle may have come to light after the purchase, the vendor is obligated to repair them even if he himself was not aware of the said defects. Or the buyer could also decide to terminate the purchase contract, and be reimbursed any money paid or he may decide to request a partial refund, equivalent to the hidden flaws in the vehicle.

The same is not true for any faults or defects that are in plain view. The vendor is not accountable for any faults that can be easily spotted by the buyer.

If the vendor chooses not to honour the above stated you may have to take him to court to get things settled in your favour. In order to do this, you will need to take legal advice from a lawyer and to prove that a vehicle was sold to you in bad faith (That the vendor knew about the defects but chose not to inform the buyer). You would require at the very least the written declaration of a qualified mechanic to prove the existing damage.

Make sure you use a qualified “gestor” to deal with your paperwork when buying or selling a car in Spain.but you need to deal with professionals that are specialist in this field.

So if you do bring your car there are specialists who can help you. 

Just do as you did here and ask some of the experts on this Forum for guidence. 

I could give you the name of the dealer I used but he's a 3.5 hour drive away. I was livng in Xábia at the time. 

Yes I will probably buy from a dealer , Murcia area. I have been looking for some time now and noticed the year warranty. After thinking about bringing my own I've had second thoughts and we'll buy in Spain. Thanks again

Hi.

I have recent experience of this because I brought my Opel insignia from Ireland last November. Technically your insurance will only cover you for 45 days per annum when in Spain, I bought a new Dacia Duster but because it wasn't available until February I continued using the Opel. Also because the Opel had a tow bar and I brought a trailer from France I used it for collecting large loads, in the summer when family came I let them use the Dacia while I used the Opel. I was going to take the Opel back to Ireland and sell it but decided to get it matriculated - I had to have the lights changed ( front and rear, tow bar removed and a new back-plate (€520)) it was €300 for ITV (NCT) and certificate but I'm now waiting for Traffic to issue the registration document and get the car taxed ( having issues because I'm non-resident and not on the Padron) so at the moment it's sat in my garage with the Irish plates on. Beginning to think it would have been easier to take it back  I asked insurance companies about temporary insurance whilst going through the matriculation process and was refused by them all. If it was on UK or NI plates they would have offered insurance which I thought was strange. Another Irish guy brought a Dacia that was only two years old and he was waiting 6 months to get the right LED headlights

Another thing is that Irish cars aren't charged import duty like UK cars are so there is a saving there - my replacement lights were second hand