Hi! I’m a Spanish girl whose British boyfriend is moving to Spain this summer. he is good a British car he bought last year in the UK and he wants to take it with him but I am not sure about how difficult can it be to drive here having the wheel in the right side. does anyone know from their experience if it is difficult or dangerous? I am a bit worried about parking and the roundabouts… (My city is Valencia). If you could share your experience or opinions, that’d be great. thank you very much!  😊

HI,

Myself and my husband are moving near to Valencia next month.  We will also be bringing a UK car with us.  This is not a problem my Dad has lived in Spain for 2 years with a british car and has no problems driving it in Spain. It may just take some getting used to, but it is certainly not dangerous.

The bigger issue is one of legalising it (and the cost)

I live in Valencia, I brought my car with me, 5 years ago. You have 3-6 months (not sure which) to get it put onto spanish plates. I waited 2 years and didn?t have any problems. In the smaller villages some of the locals were being stopped by the local police and told they had to change but others went un-noticed. It is very hit and miss if you get stopped.

changing the plates can be a very tricky process, chasing papers etc. I paid a “gestor” to do it for me. I paid 1,300? in total which included changing my head lights, (the back lights for reverse and fog were ok) tax and costs. My car was only 3 yrs old at the time. It was certainly cheaper than selling it and buying new.

since I?ve been on Spanish plates I have continued to have absolutely no problems. the driving, you do have to be that extra bit careful on the motorways and roundabouts, but then with the standard of spanish driving, you have to be very warey anyway.

LucyGambazza, where about in Valencia are you moving too?

Hi,

I am moving to Navares, near Xativa. Where are you based.

I am in the city itself. Xativa is very nice, was there a couple times. don?t know Navares though.
I can certainly recommend the life here in Spain, Ihope you enjoy living here as much as I do.

I believe it is 6 months you have to re-register, ie 180 days - but DON’T rely on a forum post for this check it out! Because the minute you go over that you are effectively driving illegally, insurance not valid, risk summary impoundment etc.  The big question to ask yourself is, is it worth the cost and hassle of re-plating a RDH car, that would be very hard to re-sell in Spain?  Of course if you intend to own it long term and you are happy driving on the ‘wrong’ side then fine, it might well be worth doing, just be aware that you would seriously impact the resale value, if you could only resell it in Spain,

Maya

I am also driving my RHD car down to spain. Its only worth 5k in uk money if I sell it in the UK. I paid 20k for it 5 years ago!!! So for us its worth it to take with us as it will be difficult to purchase a 2nd hand car for 5k or less in spain.  We’ve driven RHD car while holidaying in france with no problem. We will re-register the car onto spanish plates without using a gestor so this will make the cost far less. However, I am intruiged to know if I will have to replace my headlamp units with LHD units? Actually, I’m not sure if the lamp units for LHD models will fit easily onto RHD model cars. Hmm! Or can I get away with uk units and using the typical euro deflector stickers or yellow paint that you buy when travelling in europe on holidays?

Hi Steve,
I’m affraid that the answer is yes, you will be required to change your headlamp units, this is because the Spanish Itv centres will not recognise or accept the transfer type light deflectors to enable a car to pass the Itv test. It’s a great shame that the Spanish goverment don’t make the system for changing the vehicle registration a bit more user friendly and cost effective, because I’m sure that many more Brits would willingly change their Uk registered cars over to Spanish plates.

Good luck

Thats a pain in the jack! I’ll have to find out if I can get a set of them cheapish from over here in the UK 2nd hand.

If we need Landrover parts we get them from a UK dealer and either ship out or wait for someone to bring them over for us - prices here are incredible…

Hi,

You can get LHD, Left hand drive cars in UK for very good prices
You wont find it here in Spain so cheap
Bought BMW 330d Automatic year 2003 for ?5,000 on Spanish plates
Value here 10,000 Euros
http://www.lefthanddriveleeds.co.uk thats the website
They are based in Leeds UK

Yes but what the legalities of registering it into the Spanish traffico system. This can be more complicated and expensive than it is worth.