Cost of running a car in Spain

[Matt]

Hi all,

can anyone give me any indication of the type of costs involved in car repairs in Spain. I am sure the labour prices would vary between bigger cities and rural areas.
In particular I am interested in labour charges from both main dealer and small independent garages in areas such as elche.

all part of my research

thanks

[Carl]

I heard that second hand cars are expensive in Spain, but running them is a lot cheaper then the UK. Especially the fuel prices are mcuh lower then the UK. Labor for maintenance should also be cheaper, so I think you could say that having a car in Spain is cheap.

[Matt]

What are the garages like? Would you recommend going to a official dealer or would any garage do?

[spain_lover]

Last year we went to Spain with the car. We thought this would be cheaper so that we didn't have to pay for a rental car. When we arrived in Spain our car broke down. Something technical with the engine.

It was in the garage for about 2 days, when we got back home we took the bill to our garage and asked if they overcharged. They said if we would have did it with them (in the UK) the bill would have been about 50% more.

So I guess we did save money going by car, because it was going to happen soon or later.

[cases xalo]

Hello

Cars are cheap here to run. Although sometimes when they go wrong it can be expensive to get them fixed, amin dealers or local garages. Junk yards are few and far between so normally you end up paying top price for any part, although its worth it! Second hands cars are expensive here, but its worth while when most cars end up with a dent within a short while of leaving the house. Cars are treated as metal here, transport nothing else, so dont get too attached to a dentless car!!
Petrol, oil etc is cheaper then in Uk, road tax is once a year and for a normal size car ford fiesta for example is lessthan 50€ annually road tax. ITV (MOT) depends on the vehicule but for a normal car again is about 50€ and depending on the cars age is the frequency of the ITV.

Hope this helps.

Emma
Cases Xaló

[Matt]

Thanks for the feedback!

Emma, you say second hand cars are expensive, what would a reasonable few year old Ford Fiesta (or something in that category) cost? Do you know if the quality of the second hand cars are good?

Is there a lot of fraud in the second hand car market like here in the UK? For example turning the milage counter back etc.?

Cheers!

[cases xalo]

Hello

Not so much fraud here as in the Uk, but always get the car checked out by a authorised mechanic. AND always get a gestor (solicitor) to check if there are any debts on the car and to change the paperwork over.

The cars are expensive and sometimes its just better in buying a new car, although i found a good bargain with my Citroen ax, 93 - 600€uros!! Its done loads of km's but its never had a problem and the mechanic in my village has always dealt with it.

Also look on the newspapers website and look at whats on offer, but dont be afraid to look on the dealers website to compare the prices.

Regards

Emma
Cases Xaló

[Matt]

I would not have expected that second hand cars are expesive in Spain, I wonder why?

600 euro for a Citroen AX is not bad! How many km's did it have when you bought the car?

Is it worth driving a UK car to Spain and have it Spanish registered? Do you know if there are any costs for registering a UK car in Spain?

Matt.

[cases xalo]

Matt

My citroen ax has probably gone round the clock!! But its a fantastic first car and Ive had it 2 years now. The onyl problem ive ever had with it is I wore the clutch out (beginner driver!!!) so had the whole clutch change dnot just the clutch discs, and ive had the whole brakes changed (decided after a near miss that I did need breaks after all!!). My AX has clocke dup a lot more km's this year as I have been to the airport a number of times in it, 1 weekend along i locked up nearly 600km!!

My friend brought his 10 yr old ford fiesta from a local mechanic 4 years ago, it had done nothing on the clock, belonged to some local that never drove it. He brought it for 3000€uros.

As for driving a car over My friend did that with a car (the sterring wheel was on the spanish side!!) but on english plates. It took a month to change the plates, in which time she couldnt get insurance as all the car dcumentation has to be sent off to the nearest Jefatura de Trafico (main provincial police station), and it cost approx 1000euros to change over. Her steal of a car turned out to be just as expensive as buying a spnaish registered car here!! Make sure you look at all the pro's and con's !

If you have any further questions dont hesitate to put them here and I'll answer them as soon as possible.

regards

Emma
Cases Xalo

[Matt]

Hi Emma,

As for driving a car over My friend did that with a car (the sterring wheel was on the spanish side!!) but on english plates. It took a month to change the plates, in which time she couldnt get insurance as all the car dcumentation has to be sent off to the nearest Jefatura de Trafico (main provincial police station), and it cost approx 1000euros to change over. Her steal of a car turned out to be just as expensive as buying a spnaish registered car here!! Make sure you look at all the pro's and con's !

O wow, 1000 euros, that's expensive. How long does it take to get it Spanish registered? Do you know if the car has to go through somekind of MOT test?

Matt.