Cost of driving in Spain

Fuel is cheaper ..lots of small garage competition to the big players .

Used spanish cars much dearer.

Insurance.  Shop around but here the Spanish car is insured ..not the driver (s) . Anyone over 30 with valid authority can drive it. 

English car you need to speak to your insurance company...you can only come for 90 days anyway so that has always been covered by standard European insurance cover ...you would need to adapt headlights etc..

Lots of garages repairs and good mechanics..often pay in cash ..no vat etc 

Car tax is based on emissions, but in general lower than in the UK. For example, I have a 1.0 Ford Puma and pay approx. €24 annual car tax!

Insurance is similar in cost to the UK. I use Linear Direct (Direct Line) and can deal with them in English. Also, in Spain, the car is insured (not the driver) so most cars are insured for any driver aged 26 or over.

Fuel is a little cheaper than the UK.

Used cars are considerably more expensive to buy though. There are two reasons for this - firstly, there are very few company cars in Spain, so there is a subsequent lack of 3-year old ex-fleet vehicles going into the used market. There are however, lots of ex- rental cars, which will be higher mileage (although remember it's 'kilometre-age'!) and may have doubtful maintenance records. Secondly, there is a small tax on selling a car in Spain (4%) and this, combined with the price of used cars, means that many families hand a car down through the family until it falls apart!

If you're looking to buy a car www.coches.net is the equivalent of Autotrader. You will note that most cars will show a cash price and a finance price - the finance price will always be lower, but doesn't include the cost of the finance (which is crazy!).

If you are here on holiday, then you are restricted to 90 days max. time here anyway and can drive your UK-registered car with no issues (although it is less safe when overtaking and inconvenient if using toll booths or car park entrance / exit, unless you always have a passenger).

If you become a resident, then you cannot drive a UK-registered car and within 6 months you need to exchange your UK licence for a Spanish licence (no driving test involved though). If you brought a car over, it would need to be matriculated onto Spanish registration; probably have the headlights adjusted; and pass a Spanish MOT (ITV) - this will cost approx. €1,000 in total. If you bring a car over as part of your 'one off' permanent move to live in Spain, then you don't need to pay Import Duty or VAT (IVA); but otherwise then you would need to pay Import Duty based on an age depreciation versus the new cost of the car and it's emissions. 

Cars don't rust as much here, but paintwork is damaged by the strong sun, unless your car is garaged.

Some people will say 'Just buy a cheap runaround' - but it depends how often and far you are going to drive. Personally, I wouldn't risk a 20 year old, 200k potential death trap that could break down any time...

Hope this helps!

Car insurance is similar to the UK perhaps a little less.

However car insurance in Spain also includes breakdown insurance.

Car tax in Spain is generally cheaper than the UK.

My Kia Hybrid costs me 19 euro for the year.

Servicing and garage costs are considerably less than the UK.