Do I need a Padron

We bought a new car a year ago and have been residents in Spain for years but we had to produce a padron certificate.

You should not sign on the padron unlss you are a permanent resident. Padron is not a requirement for buying a car but dealers ask for it as proof of address. We used utility bills before we got our residencia. You dont really need to change address on your NIE its just a number...

Crissy is quite right (previous post). Just for info, if you do ever need to show a certificate de empadronamiento it is not " if we have a Padrón that is at least three months old." but one that is LESS than 3 months old.

Thank you, So they must be renewed every quarter or every three months.  

Thank you Crissy, thats good to know - yes we were always told by legal eagles that because we are not residents we dso not need a padrón.  Yet we were always able to buy our cars without one until the last time when we were asked for one.  Thats when I checked it out with a lawyer and he confirmed that we did not need one.  We bought the car using my daughter's padron and registerted it in her name but want to change it back to our name now and our Gestor is saying we can only do that with a Padron.  Frustrating but we'll sort it out. More than one way to skin a cat sort of thing.  Likewise the NIE, it still carries our old address but I want to change it to save possible hassles going ahead.  I appreciate your help.

only if you need the certificate for something official...otherwise it is renewed every 5 years...the town hall just checks you’re still at the same address

Thank you, that's what I thought but after coming to Spain for the last 17 years I never needed one until now and was told I didn't need one. Turns out you do if you want to re register a car from a different address. The card we bought previously in Spain never required one but the lady car was bought in Almería and they needed one. I appreciate your advice, thank you.

Ann it sounds as if you ‘live’ in Spain but perhaps not registered/living there legally....easiest thing is to become legal and once you have all of your ducks in a row there’ll be no need to find other ways to skin a cat....good luck with it.....

Thanks Anni, You are right in one sense - we do spend most of the year here but don't have or want residencia. We were advised not to due to the tax system. We own a business in a different part of Spain but that doesn't give us residency in its own right. It has never been a problem before, in fact I never heard of a Padrón until we moved south  but perhaps now we are in Murcia the regulations are different. I'll get it sorted and then my ducks will be in a row as you said.  Thanks again for your input