Author Topic: Permanent export of car to Spain  (Read 157 times)

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PallasAthena

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Permanent export of car to Spain
« on: October 14, 2024, 12:12:46 pm »
I'm buying a new car and when I get it I am gifting my current car to my daughter who is permanently resident in Valencia in Spain (has legal 'residencia') and she has a Spanish driving licence. My current car is 10 years old, 90,000+ miles, value c£1,600. I am current Registered Keeper, it's taxed and MOT'd, and insured in my name [daughter not a named driver].

Daughter plans to re-register it in Spain, get Spanish number plates for it, and make it fully Spanish-compliant with whatever the Spanish equivalents of MOT and car tax are. It's a second car for her, she already has one car, Spanish number plates, which she insures etc there.

The plan is that I will drive it down to Valencia, spend a few days there, then fly back leaving the car with her. I will give her a letter confirming I have transferred ownership to her. She will then add it to her Spanish motor insurance policy while she gets it re-registered. As soon as I get back to the UK I will cancel my UK insurance on it and  notify DVLA.

As far as the DVLA is concerned it looks like all I need to do is return Section 11 'Notification of permanent export' of the V5C to DVLA and give the rest of the V5C (sections 1 - 8 anyway) to my daughter as it may be needed  by the Spanish authorities to do the re-registration. DVLA will then cancel the car tax and return to me whatever amount of the unused tax I am entitled to. As I've decalred it permanently exported I don't need to SORN and they shouldn't be chasing me because it will no longer be listed as taxed or insured on their UK databases.

Does that sound right? Anything I have missed?

However a Spanish company (run by Brits) that advises ex-pats on re-registering UK cars in Spain has given some different advice that has confused us. They suggest I re-register it with DVLA in my daughter's name in the UK before taking it Spain. This seems an unnecessarily complicated way of doing it. And technically not even possible as she has no UK address and DVLA won't register a UK car to a non-UK resident will they? Registering to her name at my address would be the work-around but I'm not seeing the need.

What they said is: "Whenever you change the registered keeper of a UK the vehicle the road tax is cancelled. As such it would be better to change the name in the UK and re tax the car before you come to Spain" but that seems to misunderstand what we are planning to do. The cancelling of the UK car tax is intended!

Does anyone have any experience of this?
« Last Edit: October 14, 2024, 12:23:33 pm by PallasAthena »

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666

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Re: Permanent export of car to Spain
« Reply #1 on: October 14, 2024, 12:41:55 pm »
So far as I can see, you are right and the "adviser" is wrong.

andy_foster

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Re: Permanent export of car to Spain
« Reply #2 on: October 14, 2024, 03:45:11 pm »
I'm not an expert in this area, but you are permanently exporting the car. It has to be legal in the UK to drive it to the ferry/chunnel/whatever (which is the usual question). I don't know what, if any, evidence the DVLA need of permanent export - that would be my main/only concern.

If you were selling the car to someone rando who was going to do the exporting, then you would want to be simply transferring keepership to them, rather than making a declaration as to what they may or may not actually do with the car. That might be the source of the otherwise strange advice.
I am responsible for the accuracy of the information I post, not your ability to comprehend it.

PallasAthena

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Re: Permanent export of car to Spain
« Reply #3 on: October 14, 2024, 04:34:53 pm »
The V5C form doesn't require anything to be declared about to where the vehicle has been exported or who 'keepership' has been transferred to, only that I sign the declaration that on date X "I am personally exporting this vehicle permanently". So I personally am doing the exporting. Nothing on V5C suggests DVLA require any evidence of permanent export other than my signature on the declaration.

It will remain legal for me to drive it all the way to Valencia and while I am there as my insurance covers that, and it will remain in my ownership/'keepership' until I fly out of Spain leaving the car with my daughter. Only at the point where I transfer ownership to her as I wave goodbye and head for the airport will it cease to be covered by my insurance.
« Last Edit: October 14, 2024, 05:41:37 pm by PallasAthena »

jedi

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Re: Permanent export of car to Spain
« Reply #4 on: November 09, 2024, 09:28:08 pm »
I'm pretty sure when you register it in Spain , it will be marked as exported, automatically with dlva, you will probably have to pay a Spanish import tax, price varies on size if engine/emissions etc.

Head lamps will need changing,  rear fog and reverse lights will need to go on the opposite side, unless they are already there. Also side mirrors may need changing.

mickR

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Re: Permanent export of car to Spain
« Reply #5 on: November 09, 2024, 09:35:55 pm »
on a different note as your daughter lives in Valencia I hope she is OK

PallasAthena

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Re: Permanent export of car to Spain
« Reply #6 on: Yesterday at 02:35:31 pm »
Thank you for asking mickR. She was fortunately unscathed by it. Lots of rain but no torrents of flood, mud, and debris in her small town.