British plated cars in the spotlight in Spain crackdown

Tristan SmithI have to suspect that for the Guardia Civil, it's more a matter of priorities. They have enough to do without wasting time stopping cars that are unlikely to be suspect in any way. German plated cars are perfectly legal here except if the owner has been a permanent resident for over 6 months. And many, many German property owners (there are many) live here in the off season and go back to Germany (or whatever EU state they come from) in summer. For obvious reasons. And frankly, if stopped, they are highly likely to be, and able to produce sufficient evidence that they're legally German resident, even if they're living here full time. And the penalties (if the GC are even willing to take the time to prove otherwise), are rather limited. So lots of German property owners here are registered as "non resident", even if they live here more than 6 mos. It's difficult to prove otherwise. British (or other non-EU) plated cars on the other hand, are only allowed to be on the road for short term visits (e.g., holiday). British plated cars are rare here, so a British (or other non-EU state) plated car is far more likely to be suspect, and therefore, worth checking. I have no doubt that Russian or other non-EU plated cars get stopped just as frequently (if not more). They're equally rare, and equally likely to be suspect. But for a British tabloid, it's routine to imply that everything is all about Brits. Makes the target audience feel important. And that baits clicks. It's just the nature of the beast

Stephen GrimmerBritish residents of Spain are obliged to change the plates on their cars to Spanish ones. The clue is in the title. RESIDENTS.

Morgan WilliamsI am a aware that there are many non residents having cars on their countries registrations here. My point is that for almost 10 years taking my children to school i have witnessed lots of mostly germans dropping their children at school with cars on german plates, clearly residents and clearly flouting the traffic laws here. Yet the police seem intent on focusing on UK plated cars as they are easy to spot resulting in easy fines and revenue. On becoming a resident here i change my registation, imported my car and paid the costs. changed my license and pay my taxes to use the roads unlike many who happily drive here .for years. You only have to use Park and fly to see huge numbers of non spanish plate vehicles parked up , not paying any taxes to drive here. Its about time the rules are tightened up for Everyone who drives here.

I simply had a look on coches.net, found a cheap little runaround, the dealer gave me a guarantee, registered it for me, and provided two years ITV, when I checked at the town hall it was taxed for a year too. Abbeygate insured it for a couple of hundred €, and I'm a non resident. All I needed was my ID card and escritura. It's SIMPLE people!!!

@ScaryPete You sound like one of the people in the articles below that don't tip and won't pay airport parking fees 🤔

ScaryPeteI once knew a bloke that outfitted his entire life here with British stuff. RHD car, all white goods ordered on Amazon UK and shipped to Mallorca at 3x the price he could have bought same things here (to ensure good British quality) . He even went so far as to replace all those obsolete old (and dangerous) "German style" sockets with good British ones (so that all his appliances ordered from the UK would simply plug in). And the same bloke refused to shop at local supermarkets, opting instead for the British shop, where he could buy "real" stuff (again, at 3x the price) and not be subjected to substandard quality (ironically much (most?) of the food in the UK is sourced here in Europe anyway). Unsurprisingly, he eventually sold up and moved back to the UK because it was just too expensive here 🙄 Oh, and Tristan... nonresident Germans and other EU nationals who own property here are allowed to keep a car plated in their resident country as long as they keep it legal in that country... ITV (TÜV, MOT), up to date licence, etc.. And there are lots of nonresident Germans and other property owners living here half the year. This doesn't apply to non-EU nationals. And If you live here permanently, you will need to register and plate your car in Spain, regardless of whether EU nationality or not. I suspect the same is true in the UK. So, no, Brits aren't going to get special treatment. Sorry.

I have a 32 year old left hand drive British registered Honda Prelude 2 door Coupe that I have kept and driven in Spain for the last 20 years. This car has been insured with Abbeygate Insurance, Gibraltar office, an insurance company registered with the FCA in Britain and I have put it through the ITV each year. The insurance company have assured me in writing that, so long as the car has a current ITV certificate, they would pay out in the event of any accident claim. The car has been shipped back to England twice over the last 20 years for extensive service and maintenance as required and is completely sound mechanically and body. I did look at registering the car in Spain, but I would have to "Import" the car and they were going to charge £4,000.00 for the privilege. Reluctantly I will either sell the car through Bonhams auction site or ship the car back to England and let Mathewson's have the privilege of selling the car at their auction in Yorkshire.

I totally understand the need to check MOT and Insurance on all non Spanish registered vehicles but as a resident for 18 years it appears that the huge number if german plated cars seem to be ignored. I have witnessed may germans dropping of children at schools daily and are clearly residents and yet they seem to not come under the same traffic laws.

About bloody time. A friends son lost a limb after being involved in an accident with a UK plated vehicle that was registered as being on SORN and had no current MOT. You cannot imagine the nightmare the family had to deal with as the vehicles insurance wasn’t valid. Clamp down on these tw4ts and take their cars off them.

Not just Brexit Lisa, this has been law for years. After 6 months you must change your car to Spanish plates.