Headed to Spain - HELP!

Hi there
First time here, and need about as much help as I can get.

Selling up in UK and headed for Southern Spain. Have horse box to tow there and plan on aquiring a new 110 Defender.
Need to know if it is more practical to purchase LHD in UK and export it to Spain with all the potential pitfalls of re-registering, import duty etc, or is it more practical to buy in Spain, and drive it back up for the trailer?

Can anyone tell me what the availability is like to purchase a 110 Defender 5 door anywhere in Spain? I have about 6 weeks to decide which course to take and I need to know a whole lot more than I do at the moment.

I sure would appreciate any advise.

AL

hi there,

i literally just registered to this forum to post a question myself, when i saw your post, so i hope i will be forgiven for answering first to your post, before introducing myself.
i am german i have been looking to by a defender 11o both in germany and here in south of spain (marbella) for over a year, so from personal experience i can tell you two things:
- prices for defenders here in spain are at least the same as in germany, or better. unlike for others used cars, you will most likely not get a better price in germany than here in spain (i do not know though if this is true for the uk).
- i probably have been very lucky with mine, but
due to the lack of snow and salt on the streets, generally the cars in here bodywise are in a better shape than from what i saw on a lot of picture from cars in the uk. in rains much less also, so the body usually is almost free of rust. mine particularly is in surpisingly good condition. its 17 years old but looks very good. another story is the maintenance record of the car, thats why it took me so long to find a car. i found one from the 1st owner with an excellent maintenance and the engine is in very good condition.
ans last but not least, as you stated yourself, you always have to bear in mind the cost for the import of the car (tax upon registering, gestores, etc).
if your already in southern spain and want to have a look at mine, feel free to contact me, and if i can help in any other way just send me a mail.
wish you luck.

juergen...

btw:

this Coches.net: vehículos usados, coches de ocasión, automóvil segunda mano y KM0
is where i found mine.

and what i forgot before, since there is a lot of rural area in andalucia and there has always been a need for a durable 4x4, there are a lot of defenders in use here. they have not all been treated well, as i said before, but its just a matter of searchin´.

chears

juergen...

Thanks Juergen, I appreciate the response. I am currently still in the UK selling up and making the final preparations for the move down there.
From what you say though, I understand that I would probably be better to wait until I arrive in Spain to buy the Defender, if there are places to get one new. I have been looking for any dealership that could supply me with a new one, but am running short of possibilities unless I go up into Andorra, or so it seems. I also understand that some Land Rovers are built in Spain under licence. Do you know if these are in any way comparable to those built in the UK?

hi there,

well since i don´t know where exactly you are going to, here in southern spain, i don´t know if there will be a land rover dealer.
i know that here in marbella there sure is one, and in malaga aswell. and they still sell defender, since i just the other day saw one in their exposition. i don´t know how soon this will change, though, with the sale of land rover to tata.
regarding the spanish licensed defender i can only tell you: forget about it. they look almost the same (very few and minor differences on the body), but the important parts are completely different/spanish made: they have different axles (leaf springs) and they have inferior diesels/turbo diesels with less torque and hp. so very soon in my own search process discarded them alltogether.

cheers

juergen...

hi again:

this is the one in marbella:

C. de SALAMANCA | Aston Martin - Bentley - Jaguar - Ferrari - Land Rover - Maserati - Harley Davidson - SsangYong - Marbella - Madrid - Malaga

and the one in malaga is sertasa (seems not to have an own webpage).


regards

juergen...

Hi SangriaSeeker
I've been here a few years. What you do get here is a good chassis and a good bulkhead. You don't get cheap.

You have a number of options. In Spain - You can buy an old Santana (like mine). You can buy a Defender, like one of my Spanish mates bought. (pretty rubbish).

The worst thing about bringing something in is homolgation. Any adaptation needs to be certified by a mechanical engineer to say it is safe. €150 a time for a snorkel or a winch or whatever. What a load of ****. In my opinion.

When you go for your ITV you will get grief. Pm me if you want more boring info on this.

Oh and don't use Hella 2000s or orange beacons. All illegal here.

Kate (In Spain)

as last message, but if the car is brit registed it still needs to be taxed in spain and brit mot, some parts like brake pads and shoes are expensive, i usually take bits over for a friend of mine in benidorm area. also mechanics take the **** wi the charges for work carried out so be well aware and compare prices of purchase in both countries and again the cost of registeing vehicle permanently

you can get an itv on a brit registered car quite easily, my outlaws are in murcia region and they have both english and soanish regitered cars, they are all itv'd and they dont have any grief. it mat vary depending on which region of spain you are

wish my mother in law was there, what a thought PEACE

yella said:

you can get an itv on a brit registered car quite easily, my outlaws are in murcia region and they have both english and soanish regitered cars, they are all itv'd and they dont have any grief. it mat vary depending on which region of spain you are

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Indeed you can. But actually you don't need the ITV at all. It is totally superfluous for a British car - I have done it in the past - but it adds no value.

If you are in Spain longer than six months then your vehicle is probably illegal. You should always have British road tax, insurance and MOT for a Brit reg car. And you can't do the MOT in Gib before you ask.

And as for the parts. Which was mentioned earlier. Yes, they are ****ing expensive. I paid 50€ for a rear wheel cylinder (Series III) - and that was reduced because I didn't have any more money. And I was quoted 35€ for a glow plug - so said no (nicely) - and paid thirty quid to get six shipped from the UK.

Caveat emptor with vehicles in Spain.

And I am glad my mother-in-law is not here FFS.

KateInSpain said:

Indeed you can. But actually you don't need the ITV at all.

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Dunt talk se soft wumman !!


ow yer gunner wotch emmerdale if yer int got ITV

mondo said:

Dunt talk se soft wumman !!


ow yer gunner wotch emmerdale if yer int got ITV

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i keep telling everyone.

I do not have a television. And Emmerdale is boring as **** anyway.

hell hath no fury like a uppity bint on the internet

Is that a Binternet???

What about El Dorado - that's what it's really like in Costa Del Chav!

KateInSpain said:

i keep telling everyone.

I do not have a television. And Emmerdale is boring as **** anyway.

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Ooo egscuse me fer fookin typin

yer never telt me yer dint av a telly !!


Emmerdales the bestist program on telly ferfooksakes!! It's all true yer know ???

slob said:

hell hath no fury like a uppity bint on the internet

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uppity with or without - tinternet is irrelevant

odenne said:

Is that a Binternet???

What about El Dorado - that's what it's really like in Costa Del Chav!

Click to expand...

That was set in Coin. Horrible place. Costa del nothing - ie its not even on the coast - and when I was there it was costa del lluvia.

mondo said:

Ooo egscuse me fer fookin typin

yer never telt me yer dint av a telly !!

Emmerdales the bestist program on telly ferfooksakes!! It's all true yer know ???

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You didn't ask if I had a telly.

Now next question.

And anyway why aren't you all writing these nice welcomes on my hello post and not someone else's. I'm off to me bed, I'm very sad and depressed and unloved.

KateInSpain said:

I'm very sad and depressed and unloved.

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why does that not surprise me?

Thanks again Juergen
I have just been reading about the Tata takeover bid. Hadn't heard anything about it before. Bit of a surprise actually. Initially we will be living at Campoamor which is fairly close to Torrevieja, so with any luck there'll be a decent Landy friendly garage not too far away to get things like services and ITV's done.

Having listened to what folk have told me about the Santana's I have decided to buy a new XS Defender here in the UK to bring down. It appears that I may well get away with not having to pay the UK tax on it aswell, which at 6000 Euros will hopefully cover any Spanish taxes I run into by importing it. Likewise if I buy it here, I only have the one journey down to make rather than having to drive the Spanish Landy up here to collect the trailer first. I know I'm likely to have all sorts of unknown problems by doing it this way, but at least I know what I'll be buying, and I'll have a good Landy as soon as I get there.
So thanks for your help mate, I do appreciate it.
AL

i use to work on suzzys and guess what? the garage went bust. they are crap, best awnser suzzy rep could give was they re all like that( well named geoff farmer)sj410 was a suppercarry engine wi different sump and flywheel. needed rebuilds at 60k and vitara wasnt much better.