Spain road trip

Old Sep 17th, 2013, 06:22 PM
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Spain road trip

Hi all,

My boyfriend is meeting me in Europe next July/August and we are planning on buying a car in Madrid and road tripping through to Barcelona. Does anyone have any suggestions on where to buy a second hair CHEAP car over there and/or know whether we have to pay money to cross borders? We want to stop at a lot of smaller towns on our trip so thought it easier to buy our own car and cheaper (we plan to sleep in the van/wagon we purchase) to do it this way.

If you've done something similar here or are from this area and have any suggestions they'd be greatly welcomed!!
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Old Sep 17th, 2013, 06:33 PM
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"a second hair CHEAP car" ? I assume you meant to say a second hand car. Have you checked out the buy back programs offered by Peugeot and Renault through Auto Europe? Otherwise you could end up buying a piece of junk.

Sleeping in the car is generally not something you can do in Spain, or get away with for very long, but I'm not sure about Croatia. The Spanish police (city police or the Guardia Civil) will ticket you if you do. You can camp out at a camp ground if you want to avoid hotels, etc.
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Old Sep 17th, 2013, 07:00 PM
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haha yes hand...NOT hair! I found a second hand car website, dont mind if it's a crappy car, just needs to last us 2 months! I will look at those programs though, thanks! Are camp grounds free over there? We were thinking of getting something like a second hand wicked van type of thing..we're happy to hostel or hotel where required.
Any other suggestions? Thanks!!
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Old Sep 17th, 2013, 07:15 PM
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You have to book your stay in campgrounds ahead of time. July and August are very busy times.

This website will help you in planning your great adventure: www.vayacamping.net

Just remember, there are a lot of issues with a foreigner purchasing a used car, so it would be best to do a buy-back program.
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Old Sep 17th, 2013, 07:21 PM
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Have you checked into requirements for buying a car? Do you need a permanent residence to which to register the car, receive license plates, etc.?

I don't know anything about buying a car in Spain but would think it is not as easy as buying a pair of pants.
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Old Sep 17th, 2013, 09:32 PM
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Yes, have looked into it as my Uncle lives in Nice, France, may be better off buying one in London but wait and see!! thanks guys
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Old Sep 17th, 2013, 11:00 PM
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If you buy in London the drivers side will be on the wrong side for driving in Europe....
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Old Sep 17th, 2013, 11:36 PM
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Where ever you purchase a car you will still need to have a permanent address. So given you have now got three countries here are the way car registration goes in each country:
Spain: http://spain.angloinfo.com/transport/vehicle-ownership/
France: http://france.angloinfo.com/transpor...ng-a-used-car/
UK: http://uk.angloinfo.com/transport/ve...selling-a-car/
The UK maybe the easiest. However there are a lot of cameras which read registration plates and link to you if you have insurance and MOT. Insurance in the UK for main land Europe is basic and last about 90days only.
You can obviously purchase LHD cars in the UK but they are not cheap and you will find insurance is more expensive. The car should be used for the majority of it's time in the UK.
Sorry to shatter your dreams but in the modern world this sort of thing is no longer possible. Back in the 60's and 70's yes.
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Old Sep 18th, 2013, 03:22 PM
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Okay so I have a new solution, our friend is moving back to his home country of France, if we give him money to buy a car there and register it in his name but we drive it around for 2 months and then just get rid of it at the end or he can sell it. Would that be better? Sounds a lot easier than having to worry about buying one ourselves..
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Old Sep 18th, 2013, 05:39 PM
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You want to stick a friend with having to resell a junky car - that could take on this problem? And how much do you plan on paying - If you thin you can get something road worthy for 1K euros - it's won;t work.
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Old Sep 18th, 2013, 06:11 PM
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Of course we'd organise how to dispose of the vehicle at the end of our journey, thats not what I was asking though and really nothing to do with my questions. He seems to think we'll be able to get something for 600-800 euros that will last two months travel? If not, we'll just do it another way, not sure why you bothered leaving a reply if it was just going to be completely unhelpful and negative. We understand it will be difficult but thats the fun of it. Thanks everyone for your posts, appreciate advice.
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Old Sep 19th, 2013, 03:59 AM
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please make sure you can be fully insured with your American and international driver's licenses. otherwise, your French friend's car and your French friend's French insurance may give you a very sad surprise should you accidentally cause an accident.. or seriously injure someone on this adventure.

You must also be sure he has officially authorized you to be driving it.
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Old Sep 19th, 2013, 10:21 AM
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So your friend is moving back home, OK but if he is leaving France that technically he cannot be the owner of the car. What about insurance will you be actually insured. If there is an accident he cannot be traced and/or you are not on the paperwork you are in the deep do do.
You cannot sell a car which is not technically yours.
Again I urge you to read thoroughly the links I gave you maybe then you will understand this plan is not going to work.
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Old Mar 19th, 2014, 05:37 AM
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A vehicle for 600 to 800 euros is very unlikely to pass a road test without a lot of repairs. And even if your friend is naive enough to buy a vehicle for you - as the registered own he wuld have to ensure it - and be responsible for any problems yourun into. It seems leaving him on the hook for a lot of expenses while you just walk away.

Have you considered

1)cost of purchase
2) cost or registration
3) cost of insurance
4) cost to have the car inspected
5) cost to bring car up to standard to pass inspection

Seems like this would be many times the cost of just renting a very basic car.

And just sleeping in the car by the side of the road is liable to end up your being charged with vagrancy.
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Old Mar 19th, 2014, 07:09 AM
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nytraveler: the thread is old - was topped by a spammer.
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