The first few weeks of our new life in Fuerteventura, we hired a car. Now as many of you know, this can be costly. So, we needed to act quickly to buy a car for ourselves. We knew the car we wanted but when we went to look at it, found it was outside of our price range. We were very disappointed but picked ourselves up and drove around Puerto del Rosario looking for car dealers to see what we could afford. Even 3 years ago there were fewer dealers than there are now so it was a difficult job. We eventually found the car for us and the dealership was very helpful.

BUYING A NEW CAR

You must have an NIE number to be able to buy a car. The NIE is a fiscal number that follows you everywhere and identifies you to the authorities. You will also need to produce evidence of your address; the Local Police may check that you live there. A good dealership will do all the necessary paperwork for you. You will need one year’s road tax from your local Ayuntamiento (Town Hall), which again the dealership may do for you. The cost of road tax is very reasonable; depending on the car it can be as low as €30 a year.

A tip for you, if you are too specific about the make and colour of car you want, you may have to wait many weeks or even months. If you can be more flexible and take what they have in the showroom, you may be able to have your car within a week, fingers crossed.

PLEASE NOTE – VERY IMPORTANT: You are required to keep your documents in the car, if you do not you are liable to a fine. Do not keep the originals in the car. Documents required are, registration document, which first you can photocopy and take to your local Ayuntamiento where they will stamp the copy which you can then keep in the car. Keep the original registration document safe as it is difficult to get a replacement. You also need to carry your insurance certificate and the receipt to prove you have paid your insurance.

You will not get the registration of your car until possibly the day you purchase. Don’t forget that you will need insurance cover.

YOU MUST CARRY YOUR DRIVING LICENCE ON YOU AT ALL TIMES.

There has been much speculation about driving licences and whether you need to change your British driving licence. As far as I am aware, if you are in Fuerteventura for less than 6 months you can use your British licence. If you intend to stay for longer and become a resident you will need to change your British for a Spanish driving licence. To do this you will need to go to Trafico in Puerto del Rosario and surrender your British licence. Trafico will give you a form and a copy of your British licence that has been stamped by them. There is a date on the copy you have been given, if your licence is not ready within the date, you must go back and ask them to re stamp with a new date. You must carry this with you until your Spanish licence is ready. This can take about 3 months or more. They will also give you a form to fill in to apply for a licence. You need to take 4 passport type photos, your passport and money for the fee (it is not much). I believe you have to be at the office before 12 noon.

If you are over the age of 50, you are required to take a test every 5 years. This consists of an eye test (reading from a chart) and a video game type test to ensure you are aware of the Spanish Highway Code.

Also remember, that your English driving licence has an English address on it. If you were to go to England for any reason and used a car over there, your English licence would not be valid. There is a fine of about £1000 for driving without a valid UK licence, and valid means your details have to be up to date.

BUYING A SECOND HAND CAR

There are far more good quality second hand cars to be had in Fuerteventura today. There are some things to remember:-

• Make sure the car has a current ITV test certificate. ITV is required when a vehicle is 4 years old. You also need the technical sheet (ficha tecnica).

• Make sure the chassis number is the same as on the registration document.

• You need the registration document and a photocopy. Make sure the registration document is in the name of the seller.

• Get a transfer of ownership document (tranferencia) from the seller.

• Check on what warranty you will get if you are buying through a second hand dealership.

• You will need to have the registration document changed to show your details. This is fairly complicated and if you do not want to tackle it, get the help of your Gestoria.

• You need the road tax receipt and a photocopy.

• A receipt for the payment of transfer tax.

NOTE: You have 15 days to register the vehicle in your name.

As with property, the debts on a car follow the vehicle, it is vital that you ensure that there are no debts associated with the vehicle or they will become your debts on purchase.

ITV (MOT) is for cars over 4 years old. The centre is in Antigua (on the outskirts, heading south); you need to ring for an appointment. You will need to take all the cars paperwork, your identification and the fee for the ITV.

If there are any faults found and they are minor you are allowed to take the car away and get it fixed within 2 weeks. You then return for a re-test and a certificate. If there are more dangerous faults they will not allow you to take your car away but must arrange for it to be picked up (by Grua) and taken to a garage for repair.

A CAUTIONARY TALE

I recently heard of a lady who was out driving her car when it burst into flames. As a result it was deemed to be a right off. When she tried to claim on her insurance she was told she was not covered for fire damage.

We got in touch with our insurance company to make sure we were covered. They explained that English people are used to the English system of 3rd Party Fire and Theft Insurance Policies. Seemingly, 3rd party in Spain is just that. Please ensure you are covered, your car will be very expensive to replace.

Well, 3 years on and we have been able to buy the car that we originally wanted and we are very happy with it.