Hi Tim,

found here: Cars & Motor vehicles in Spain | Spanish-Living.com

"Europeans can avoid paying the 12% special vehicle registration tax as Spain is the only country in Europe that has this tax. When buying your car all you have to do is request that the car be fitted with a tourist license plate, rather than a full Spanish license plate. You will have to renew this every year which will cost you approximately 150€. You can repeat this as many years as you want.

Buying a car on Spanish plates can save a lot of complications and has certain advantages. The rules are that you have to have a residency or own a property or be able to present a Certificado de Empadronamiento (a certificate to show that you are registered as living in the community). An addional benefit of providing this address is that El Trafico will send you the bill by post directly. Although this may not sound much like a benefit initially, you might appreciate it when it comes to selling the car and you need to sell and transfer the car to somebody else, you wont get hit suddenly with 2 years of worth of traffic violations and fines (multas)."

Unfortunately for you, the topic of this thread is not "Europeans" purchasing motor vehicles in Spain, but citizens of the United States purchasing motor vehicles in Spain and you are incorrect. A simple call to any reputable motor vehicle in Spain will forward my point of view. I know it is difficult to let go of the Eurocentric point of view, but Tim, you are wrong and I am right unless you can produce some documentation other than your personal condemnation.

In my post I excluded EU residents from my statements, perhaps you missed that?

Regarding the driving permits: found here: Driving your car & buying a car in Spain. Practical legal information and advice by iAbogado, your English-speaking Spanish lawyers in Madrid | iAbogado

"If you are from outside the EU and wish to drive throughout the Spanish territory for long periods, then your driving license must be translated into Spanish by an official translator. You can also drive on an international license. After 1 year, you must obtain a Spanish driving license as you cannot continue driving under your own license duly translated, nor under an international permit. You should then apply for a Spanish driving license for which you must proof your residency in Spain."

So, a tourist, without documented proof of residence may drive in Spain with a USA driving permit plus international license for up to one year.... but for a citizen of the USA to purchase a motor vehicle in Spain a proof of residence is required. So, once a resident of Spain, a Spanish license is required. This is how an attorney explained this particular point to me. In brief, if you purchase a motor vehicle in Spain, you must have a Spanish driving permit.

tim, I know you will consider this an obscure point of law, but it is the law.

xfiltrate

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