Moving to Spain, how to take my track car?

[osdecar]

Hi guys,

I am moving to Spain (Madrid) at some point in the next few months.

I want to take my track car with me, but I'm not sure what's the best way to do so.

The car is MOT'd and insured, but it's highly modified, so it'll be a nightmare to do the whole thing driving myself.

I've thought about car transporter. But I've had a quote from cartranspain.com for £1100.

Any other alternatives? Maybe a ferry to Santander and drive the rest of the way to Madrid?

Any implications of doing this post-brexit? I guess if I drive myself it'll be just my vehicle, but if I ship it, then it will be considered importing goods?

Thanks!

[E-bmw]

I would have thought if you don't want to pay that (reasonable I would have thought) then you have found your only other real option, although it will likely cost nearly as much & you have all the responsibility again.

[upsidedownmark]

No specific expertise, but given the other discussions here about carnet etc: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
I would expect that if you are *moving* - i.e. permanently relocating the car, then there would be a lot of implications/complexity regardless of whether you drive/trailer/ship.
Maybe I'm pessimistic, but I'd advise looking at that side of things first. Anyway, keep us posted, would be interested to know the practicalities!

[Chris Stott]

I think you’re going to struggle.

You can only drive a Uk registered car in Spain legally for 6 months. Pre Brexit people could away with it… one of my neighbours ran a British plated car for years without any problems (just got a dodgy mot every year from Gib). But the police are much more vigilant now… another friend just got pulled in her British registered 3 series and got a €500 fine.

You can reregister on Spanish plates… I helped a friend do this recently on a 2003 Shogun, cost was around £1,500 all in. But the car has to be completely standard - to the point we had to remove a tow bar because it wasn’t factory fitted…. I reckon you’d at least need a full engineering report in Spanish to stand any chance of getting though the ITV process

On the shipping a car down side… no importation costs until you want to reregister.

Edited by Chris Stott on Wednesday 23 March 09:29

[osdecar]

Thanks for your answer guys,

I'm Spanish and I'm very much aware of the depressing situation for modified cars down there.

Once I complete the move the car will be sorn'd and it will be transported to track on a trailer (which I don't have at the moment, hence why I need an alternative solution to take it there)

My only real concern at the moment is to find the cheapest way to take the car from the Midlands to Madrid.

[sunbeam alpine]

£1100 seems to me a very fair price for shipping the car. I don't think you'll find anything much cheaper.

We pay an average of €800 shipping Italian classics from Italy up to Belgium, and that's based on a full transporter load.

[AndrewCrown]

Osdecar

You could try putting the job on uship or Shiply. There transporters will bid for the work, you might get a better price. But 1100 seems ok for the distance. Far less hassle and inconvenience/time risk etc.

[osdecar]

AndrewCrown said:

Osdecar

You could try putting the job on uship or Shiply. There transporters will bid for the work, you might get a better price. But 1100 seems ok for the distance. Far less hassle and inconvenience/time risk etc.

sunbeam alpine said:

£1100 seems to me a very fair price for shipping the car. I don't think you'll find anything much cheaper.

We pay an average of €800 shipping Italian classics from Italy up to Belgium, and that's based on a full transporter load.

Thank you guys.

If I had the time, what are the main considerations if I'd prefer to take the ferry portsmouth-santander and drive the rest of the way?

I assume for the first 6 months, it should be legal to drive the car in Spain won't it?

[CABC]

maybe take the Bilbao route and detour via the Pyrenees? one last hurrah before taking it off the road.

[Ej74]

I paid 150 GBP from London to Amsterdam via Shiply

[MisanoPayments]

I wonder if you might have some luck phoning a couple of dealer Fleet depts to see if one of their contractor low loader people are available for the job? Although they may be the people putting their services on Shiply when they have spare time.

Very envious of you moving to Madrid - I did my year abroad there and had a great time. Are you from there or elsewhere in Spain originally?

[Chris Stott]

If you understand the problems when you’re here I think £1,100 sounds pretty good.

A guy I do some work for here in Marbella has a big car collection and frequently ships stuff back and forth. Last week he had an Etype and SLS shipped down and paid £1,500ea, which he said was good value.

Guess you’d maybe do it a bit cheaper by driving to Portsmouth, coming down on the cheapest ferry to Santander you could find and then doing the drive to Madrid… depends how bad your track car is on petrol.

When I moved here I just drove it… channel tunnel and then straight down to Marbella. I left Weybridge at 3pm and passed Madrid at 7am the next morning. But that was in a newish Touareg… quiet and comfy!

[osdecar]

MisanoPayments said:

I wonder if you might have some luck phoning a couple of dealer Fleet depts to see if one of their contractor low loader people are available for the job? Although they may be the people putting their services on Shiply when they have spare time.

Very envious of you moving to Madrid - I did my year abroad there and had a great time. Are you from there or elsewhere in Spain originally?

Born and raised in Madrid. Going back home after 6 years in the midlands.

Madrid is a great place to live, but I'm gonna miss the car culture here, the amount of tracks per square mile and the general motorsports culture of UK