Help my parents choose a car for Spain

gaz_jones

Hi everyone,

My parents spend quite a lot of time in Spain. They go for atleast a week every month as they have a small house over there. They have got fed up with renting cars each time as its costing a small fortune so have decided to bite the bullet and purchase one. They are looking to buy one here and drive it over as the cars are much cheaper here than over there.

The requirements are that its LHD and preferably small ish (corsa/fiesta size).

They have about £5000 to spend but this will include registering it over in Spain.

They have seen a Daewoo Kalos (:eek:) so far and also a Fiesta. I was just wondering if anyone else had any other suggestions?

Thanks very much for the advice everyone

vikingaero

I hired a Chevrolet Aveo which I think is the Kalos in drag. I wouldn't buy one. The 1.2 is gutless and the car is noisy. And the shape of the car was weird and gave a large dashboard with cramped interior space.

Can they check what dealers are near their Spanish house as this should really dictate their choice of car for getting spares, servicing and backup?

vaio

gaz_jones wrote: »

.......They are looking to buy one here and drive it over as the cars are much cheaper here than over there.

The requirements are that its LHD and preferably small ish (corsa/fiesta size).......

Car being cheaper over here surprises me, you sure about that?

Otherwise I’d guess your choice is going to be limited as there aren’t that many LHD cars on the market here for obvious reasons.

Just in case you haven’t already thought of them, other things that might be worth thinking about……

What do the locals use as hire cars? What dealers are there near where they live?

Also, I have a mate with a holiday home in very very rural france, he has an arrangement with the local garage where the garage proprietor sends someone to collect them from the airport and lends them a car whilst they are there. The cars are whatever he has in stock at the time and can be of “variable” quality but it costs my mate next to nothing. Mind you it was the garage owner who sold him the holiday home in the first place so he probably made his money then. This would never happen in a touristy area but if they are off the beaten track it might be worth trying.

gaz_jones

vikingaero wrote: »

I hired a Chevrolet Aveo which I think is the Kalos in drag. I wouldn't buy one. The 1.2 is gutless and the car is noisy. And the shape of the car was weird and gave a large dashboard with cramped interior space.

Can they check what dealers are near their Spanish house as this should really dictate their choice of car for getting spares, servicing and backup?

Thanks very much. Thats exactly the kind of info I was after. I keep telling them not to look at the Daewoo as lets face it its a Daewoo (snobbery coming through there LOL).

You bring up a very good point about local garages. I don't think they have considered this. Thank you.

vaio wrote: »

Car being cheaper over here surprises me, you sure about that?

Otherwise I’d guess your choice is going to be limited as there aren’t that many LHD cars on the market here for obvious reasons.

Just in case you haven’t already thought of them, other things that might be worth thinking about……

What do the locals use as hire cars? What dealers are there near where they live?

Also, I have a mate with a holiday home in very very rural france, he has an arrangement with the local garage where the garage proprietor sends someone to collect them from the airport and lends them a car whilst they are there. The cars are whatever he has in stock at the time and can be of “variable” quality but it costs my mate next to nothing. Mind you it was the garage owner who sold him the holiday home in the first place so he probably made his money then. This would never happen in a touristy area but if they are off the beaten track it might be worth trying.

Once again good point about the garages/dealers near them. Thanks very much

They have been car shopping over there and the prices are ridiculous. All the expats have also told them not to buy out there but to buy here and ship over.

The house they own is right next to 'Little England' as I like to call it. Basically England but in a hotter country The only locals they have are brits/Germans/French and they all seem to rent cars from the local car hire place but even that is a fortune. Well, its fairly cheap, but renting so much it doesn't work out feasible in the long run.


Thanks very much for both your posts

MacCavity

Have you had a look at the Left Hand Drive Place based in Basingstoke? I bought my LHD car from there and I thought they were very good. I can't put in a link, but run a google search. Another google search should bring up other LHD dealers in the UK.

gaz_jones

Do you have a name of the company Mac?

MacCavity

gaz_jones wrote: »

Do you have a name of the company Mac?

Just called the Left Hand Drive Place, or lhd. Based in Basingstoke. I have a LHD Focus from there and a quick look on their website shows a fair few focus cars. When I was in touch with them, they did make it clear I could give them a list of budget and requirements then they'd try and source a suitable car.

eBay also has LHD cars for sale as well, not that I've gone down that route.

KeithP

Here's the link... The Left Hand Drive Place.

HTH

hartcjhart

try here

http://www.viva-almeria.com/modules.php?pid=0&sort=4&name=Content&advanced=&cid=148&pa=list_pages_categories&search=1

only two and a half hours away from 'Beni'

also place a wanted add here

http://costaalmeria.com/costa-almeria-forums.html

buying a car already registered can still work out cheaper

emmell

Have you tried searching on Autotrader, put in your postcode, maximum price and put lhd in keywords and see what comes up, makes checking prices easier.
ML.

LandyAndy

Do they really need a lhd car?

Driving a rhd car in Europe isn't a big deal or are there probs with registering it in Spain?