Importing a bike from UK into Spain

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paulw1882
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Importing a bike from UK into Spain

Post by paulw1882 »

Morning All

Me and the other half are moving to Spain (Javea) to live this August, and I will be taking my bikes with me (all bikes are less than 10 years old and are common makes sold in UK and Spain and standard spec apart from after market exhaust on one bike).

Does anyone have any experience/knowledge of the process/costs/price/options etc ?

All advice gratefully received !

Thanks

Paul
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AlanHolt
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Re: Importing a bike from UK into Spain

Post by AlanHolt »

I've done this with 2 UK registered bikes when we moved to Catalunya, i'll send you a PM tonight with all the steps detailed for you.
Current bike is a Yamaha T7
paulw1882
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Re: Importing a bike from UK into Spain

Post by paulw1882 »

That's great thanks Alan much appreciated
Lairyskippy
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Re: Importing a bike from UK into Spain

Post by Lairyskippy »

I moved over about 2 years ago and did the same with my Versys 1000.........they are very strict and it can be costly. For example, the rule of thumb is that the bike should be as it was when it rolled off the production line so aftermarket exhausts must be e-marked (they even checked the mirrors for an e-Mark!) and as I understand it even the presence of an e-Mark is no guarantee of a pass!

You will also get stung for an import duty which is determined by a local official (Gestoria) and it cost me 1,000 euros.

I won't be doing it again, I'll be buying here.
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AlanHolt
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Re: Importing a bike from UK into Spain

Post by AlanHolt »

I did both bikes myself (without a gestoria), and the zx10r cost €430 and the cagiva raptor 1000 cost €370. It takes 2 half days to do, hence why I need to sit down later and write it all out.
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Re: Importing a bike from UK into Spain

Post by Uncle Buck »

I have a place in Moraira and get over pretty regularly. I'll be bringing my 690 down soon so if I am there and you fancy a ride out, let me know. There is a decent Facebook group called C B north off road sports. Few green lane and trail riders in there as well as a lot of mx.
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Re: Importing a bike from UK into Spain

Post by Gavinskii »

I have a place in Denia and am watching this with interest as was thinking of doing the same when the time comes.
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Re: Importing a bike from UK into Spain

Post by Lairyskippy »

AlanHolt wrote:I did both bikes myself (without a gestoria), and the zx10r cost €430 and the cagiva raptor 1000 cost €370. It takes 2 half days to do, hence why I need to sit down later and write it all out.
Blimey that much better and certainly makes it worthwhile. Could you copy the process to me as well please as I'm thinking about another bike.
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Re: Importing a bike from UK into Spain

Post by AlanHolt »

I've decided to post the process here instead of sending it to you individually, that way any questions and answers will be there for everyone to benefit from. I don't know how much of the process any of you know, so i'll write it as though you all know nothing about it. Best advice, get a large strong folder before you start as you will amass half a forest worth of paperwork.

First step, if you can, obtain a Certificate Of Conformity for your bike. This was easy for my Ninja, i simply emailed Kawasaki UK, explained I was 'matriculating' (remember this word) my bike to Spain so needed a COC. They posted it to me FOC within days. The Cagiva wasn't as simple. The importer for Cagiva has changed over the years. The current one said they hadn't been given the COC for my girlfriends bike from the Cagiva importer when the bike was new. I emailed the original importer, and they told me they had given all the COC's to the new importer. So a quick email to Cagiva/MV Agusta in Italy explaining the situation, and a couple of weeks later, the COC was delivered FOC. If you don't have a COC, they may make you pay for a nuts and bolts inspection by an engineer.

Now you're in Spain, you will need your NIE certificate (a national insurance number for foreigners) which you will have if you have bought property here. You will also need to go to the ajuntament (town hall) and ask for a 'padron' so you can register a vehicle. A padron is a document which confirms you own or rent or live at a particular property in Spain. You will need to take with you some proof, so your NIE and your deeds or a bill in your name. Mine cost €1.08 and takes 48-72 hours from requesting to being able to collect it.

Next, you need to find an ITV test centre (ITV is the Spanish MOT), not a local garage. Take all your paperwork for the bike (V5, MOT, COC, NIE and Padron) and tell them you need to book your bike in for a 'matricluation inspection'. They will take several copies of all your paperwork, give you an appointment date and time and you will have to pay the fee at the time of making the appointment. Ours were €115 for each bike.

Return on the day of the inspection, present all your paperwork again for more photocopies and you will be sent to the noise and emissions test area. Emissions test is the same as in the UK, pipe up the exhaust. The noise test is measured 1m to the side of the exit of the exhaust. Spain has quite a low noise limit for motorbikes, and it goes on individual cylinder capacity and whether it is 2 or 4 stroke. However, if like on my ZX10R, there is a noise limit stamped on the VIN plate, they must honour that limit, even if it is higher than Spains limit. So because my Ninja's VIN was stamped '100dB @ 5450rpm', they had to pass it at 92dB even though Spains limit for that engine is lower. The Cagiva was stamped at 92dB and passed at 90dB with standard exhausts. As for everything needing to be standard, my ninja's standard exhaust has 2 catalytic converters and a variable restriction box to control noise and emissions. When I matriculated it, it was fitted with a straight through full race Yoshimura system which meant no cat's. I'd had the race exhaust headers modified to take the original O2 sensors so the Fi light didn't come on. I dare say had there been a warning light flashing, they may have looked into why. The tail tidy was also OK, although we fitted the R&G reflectors to them. I did change my girlfriends headlight to an EU one so the beam was correct, my ninja has a flat beam pattern so is ok anywhere. Once you've passed the noise and emissions tests, they need to get access to the VIN plate for photographs and a carbon rubbing of the VIN, plus they will take photos and measurements of the bike, and also weigh it. Then you will proceed to the lights test, brake test and finally a look at the general condition of the bike. If it passes, you will be given an ITV sticker which must be applied to a part of the bike. Do consider that when you go for your next ITV, they remove the old sticker with a bladed scraper. The most popular place is on the fork leg. You will then have to wait in reception whilst they generate all your paperwork which you need for the next stage.

Once you know your bike has passed, you can go straight to your local BASE office to pay your local vehicle or road tax. No appointment needed, explain why you are there, hand them your paperwork, they will generate a tax bill for the year. Take this to a bank, pay the bank the amount on the bill (ours were €44 each) and keep the receipt!!

You then need to find the Trafico office for where you live. I've worded it like that because the nearest one may not cover where you live. My nearest is in Lleida, but because I live in Flix, I have to use the one at Tarragona. You must make an appointment, and it doesn't matter what time you select, when you turn up, its a first come, first served basis. Get there early, theres a lot to do before they go home at 2pm. Find the department for vehicle registrations, take a ticket and wait to be called. When you are called, go to the person and remember what they look like because when you come back, you'll jump the queue and go straight to that person. Give them all the paperwork in your folder, tell them you are matriculating a motorbike from the UK to Spain. They will check your paperwork, give you a form to complete (name, address, NIE, vehicle make, model, year etc) and tell you to go to Hacienda to pay your tax for matriculating the bike. They should have a printed map showing you how to get there. Go to Hacienda, tell them what you are there for and wait to be called. When you are, give the person all your paperwork, they will value your bike and generate a tax bill for bringing the bike to Spain. This amount varies depending on the spanish value of the bike, how much you paid for it and how long you have owned it. Take the bill to a bank, pay the tax, get the receipt and return to Hacienda. Show the person who gave you the bill your receipt and they will then send you to another department to sign and collect some papers. When you have all the papers from Hacienda, return to Trafic and go straight to the person who you spoke to orginally. Give them everything, they will go through it and give you back what they don't need. Once it has all been processed, you will have to pay a 'document fee' of around €60. If you have done everything early enough, they will tell you to wait for your documents (takes about an hour). If not, you will have to return the next day.

Once you have your documents, you can go to any dealer and get a number plate made for around €20. Then you just need insurance and away you go. Your next ITV is in 2 years time.

Yes, its daunting reading all this, but I did it without knowing the process and having very limited grasp of the language. At each step, I had to ask what to do next, and everyone was very helpful.

If you have any questions, fire away.
Current bike is a Yamaha T7
Uncle Buck
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Re: Importing a bike from UK into Spain

Post by Uncle Buck »

My local gestoria charges €90 to do all of that for me. So, if you are short on time and don't mind paying, the €90 seems worth it to me! All I had to do was the inspection bit but they prepared all the paperwork for me.
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