Autos & Driving

Buying a car in Spain, registration, insurance and what expats need to know about driving on Spanish roads — from rules and road signs to getting your US license converted.

July 16, 2026

The $10,000 Mistake: Moving With Your US Car to Spain

.For a very short, fleeting moment this was one of the first questions we asked ourselves: could we just ship our car? The answer, once we started digging into it, was a hard "NO". Here's why.The answer, once we dug into it, was a clear no. Here's why.

The Cost Stack Adds Up Fast

Shipping is only the first cost line item and it's not even the biggest one. Getting a US car to a Spanish port runs somewhere in the $2,000 to $2,500+ range depending on which US port you're leaving from and whether it lands in Valencia or Barcelona.

July 9, 2026

A Field Guide To License Plates In Spain

After a while in Spain, you start noticing license plates differently than you ever did back home. Spanish and European plates carry a surprising amount of information once you know what you're looking at — and once you start seeing it, you can't "unsee" it. Here's a quick guide to what's actually on the road around you.

June 23, 2026

The Gestore: Your Government Concierge

If you've been spending time in expat groups or reading about life in Spain, you've almost certainly run into the word "gestor" — usually in the form of someone saying "just get a gestor" without explaining what that actually means or what one costs.

We kept running into the same gap as we researched our move. The concept came up everywhere — NIE applications, car registration, annual tax filings, TIE renewals — but nobody seemed to explain the full picture in one place. So we built the page to help others who were in the same situation.

February 21, 2026

Vehicle Fuel Prices In Spain

Prices for filling up your vehicle are more expensive in Spain and the EU that in the US. When we visited the first week of February this year, in the Jávea area the price for vehicle fuel was $6.00 gal (€1.35l) for gasoline and $5.58 for diesel (€1.25l)

January 18, 2026

Purchasing A Car In Spain

Modern car showroom and vehicle in a sunny Mediterranean coastal town representing buying a car in Spain

Over the past month, we’ve been doing some research on the process related to purchasing a car in Spain. Once we officially move, we know it’s going to have to be one of our first tasks. It looks like the purchasing process is somewhat similar, however there’s less negotiation on price. New car prices are somewhat similar or a bit higher than the US.

January 10, 2026

V16 Car Safety – Spain Law Change

V16 Emergency light and warning triangle

Spain’s V16 Emergency Beacon Law Started January 1 Spain requires safety equipment to be carried inside your vehicle at all times. This is different from the U.S., where these things are optional and drivers are generally expected to pull onto the shoulder and rely on hazard lights or roadside assistance.