F.A.Q.

HOW TO ..... get an ECO-STICKER for your car

By The Crazy Guy


From 1 January 2023 if you want to travel into a town or city in Spain, you are supposed to display an eco-Sticker on the windscreen of your car. From the end of the year all towns in Spain with more than 50,000 inhabitants must have the infrastructure in place to monitor cars entering their municipio. 

From that date it is also compulsory for drivers to display the appropriate sticker for their vehicle.

Older vehicles are not eligible and must not enter these urban ZBEs (Zonas Bajas Emisiones – in English Low Emissions Zones). But you may still drive your car outside of these areas.

These restrictions do not apply to foreign-registered vehicles.
 
Background

This initiative, which has already begun in cities such as Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and Sevilla, as well as Valladolid, Alicante and Murcia, is designed to clean up the polluted air in inner-city areas.

All of a sudden, car owners are getting concerned. I first heard about it when a friend posted a link to a WhatsApp group before Christmas.

Since then The Olive Press has published an article (current edition Issue 410 or www.theolivepress.es).

Lenox Napier, a blogger at EyeOnSpain, has also covered it in a very witty article. See below.
 
The Stickers

There are five categories and four stickers. Category A is for vehicles which are too old and have high exhaust emissions and MAY NOT ENTER A ZBE. Petrol vehicles registered before 2001 and diesels before 2006 fall into this category.

The other categories are colour-coded:

B, yellow, is for petrol vehicles registered from 1 January 2001 and diesels from 1 January 2006.
C, green, is for petrol vehicles registered from 1 January 2006 and diesels after 1 September 2015.
Eco, green and blue, is for hybrid, natural gas, CNG or LPG vehicles
Zero ‘O’, blue, for electric, hydrogen or fuel cell vehicles.
 
You can find out which sticker is for you by going to the DGT website and entering your registration number. My car is relatively new, so I get a green sticker.
 
How to get your sticker

There are several ways:
  • Online at the DGT website (Direccion General de Tráfico)
  • At any post office – Correos
  • At selected car parts distributors – in Ronda at Sierra Sur Recambios Ronda in Calle Río Guadalteba in the Polígono Industrial.  
A sticker costs 5€.

***

I went to Sierra Sur today to get mine. All I needed to show were the car’s documents and my ID.

Five minutes, five euros. Sorted.
 
With thanks to:

Jill La Peche
Lenox Napier
The Olive Press
 
© The Crazy Guy
 
Other useful links:

Correos www.correos.es

DGT www.pegatinas-dgt.com
https://sede.dgt.gob.es/es/vehiculos/distintivo-ambiental#

EyeOnSpain Eco Stickers and How Long Have We Got? (eyeonspain.com)

N332 www.n332.es

Upsticks https://upsticks.es/driving-in-spain-eco-stickers-all-you-need-to-know/
 
 
Tags: CNG, Correos, Crazy Guy, DGT, diesel, dirección general de tráfico, eco-sticker, fuel cell, LEZ, LPG, Olive Press, petrol, Sierra Sur Recambios, ZBE

HOW TO ..... import a foreign vehicle to Spain and re-register it onto Spanish number plates

Saturday, March 19, 2022


The Crazy Guy recently completed the process of importing a UK vehicle to Spain and re-registering it onto Spanish number plates. He found it extremely straightforward.

When I decided to buy a UK vehicle here in Spain, I knew I needed to re-register it as soon as possible. I asked some friends who’d already done this and they referred me to companies on the coast that do it for you for a pretty hefty fee.

I decided that I probably didn’t need to waste money I didn’t have, so I decided to do it myself with the help of a gestor.

Irene, the gestora, told me what I needed to do and how much each stage of the process would cost. Once I’d completed the process, I just needed to bring all the paperwork in and she would deal with tráfico in Málaga. All for a fee of just 80 euros!

This is what I had to do:

Get an independent engineer’s report (una ficha técnica reducida). She gave me the phone number of a local engineer, Natale, and told me it would cost 110€. It cost…110€.

I had to get the headlights changed, as it is a right-hand-drive vehicle. My neighbour Antonio, a car mechanic, did that for 380€.

Next, I had to go to the ITV testing station to request an inspección técnica de vehículos, like a super strict MOT. A few days later I was contacted with an appointment. They did the test. It passed. 150€.

I returned to Irene, my gestora, and gave her all the paperwork. A week later I was contacted to be told everything was in order with tráfico in Málaga. I just needed to pop into the office to pay some tax and the gestora’s fee.

A few days later I was summoned again to collect my new placas, number plates. Bob’s your uncle! My car was now Spanish and legal.

Here’s my final bill:

  • Ficha técnica reducida €110
  • Change of headlights €380
  • ITV €150
  • Import tax €600
  • Gestora fee €80
TOTAL €1,320

Please note:
My vehicle was imported to Spain before the UK left the EU. From 1 January 2021 onwards, you have to pay import duty on top.