[Chrisdee]

Thought you may be interested in an article which is in the Coast Rider this week, don't know where you stand if you've just bought it:-

Police crackdown
Following warnings of a crackdown on illegal cars on the urbanisation of la Marina, local police put their plans into action.
During the last month police have gotten tough with a campaign to eliminate the significant number of illegal cars driving around the urbanisation. Most of the cars are UK and German registered, though police did stop and charge a driver of a Swedish registered car. The majority of the cars stopped had been done so for not displaying a valid tax disk. Having an invalid tax disk or no MOT automatically null and voids your insurance cover. Police have handed out hefty fines for drivers caught without valid certification.
In two cases in the last month where the owners had the vehicles clamped outside shops, the cars were subsequently crushed because the owners could not afford to pay the fines.
Police are also cracking down on cars that have tax discs, but the owners can’t be proved to be residents in Spain. A simple call by the officer to the police station will determine if you are on the padron and the length of time you have been on it. It is then up to you to prove that you are not a resident.
If you are taking up residence in Spain and have an NIE number then you must re-register you car. You cannot continue driving a UK registered vehicle if you have resident status.
If you have non resident status you can only keep your car here for up to six months. After that period the car must return to the UK for a further six months.
You cannot take it back for an MOT and Tax and then bring it back two weeks later. If you have been in Spain for more than six months you automatically assume fiscal resident status and your car must be re-registered.