When buying or importing a car, you should take into account the local service facilities, as not all cars can be easily serviced. All the main European manufacturers are well represented in Spain, but garages servicing North American and some Japanese cars can be difficult to find.
If you drive a ‘rare’ car, it’s advisable to carry a basic selection of spare parts, as service stations in Spain may not stock them and you may have to wait several weeks for them to be sent from abroad. In fact, some garages keep very few spares, particularly for Japanese and Korean makes, and can take weeks to obtain spares for cars manufactured in the last decade. If you find yourself in this position, you can buy most spares abroad, e.g. in the UK or Germany (where they’re also likely to be around 50 per cent cheaper) and have them shipped to Spain by courier. Spanish mechanics may try to repair parts rather than simply replacing them. This is because labour has traditionally been cheaper than spare parts, although this is changing fast, particularly in the cities. Mechanics can often come up with creative solutions to problems if parts are unavailable.
Repair work is usually of a high standard and prices are competitive (many garages offer fixed prices for routine servicing). However, you shouldn’t rely on a Spanish garage to repair a car when they say they will, as it’s common for repairs to take days (or even weeks) longer than scheduled due to the Spanish mañana attitude (although a delay may also be due to a lack of spare parts). You should receive a three-month or 2,000km guarantee for any major work done and should be given any parts that have been changed. Always ask for a written estimate ( presupuesto) before having a car repaired (you may be billed for this, although it isn’t usual).
It’s generally cheaper to have your car serviced at a village garage rather than at a main dealer, although the quality of work can vary considerably from garage to garage. If a car is under warranty, it must usually be regularly serviced by an approved dealer in order not to invalidate the warranty. However, if you need urgent assistance, particularly with an ‘exotic’ foreign car, you’re more likely to receive sympathetic help from a small garage than from a large dealer.
Garages in Spain are open from 8 or 9am until 6 or 7pm and usually close for lunch from 1 or 2pm until 3 or 4pm. In major cities, there are garages providing 24-hour breakdown assistance (at a price).
Service stations rarely provide a free ‘loan car’ ( coche prestado) while yours is being serviced or repaired, although you can usually hire a car from a large garage for a reasonable fee. Some garages collect your car from your home or office and deliver it after a service, or drop you off at a nearby rail or bus station and pick you up when your car is ready for collection.
This article is an extract from Living and Working in Spain.
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