Car failed the ITV
Oh dear, the car failed its ITV. Silly peugeot 2 doors have an issue that the front door as it swings back and fro to let people into the back of the car can also result in the cable that connects the airbag coming undone. Result is that the driver’s airbag no longer works.
I didn’t think the ITV would pick up on it from the website, it didn’t look part of the checks, but I was wrong. Very wrong. Wasted time to go to Estepona, wasted over 30 euros to pay for the ITV but at least I have an extension now until September so I don’t have to go mad next week trying to get it all sorted.
Good thing I saved money on the ADSL to pay for the next ITV….
Booking up your ITV or MOT for your car in Spain
The ITV in Spain is the similar to the MOT in the UK, but unlike the UK you will have to take your car to a specific centre for the ITV check.
When your car is due its ITV you will get a letter from the Junta informing you when you need to have it done by. Allow yourself a couple of weeks before your ITV runs out as appointments get booked ahead of time.
I phoned the number on the back of the letter and asked if there was an English speaking person. A man came on that sounded so much like an automated telephone that I began to wonder if the centre had a really clever piece of voice recognition software. Didn’t matter, how great that you can get someone that speaks English! I’d love to see an English call centre try to speak fluent Spanish….actually be great to see them speaking fluent English rather than Punjabi.
In Andalucia you have a choice of eight ITV centres. You just tell the person on the phone which centre you want and they will then give you a day and the time of your appointment. You can also ask your car dealership if they will drive and take your car to the ITV centre, some will do this for you for of course a charge.
Unlike the UK, you sit in the car whilst the ITV is done. Before you go learn the Spanish word for brake, accelerate and English stupid person. The ITV man will shout instructions at you and you had better understand him. Try to drive correctly over the giant hole in the ground too.
My husband is coming with me this week and when we get there I’m handing him the keys…..Despite what I am saying, it is very straight forward, highly organised and when you get your “I have passed my ITV sticker.” you are thrilled to bits!
Helpful Ideas for tourists
If you are a tourist about to drive in Spain or just walk about, here are some helpful ideas.
1. Do not cross a zebra crossing without looking. Zebra crossings in the Marbella area are there to make the road look pretty and to match the Mayor’s latest suit. They are not there for pedestrians – silly. Cross a zebra crossing without looking and you will die.
2. In Puerto Banus the road by V.I.Ps is a one way road. Meet me coming the other way and one of us will have to stop and it won’t be me because I usually go to Puerto Banus in the morning and I’ve not very cheerful or nice in the morning.
3. On the A7, otherwise known as the coastal road do not drive at 60km per hour. Do not drive 60km in the fast lane. My choice is to either tailgate you or overtake on the middle lane, neither of which I find particularly pleasant. Both of which could result in your death and possibly mine. Would prefer yours….
4. At roundabouts I’m jolly glad that you take a few hours to decide which way to go. But the decision to turn left at that roundabout was a mistake….
5. At petrol stations do not put leaded petrol into the car if it is diesel. On the other hand, if you drive like any of the above go right ahead as at least you will be off the road for a couple of days.
6. England lost the World Cup so you can take down your tatty English flag now from your car aerial, unless you want your car keyed at La Canada shopping centre.
7. When I let you in and you wave thank you, all of the above are forgiven as that doesn’t happen very often here in Spain!
Happy driving….and I don’t really mean any of the above!!
Opening a business in Spain
If you are thinking of opening a business in Spain then you need to be sure of the legal paperwork that is involved and the time delay involved before you start taking out any mortgages/leases or paying for any shop fittings or building work.
I have found this legal firm that has some helpful information on starting a business up in Spain which may be useful as a starting point.
http://www.interlex-spain.com/Spain/Commercial/
If i buy a car in england and drive it over to spain can i still have english insurance?
If you are driving to Spain from England make sure your insurance company has issued you with a green card. In the UK these green cards are sometimes limited to 30 or 45 days only abroad.
If you have a UK car you must insure with an English car insurance company. You are allowed to use a Spanish brance of a UK insurance company but it must be a registered UK insurance company. Likewise a Spanish car must be insured by a Spanish car Insurance company.
Endesa and the ICP letter
Everyone in Spain is now going to need to purchase ( 100-200 euros) or rent from Endesa (around 12 cents per month) an ICP. If you building is under 8 years old you may already have an ICP fitted in which case you need to get Endesa to seal it which will cost around 10 euros. The ICP acts like a giant switch that will go OFF as soon as you use more electricity than your contract allows. To reset you will just flick a switch, there won’t be a call out to Endesa. Those of you that have an ICP do need Endesa to come and seal it and at this point if your contract has not enough juice or kw you will find your house constantly trips.
We are all getting letters now regarding the fitting of the ICP, some registered telling you to contact Endesa to say purchase/rent/seal your ICP and if you don’t you will have your current tariff increased. This means higher bills/facturas.
Now my tariff is just over 4kw for a family of five. A kettle uses 2kw, a halogen ring almost 2kw, so unless I want to go back to the dark ages ( literally) I am going to need to increase my tariff. To do this I need to get an electrician in to issue me with a boletin. If my property is old this could cost me 1-4K euros because the legislation for wiring has changed and unless you comply you won’t get the boletin. If your property is modern you may get away without paying for a thing.
Look at your Endesa bill/factura and it will tell you what your current tariff is. If you are a normal household, with a family, that uses a tumble dryer, oven, air conditioning, lights, then you will need around 8-10kw. You can go onto the Endesa website and they will give you an estimation of what you need based upon your answers to their questions. You can use Google to translate if needed.
So you can’t escape the ICP problem but I strongly recommend that you do not let any electrician into your house until you have checked that you have the tariff that you want. I’ve heard there is an Endesa office in the orange square in Marbella so you could talk to them, contact Endesa via the website or phone or just wait and see what your neighours do……
I’ll let you know when ( if) I take action……
Stopping distances, what are they again?
Stopping distances. We have them to stop you smashing into the car in front should there be a sudden issue on the road when all the cars need to break. Pretty common on the A7. Rubber marks, singed hedges, flowers tied to the roadside and a big sign saying how many people have died in 2010 are all there to remind us that the A7 is the nearest thing you are going to get to Russian roulette unless you have mafia links. If you are reading this, then there is a good chance you do and may I say how lovely you look today and I wish your family well…..Вы прекрасны
Cars here though seem to see the stopping distance that I leave as an excuse to nip in. When I say nip in, I mean veer dangerously at high speed without indicating leaving me with cm before I collide with their rear end. Much as I’m sure their rear end is delightful I would rather choose life. Dying with an Audi black bumber impaled around my neck is not the way I would choose to go. I don’t collect trophies unless it is in the form of shrunken heads of these crazy drivers. Most of which look pretty shrunken in the first place and in most cases I’ve noticed the heads of Audi and BMW drivers rarely touch the bottom of the steering wheel. I have no idea how their legs reach the pedals and suspect they have cut a hole in the bottom of the car and have got an underpaid African to run very fast indeed. Or perhaps they have the North Korean football team in there with them.
Meanwhile I’ve observed more police here in Marbella than any other town that I have lived. Most of them are on the road and whilst I’m not sure exactly what they are doing, their sirens add a lovely touch of sea blue to the monotony of silver cars that we all seem to buy. I just wish they would turn them on more than they do. I love a little touch of disco whilst driving.
In Puerto Banus if you want a policeman just wave a carrot. The horse will come first followed by his rider. Again, I’m not sure what these mounted policemen really do. Perhaps they gaze at the sky high up on horseback and predict the weather for us mere mortals. They say “sunshine”, I say ” rain.”
Anyway, if you ever really need a policeman here in Marbella. Just get into a car, drive and then make a phone call on your mobile.
You will have the whole of the Marbella constabulary at your disposal within seconds.
Bicycle helmets are now law
I’ve just had a letter from the kiddies school saying that bicycle helmets are now the law here in Spain and if you or your children are out and about on your bikes then make sure you are all wearing bicycle helmets.
Wish they would make them the law for children on the ski slopes too.