Cutting Car Costs in Spain
The cost of running a car (or two) is undoubtedly one of the areas that has impacted the average family budget considerably over the last few years with continuous increases in fuel and insurance prices, so we decided to get in touch with some experts for their tips.
We asked CarInsuranceSpain.es, who have been providing vehicle insurance for expatriates for over six years about how people could save on their car costs and they told us about an official Government website that shows up-to-date fuel prices for the area where you live (or where you’ll be travelling to in Spain) and it’s available in English too. Just visit the Industry Ministry’s Geoportal website, click on word “welcome” to get the English version and then put in the following parameters:
P.S. search (P.S. = petrol station)
Type of fuel (note that you can also use this to find the cheapest fuel for home heating too!)
Check the boxes for “most economical” and “only with public sale” and then put in your province and town. If you live in a big city you can also put in the postcode (P.C.) as well.
Once you’ve found the best price remember to think of your other motoring expenses such as car insurance. When we spoke to Car Insurance Spain they reminded us that you should always check your renewal price as often the best offers are given to new customers rather than existing, which may seem strange but is how the industry seems to work.
It is important, however, to shop around early. All insurance contracts are for a twelve-month period and this is automatically renewed if neither party gives written notice a minimum of two months before the renewal date. You might want to wait for your renewal notice before shopping around but it’s better not to. Often insurance companies send renewal notices at the last minute or not at all and you only find out the new annual price when the money has left your account. Even if you’ve bought your policy through an agent of the insurer or a broker, they often don’t receive the renewal price until one month before renewal. It’s then too late to change companies and you’re stuck with the renewal price they’ve offered.
The benefit of automatic renewal is that you won’t find yourself uninsured, but the drawback is that companies sometimes are not good at informing you beforehand, so you end up unable to negotiate the best price.
CarInsuranceSpain.es recommend you shop around 3 months before your car insurance renewal date. If you like the price offered then change company and ensure you send a signed written letter to your existing insurer (always by registered post and keep a copy), at least two months beforehand.
When shopping round many people think it wise not to give the price of their existing insurance. This is understandable as you don’t want to have the new insurer just undercut the existing one by a few euros. However, renewal prices are often disappointing because they rarely fall but if you give the potential insurer last year’s price they have something to work with and may give you a pleasant surprise.
