The car
A Mercedes C-Class Cabriolet, a 2019 C 180. It left Frankfurt. And five days later it was in Palma.
It was not a customer's order: it was the car of one of us. And that is exactly why what you are reading exists. When you go through the whole process for yourself, with your own money, you find out where the real scares are and where there are none.
What we expected to be a problem and was not
The transport
It is what worries everyone, and the experience was that it is the most predictable part of the whole process. A car leaves Germany, crosses Europe and boards a ferry. Each step has its timeframe and either it is met or you get told.
The registration
It is what frightens people most from the outside, given Spanish bureaucracy's reputation, and it was efficient. That is literally the memory: that the process was faster and cleaner than anyone expects. Not because there is a trick, but because it is a defined procedure: technical data sheet, tax, fee, plate. We set it out step by step in registering an imported car.
Five days is five days, not a promise
This has to be said plainly, because it is the sentence on this whole site that is easiest to misread.
What we did learn, and now always do
- Look at the CO₂ before anything else. It is the figure that decides the registration tax, and the difference between one band and another is a lot of money. In the Balearics it runs from 0 % to 16 %. That is why there is a calculator on this site, and why we never give an "all-in final price" before knowing the individual car's CO₂.
- Ask for the complete documentation from the start. The list is in what documents a German dealer has to give you. Missing paperwork is where the weeks of delay come from.
- Check the recall campaigns by chassis number. It is done at the dealer, before buying, and it is free. Here is the detail by brand.
- Count in the insurance and the plates from day one, not when the car is already here. It is in green plates and in insuring an imported car.
Why we are telling you this
Because almost everything you will read about importing a car is written by someone who wants to sell you the service and has never done it for themselves. We started the other way round: we did it first, we liked how it went, and we built this on the back of that.
That does not make us infallible and it does not mean your case will go like ours. But it does explain why this blog has a section on when it is NOT worth it: if it does not add up, we would rather tell you beforehand than have an unhappy customer afterwards.
Frequently asked questions
Did it really arrive in five days?
Yes, that particular car did: a 2019 C-Class Cabriolet that left Frankfurt and was in Palma five days later. That is our case, not a guaranteed timeframe.
So how long does it usually take?
Our usual estimate is around ten days from payment to delivery, and it is an estimate: it depends on transport, on the car being available and on the paperwork.
Was the registration complicated?
It was efficient, which is the opposite of what almost everyone expects. It is a defined procedure: the technical data sheet from the roadworthiness test, the registration tax, the fee and the plate.
What is the hardest part of the process?
Not the transport, which is the predictable part. What causes delays is incomplete documentation, which is why we ask for all of it from the start.
Will you tell me if it does not add up for me?
Yes. There are cases where it does not: low-value cars, deadlines measured in days, or models with good supply in Spain. We say so beforehand, not afterwards.
Sources
- Spanish Law 38/1992, article 70 — registration tax bands
- DGT — registering a vehicle from abroad
- Royal Decree 920/2017 — roadworthiness testing regulation
Every source was checked on 25 September 2026. Tax rules change: if you are reading this much later, confirm it or ask us.
