Buy car in Europe as non resident/citizen

omocha, Europe is not a country, it is a continent of over 30 countries.
You will buy a car in a country, and the rules and regulations that apply will be those for that country and may be very different from other countries.

It will be very difficult to buy a car if you do not live in that country.
Things to consider are: Registering the car in your name, you need an address. Insurance, taxes. Cars need regular safety checks and certfication, this varies greatly between countries.
That is why leasing is so good, it gets around the problems. I have heard of leases for over a year, it does not have to be short-term.

Driving Licence: Which country has issued your licence? If you move to another country, after a certain time (typically 6 or 12 months) you must get a local licence. If your licence is from outside Europe, you may have to take a driving test.

Luckily, you are a Spanish citizen, and therefore an EU citizen, and can stay and travel in all EU and Schengen countries for as long as you want, no time limit.

Hi, thanks for your reply.
Leasing a car for one year will cost me money that will not if I buy and sell, and I dont have to worry about where or when to return it, or if I want to "pack it" for a few months without loosing much money.

I have a spanish passport but my residence is in South America and I cant move it to Spain.
I want the car for travelling around Europe(the continent) plus Africa and Asia for around one year.
I want to buy, register and insure the car to serve my purpuse, it doesnt matter to me which country.
For what I read looks impossible without beign resident to own a car, but changing residency looks too complicate as I must move my fiscal adress too.

I read in Bulgaria for very low price one can create a company and register the car at the company name, but not sure.

Have you heard anything about it?

Thanks

"if I buy and sell, and I dont have to worry about where or when to return it," - sort of. If you buy and re-sell in the same country, the car will already be registered with a number plate (and have all legal permissions) for that country. You just have to go through that country's procedure to change the registration to your name.
Trying to sell a car in a different country to that where it is registered will cause a lot of bureaucratic problems. You will have to de-register it from the country it was registered in. Register it in the new country (with an address), get new number plates, new insurance. It will need whatever safety inspection is required for that country. And finally, re-registering means it is legally imported, so you may be liable for import duty. I know people who have done this and it is more complicated than normal buying and selling.

Sorry, I don't know anything about the Bulgarian "trick" you describe, but I imagine it would involve a Bulgarian registered car which would have to be bought and sold in Bulgaria.

An option may be to buy the car in the U.S. (assuming you are living here) and inquire with your dealer about European delivery. Most of the major European brands offer this: BMW, Mercedes, Volvo, Audi, etc. You pick up the car at the factory at which it was made and may drive it anywhere you want for typically up to a month, as the manufacturer issues a temporary registration and insurance coverage prior to exporting it to your home dealer. After you're done, drop it off at a shipping point and you'll see it again back in the U.S. about a month later. You will actually save a small percentage off the MSRP of the vehicle, which could pay for a significant portion of your trip. The manufacturer may also cover 1-2 airline tickets for you as well. All other costs of registration, insurance, ocean shipping and final delivery are covered by the Mfr.

If I were in the market for a new 3-series, I'd definitely do it, as the BMW Welt in Munich is where your car is delivered to you.

Thanks Chris, what I meant was more related to if I rent or lease Im conditioned to return the car on a date and place, and I must return to that place wherever I am. Maybe I rent or lease in France, but at the date to return the car I'm in Moldova and would like to continue traveling. That's another reason why I want to buy.

Thanks Globerttr, thats great information.
But im not from U.S.A. and dont want to have a car shipped to my country, and have to fly back.
Plus my budget is 10k max.
Not even sure Im going to buy a new car with this money.

I have to be honest, I don't think this is the place for your requested info.

Personally I'd just use the 10K and buy train tickets and rental cars. It would be less hassle.

Friends of ours working in the Middle-East, who then drove all the way to England, found that shipping their own car over and back was the least expensive.

10k of what? 10k in R$ is different to 10k CLP is different to CHF 10k is different to €10k or $10k.

@Carol
Thanks, but if I take the 10k and spend them in train tickets and rentals, at the end I will have lot less money than if I buy a car and sell it.
Plus I want to travel by car, and not have border restrictions etc.

@Bets
Thanks Bets, but Im from South America, and have no car to ship there, and also I dont want to ship a car back.

@Nigel
10K us dollars, Euro..

Plus I want to travel by car, and not have border restrictions etc.

Border restrictions (or lack of them) are the same whatever transport you use. Within the Schengen Area (most of western and central Europe), there are no border restrictions, just a sign by the road, or the language of on-train announcements changes.
As an EU citizen you can travel freely to all EU countries, including the non-Schengen ones, with no time limits. Your passport will not even be stamped.

€10K will not get you a new car.
Be aware of fuel prices. Up-to-date prices are here (in € per Litre): http://www.europenroad.com/fuel/

@Chris
I want a car, new or used.
With 10K usd you can buy a new car, Sandero Dacia for example.
I want to buy a car as a non resident in Europe(the continent) and if I rent a car borders are an issue because everytime you buy a car, each company allows you to go to some countries, and I want to go to Moldova, Bielrusia, Rusia, Albania, Macedonia, Kosovo, Turkey.
Thats another reason why I want to buy a car.

If I were trying to do what you are, I would contact a dealer in whatever country I planned to start my trip and find out if they could sell it to me. If you have already done this ( thus your comment---" but im finding it impossible to buy, register and insure a car in Europe while not beign a resident in any European country."), then asking for a backdoor way to skirt the law is pointless

If there is a way to do it legally, I would be amazed if anyone on this forum could tell you how to do it.

Not to say the other fine folks here are ignorant, its just what you ask is such a "one off" situation, there is no resource pool to tap.

The only other thought is, do you have friends or family in Europe who could own/co-own the car and have it licensed and insured at their address and have you listed as an additional insured driver on their policy?

We know people who go to France for a year at a time supervising university programs, and they buy used cars without a problem and then re-sell when leaving. In fact, that's how a lot of young people used to travel around, buying and selling vehicles from one person to the next in front of the now defunct American Express offices-- as we nostalgically noted last week. (And there were plenty of problems with these old cars and ride sharing--personal experience)

Why don't you look into it once you're set up with an address or residence of some sort. Otherwise, the trains and buses will not come to 10K. And there are plenty of ride sharing apps. I'm sure the registration, taxes, insurance, gas, tolls and repairs will be more than you think.

This Netherlands company has a history of facilitating the purchase paperwork for tourists: http://www.bwcampers.com/en/motorhomes-for-sale-bw-campers. They focus on camper vans but also list a few cars and could probably get more. The recommendation comes from the folks at www.roadtripeurope.com. They suggest that the dealer may allow you to use their own address for registration and can also help with an export license.

Thanks, for your advice.

So far looks impossible.
I could do it in Spain, but I need a property rental contract....
Some law firms in Bulgaria tell me I could have everything ready in 10 days, create a company, and register the car at the company name, at a very low price, but sounds too good to be true, and dodgy as they dont want to email me the full quote.