There are basically two options how to own a vehicle in Madrid. You can buy it here (new or used) or you can bring your car/motorbike from abroad.

1. Buy a car or motorbike in Madrid 

The easiest option (from the bureaucratic point of view) is to buy a new vehicle because the vender usually takes care of the whole process of registering the car/motorbike in the owners name.

When buying second hand vehicle (not from authorized seller) then the registration is done by the buyer. The steps to take are:

1. Get the appointment in the traffic office “jefatura de trafico“
2. Present the documentation (1st floor)
3. Go to 7th floor where thy will calculate the tax to be paid
4. Go pay the calculated tax to the bank
5. Come back to the 1st floor present all documents again and pay another tax

2. Register foreign car/motorbike in Madrid

If you would prefer to “import” your vehicle from another European country, the process is significantly more complicated and can take more time as there are more stepst involved in the process:

1. Get the Spanish technical list “ficha reducida”
2. Schedule appointment in the technical control station (ITV)
3. Pass the technical control and get the documentation
4. Pay the circulation tax (ayuntamiento)
5. Pay the car registration tax (hacienda)
6. Schedule the appointment in the traffic office
7. Present documentation and pay the administrative fee
8. Pick up the Spanish license plate