13/05/2026
𝐒𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐧’𝐬 𝐈𝐓𝐕 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐄𝐔 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬.
Which is absolutely terrible news for roughly 73% of the cars currently surviving on Spanish roads through sheer stubbornness, electrical tape, cable ties, and blind optimism.
𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙨, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙥𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙨𝙝 𝙄𝙏𝙑 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚’𝙨 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙪𝙖𝙡 𝙜𝙖𝙢𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙨.
You roll up in a 22-year-old Seat Ibiza that sounds like a cement mixer full of cutlery, pray to every known saint, and hope the bloke inspecting it had a decent breakfast.
𝙎𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙛𝙖𝙞𝙡 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙖 𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙨𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙬𝙞𝙥𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙖𝙠𝙨.
Other times a Peugeot held together with cable ties, masking tape and what appears to be garden fencing somehow sails through with:
“Perfecto.”
𝙉𝙤𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙞𝙩.
But now Brussels wants tougher inspections, especially on older vehicles, emissions, electronics and modern safety systems. Which means thousands of ancient diesel cars across the Costa Blanca are about to enter their villain origin story.
𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙮 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙧𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙎𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙣.
You know the ones.
A faded silver Renault Megane with three different coloured doors, one missing hubcap and a dashboard permanently lit up like a Christmas tree. The owner insisting:
“Mate, she runs perfectly,”
𝙊𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙚𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝘾𝙞𝙩𝙧𝙤ë𝙣 𝘽𝙚𝙧𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙤 𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙙𝙧𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙗𝙮 𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙗𝙪𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣:
14 empty Estrella cans
half a bag of cement
one aggressive Jack Russell
and enough loose screws in the footwell to rebuild the engine twice
Some of these vehicles haven’t passed an emissions test since the Zapatero government.
And yet somehow they continue. Like mechanical cockroaches.
The real panic, though, will hit the British expat community.
Because somewhere in Spain right now there’s a bloke called Kev driving a right-hand-drive Ford Focus from 2004 that’s been “temporarily repaired” since 2017.
The rear bumper is attached using a luggage strap.
The passenger window doesn’t open.
The airbag light has been ignored for so long it’s basically become part of the interior lighting.
𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐈𝐓𝐕 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐬?
Kev’s finished.
Meanwhile, garages across Spain are rubbing their hands together like Bond villains.
“𝙎í 𝙨𝙚ñ𝙤𝙧… 𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙢.”
Translation:
“This will cost you your summer holiday.”
Still, no matter how strict the ITV becomes, one thing will never change:
There will always be at least one battered old diesel Seat Toledo belching black smoke down the AP-7 at 140km/h with no indicators, no lacquer left on the paintwork, and somehow… another full year’s ITV certificate.
Just leave everything to us!!
