1. My car won’t start — what to check first

The noise you hear when you turn the key tells you most of what you need to know. Before calling anyone, listen carefully:

• Nothing at all — no sound, no dashboard lights. The battery is completely flat, disconnected, or there’s a main fuse problem. This is the most common scenario in summer heat, especially if the car has been standing.
• One loud click, then nothing. The battery has some charge, but not enough to turn the engine, or the starter motor is failing. If the dashboard lights are bright, the battery is probably fine and the starter is the culprit.
• A slow, laboured crank. Classic low battery. The engine turns over slowly and eventually fires, or dies trying. If it happens repeatedly over several days, the alternator may not be charging properly.
• Rapid clicking, like a machine gun. Battery is too low to engage the starter. Usually means it needs charging or replacing.
• Normal crank, but the engine won’t fire. This is not a battery problem. Could be fuel, ignition, or an immobiliser issue. Different diagnosis needed.

If your car won’t start and the battery seems involved, we can come to you and check it on-site — see our English-speaking mobile mechanic on the Costa Blanca.

2. Warning lights: which ones mean stop now

Dashboard warning lights fall into three groups by colour. Colour matters more than the symbol — it tells you how urgent the problem is.

• Red — stop as soon as it’s safe. Oil pressure, coolant temperature, brake system, battery charging. Pull over, turn off the engine, and do not continue. Driving with a red light on can cause damage that costs far more than the original fault.
• Amber — get it looked at, but you can drive carefully. Engine management (the «check engine» light), ABS, traction control, tyre pressure, glow plugs on a diesel. Book it in, but you can usually drive it to a garage.
• Green or blue — information only. Headlights on, indicators, cruise control. Nothing to worry about.

If an amber light has come on and you’re not sure whether it’s serious, we can read the fault code on-site. No need to guess and no need to drive somewhere just to find out — we come to your car.

3. Flat battery: jump start or replace?

A battery can go flat for two very different reasons, and the answer is different in each case.

It went flat because something drained it. Lights left on, a phone charger, a boot light that never turned off. In this case, a jump start gets you going and the alternator will recharge the battery as you drive. Fifteen or twenty minutes of normal driving is usually enough.

It went flat because the battery itself is worn out. Lead-acid batteries typically last four to six years in a Spanish climate — sometimes less, because summer heat is hard on them. If the same battery has gone flat two or three times in a short period, jumping it will keep working but only for a while. It’s time to replace it.

A healthy battery will hold its charge for weeks when disconnected. A failing battery can lose charge overnight.

If you’re not sure which situation you’re in, we can measure the battery and charging system on-site — fixed quote before any work.

4. Battery or alternator — how to tell the difference

These two give similar symptoms but the fix is completely different. One clue usually settles it:

• If you jump-start the car and it keeps running fine afterwards — the alternator is working. The problem was the battery holding a charge. The battery is the weak link.
• If you jump-start the car and it dies again shortly after, or the battery warning light comes on while driving — the alternator isn’t charging. The battery may be fine, it’s just not being replenished.
• If the headlights get brighter when you rev the engine, then dim at idle — that’s typically a sign of an alternator on its way out.
• If a new battery goes flat within a few days — the alternator is almost certainly the problem. The battery was never the issue.

Jump-starting is a diagnostic tool here, not a fix. It tells you which side of the charging system has failed. But it doesn’t solve it, and continuing to drive with a dead alternator will eventually leave you stranded somewhere worse than where you started.

We check the charging system on-site — a ten-minute test that confirms which component is at fault. We come to your car and give you a fixed quote before any work.

6. What to expect at a Spanish garage (taller)

The working culture at a Spanish garage is different from what many English speakers are used to. Knowing the two or three key words makes the whole experience less stressful.

Ask for a presupuesto before any work starts. This is a written quote — it’s normal to request one and it’s normal for the garage to provide it. Any reputable taller will do this. A presupuesto should list the parts, the labour, and the IVA (VAT, currently 21%). If you accept it, the final invoice should match. If the garage refuses to give one, that’s a warning sign.

Ask for a factura. This is the formal invoice. You need it for your records, for resale, and — if you’re resident — for your taxes. Any legitimate garage will provide one. Cash without invoice is a red flag.

Ask what happens if they find something else. In a reputable garage, the answer is: they call you, explain, and give you a new quote before continuing. In a less reputable one, the answer is sometimes «we did it and now you owe more». The question itself sorts the two apart.

If you’d rather avoid the language gap altogether, we work in English and explain every step before we touch anything — fixed quote, invoice, no surprises.

8. ITV inspection: what fails most often

The ITV is Spain’s equivalent of the MOT — a periodic roadworthiness inspection. Cars need it at different intervals depending on age, and it must be booked at an authorised ITV station. If your car fails, you get a limited window to fix it and return.

The failures that catch people out most often are the small, cheap ones — the ones a driver would never notice until the inspector does:

• Lighting. A single bulb out on a brake light, indicator, or number-plate light is enough to fail. Easy to check yourself before booking.
• Wipers and washers. Worn blades or a blocked washer nozzle. Two-minute fix, common failure.
• Brake pads and discs. Worn pads fail. If you hear grinding when you brake, they’re already past it.
• Tyre tread and pressure. Below the legal minimum or unevenly worn tyres fail. Check before you go.
• Headlight alignment. Easily knocked out of spec by a minor knock. Common failure.
• Emissions. On older cars especially. A poorly maintained engine will fail here.

Doing a quick pre-ITV check yourself — lights, wipers, tyre condition — saves most of these failures and a return trip.

9. Scooters and motorbikes: servicing without going to a workshop

Most of the servicing a scooter or motorbike needs is simple and doesn’t require a workshop. Oil and filter changes, brake pads, spark plugs, chain tensioning, battery checks — all of these can be done at home or wherever the bike is parked.

If you don’t have the tools, the space, or the confidence to do it yourself, someone can come to you. For residents in the Marina Baixa area, we do exactly this — scheduled maintenance for scooters and motorbikes on-site. The service page is currently in Spanish only, but we answer on WhatsApp in English.

Servicio de mantenimiento de motos a domicilio (page in Spanish) — or send us a WhatsApp message in English and we’ll take it from there.