Selling to car repair workshops in Spain: a practical guide

Spain's independent garages (talleres) are an attractive market for foreign suppliers: lots of small, owner-run businesses spread across every province, many still running on paper quotes and a phone that never stops ringing. They are also easy to annoy. A sales approach that works with fleet managers in Germany or the Netherlands can fall flat in a three-bay workshop in Zaragoza.

Know which garage you're calling

• Independent multi-brand mechanics. The core of the market. Owner on the shop floor, a handful of staff.
• Body and paint shops (chapa y pintura). Heavily tied to insurers and loss adjusters.
• Tyre and fast-fit centres. High volume, often part of networks or franchises with central purchasing.
• Franchised dealer workshops. Buy what the manufacturer specifies. Hard for an outside supplier.
• Specialists: motorcycles, trucks, campervans, auto electrics.

Diagnostic tools and ADAS calibration sell to independents. Paint systems sell to body shops. Software sells to anyone not locked into a network's mandatory system.

The distributor is already in the room

Spanish garages get parts from local distributors who deliver several times a day. That relationship is close, and a lot of buying runs through it. If your product is something the distributor can also supply, either partner with distributors or expect to compete with someone who turns up with brake pads in an hour. Equipment, software, training and services leave more room to sell direct.

The aftermarket's big trade show is Motortec at IFEMA Madrid. Check IFEMA's site for the next edition's dates. It is a good place to meet distributors and networks before you start calling garages one by one.

Who decides, and when to call

In most small garages the owner decides, and the number that reaches them is their mobile, not the front-desk landline. Spanish working hours are different too: many workshops close for lunch from around 13:00 or 14:00 until 15:30 or 16:00.

• Avoid 8:00-10:00 (cars arriving, diagnostics, parts orders) and after 18:00 (collections and payments).
• Try mid-morning, from about 10:30, and mid-afternoon.
• Skip Mondays and the days before public holidays.

Speak Spanish, or have someone who does. In Catalonia, Galicia or the Basque Country, Spanish is fine for business calls, but Spanish-language materials are the minimum: an English-only demo will lose most owners.

Local rules that make good sales arguments

Spanish garages work under Royal Decree 1457/1986, which sets out a few things your product can help with:

• Written quotes. Customers have a right to a written quote valid for at least twelve working days, with vehicle details, mileage, the work to be done and an itemised price. Hidden faults found during the repair must be reported within 48 hours and approved before the work goes ahead.
• Repair warranty. At least three months or 2,000 km (fifteen days or 2,000 km for commercial vehicles).
• Itemised invoices listing operations, parts and labour hours.

If you're localising workshop software for Spain, these belong in your product, not just your pitch. Invoicing software also has to meet Spain's Verifactu requirements for billing systems: check current dates with the Spanish Tax Agency, and see our guide on finding Verifactu clients.

Getting paid

Spanish B2B payment terms are capped at 60 days under the Late Payment Act (Ley 3/2004), and small garages can be slow payers. For first orders of equipment, a deposit is normal practice. If an invoice does go unpaid, our guide to collecting from a Spanish company walks through the options.

Calling Spanish garages legally

Many garages are sole traders (autónomos), which matters:

• Calling a company about its business is common practice. A sole trader is an individual under data protection law: you need a legal basis (usually legitimate interest) and an offer related to their business.
• Screen sole traders against the Robinson opt-out list first.
• Say who you are and why you're calling, and respect anyone who asks not to be called again.
• Unsolicited marketing email is banned under the LSSI, also to businesses.

More detail in Is cold calling legal in Spain? and Cold email in Spain and the LSSI.

A first call that works

Keep it about their day, not your feature list. Something like (in Spanish): "Hi Antonio, I'm calling from a workshop software company. Quick question: are you still writing quotes by hand or in Excel?" If the answer is yes, offer a fifteen-minute demo on their own computer, using a real job from that week.

Then follow up every few months. Garages buy when something breaks or a rule changes, not when your quarter ends.