ARTICLE: How to sell a *USED* car in India

[lancer_rit]

Well, one more doubt for clarification ?

When one buys a new car, the registration is carried out @ the RTO wherein the buyer resides (proof of residence). The reg. number is given based on this RTO zone. For eg. in Delhi, DL1 for North Zone, DL7 for East Zone etc.

Now, if a car is registered DL1, and is resold to someone living in DL7 area, will the registration number change from DL1xx to DL7yy ?
Please note this is intra-state transfer, for inter-state, the regn. will change from (say) DL1 to KA1 etc

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by lancer_rit

When one buys a new car, the registration is carried out @ the RTO wherein the buyer resides (proof of residence). The reg. number is given based on this RTO zone. For eg. in Delhi, DL1 for North Zone, DL7 for East Zone etc.

At least in Delhi, the nearest RTO to the dealer allots a series of numbers to the dealer to process the registration directly, thus avoiding his running around to multiple RTOs based on the buyer's residence location. So a dealer in West Delhi will allot you DL2 or DL4, and a South Delhi dealer will allot you DL3.

Originally Posted by lancer_rit

Now, if a car is registered DL1, and is resold to someone living in DL7 area, will the registration number change from DL1xx to DL7yy ?

The registration no. does not change for transfers of ownership within the Delhi area. You will continue to be registered at the RTO where the original registration took place, thus needing to go to that particular RTO for the transfer even though it may not be nearest to your residence.

Also, a non-BS-III vehicle registered in Delhi cannot be transferred to an RTO within a radius of 200 km outside Delhi. So you cannot transfer a DL-reg car to HR-26 (Gurgaon) or UP-15 (Meerut) for example, if it is not a BS-III compliant vehicle.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Would be obliged if you can find out from the gentleman in the RTO, if there is anything at all that a seller can do by law, to force the buyer to transfer ownership - short of doing it himself as I had suggested.

Did too. He insists that notifying the RTO - in the manner suggested in the Article - is all the protection you need.

However, he added that sending a notice from any lawyer (even a cheap one) to the buyer of the vehicle, asking for clarification on why he has not tranferred the car yet, can go a long way. Include a stern line asking him to effect the transfer ASAP and annex all supporting documents with the legal notice (copies of transfer forms etc.). Not required, but if you are really keen....

Originally Posted by lancer_rit

Now, if a car is registered DL1, and is resold to someone living in DL7 area, will the registration number change from DL1xx to DL7yy ?

No change. Have bought Mumbai cars which fell in the jurisdiction of the suburban RTO, yet the reg. no. stayed the same. In fact, we have even transferred my OHC Vtec from Thana (MH-04 series) to Nasik (MH-15 series). The Nasik RTO didn't change the number. Based on this, I feel that the reg. no. stays the same for transfers within the state.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by GTO

Did too. He insists that notifying the RTO - in the manner suggested in the Article - is all the protection you need.

However, he added that sending a notice from any lawyer (even a cheap one) to the buyer of the vehicle, asking for clarification on why he has not tranferred the car yet, can go a long way. Include a stern line asking him to effect the transfer ASAP and annex all supporting documents with the legal notice (copies of transfer forms etc.). Not required, but if you are really keen....

Thank you for the information. The Delhi RTOs have a system of charging a fee (IIRC it's Rs.50) for a recorded deposit of such documents into their archives, and issue a receipt mentioning the documents which were verified and deposited (originals or photocopies). Wonder if that is true for RTOs in other states too.

As to the legal notice to the buyer, what happens if the buyer sells the car onwards to another person, without first bothering to transfer the registration to his own name?

A horror story faced by my brother-in-law goes as follows:
He sold his Bolero to person A in Delhi. A few weeks later, A sold it to person B at Chandigarh, without transfer of registration. The car was stolen from the possession of person B. B sent a legal notice to my BIL, stating that since he had not issued the Forms 28, 29 & 30 to him, and the car continued to be in his name, my BIL should claim insurance for the loss and reimburse person B (who happens to be a well-connected person in Chandigarh).

Fortunately, my BIL had deposited the papers with the RTO soon after selling the car on my advice (as you had also advised in this thread). Despite this, he was summoned to the Chandigarh district consumer forum on charges of having cheated person B (whom he had never met). After a protracted legal battle over the next 1 year, he (along with the insurance co. where he was insured) lost the case on some technicality - the insurance co. has now appealed to the state consumer forum, and since my BIL is also a party to the case, he continues to shuttle back and forth between Delhi and Chandigarh.

[GTO]

Despite this, he was summoned to the Chandigarh district consumer forum on charges of having cheated person B (whom he had never met). After a protracted legal battle over the next 1 year, he (along with the insurance co. where he was insured) lost the case on some technicality - the insurance co. has now appealed to the state consumer forum, and since my BIL is also a party to the case, he continues to shuttle back and forth between Delhi and Chandigarh.

Sadly, some areas of our legal system are still stuck in the vintage era. But imagine what he would have gone through if he hadn't informed the RTO / insurance company. Legally, he'd still be the owner of the car, a connected guy would be pressuring him into insurance fraud, and then the investigation...

[Joe-Ker]

That really is a horror story.
I was clueless about all these legal matters.
When i bought my bike in chennai during my student days, the man who sold it to me said he was the second owner but the RC book had the original owner only in it.
The only documents i got were the originals of RC, insurance, tax reciept and an ownership transfer form signed by the original first owner.I asked a few guys around but all said thats the way its done here and that since i will sell it off in a couple of years,there is no need to spend extra money on registration. I even sold it the same way:- just gave all the papers that i recieved to the buyer after collecting the money!
Thank god its somebody else's name on the registration.

[lancer_rit]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

At least in Delhi, the nearest RTO to the dealer allots a series of numbers to the dealer to process the registration directly, thus avoiding his running around to multiple RTOs based on the buyer's residence location. So a dealer in West Delhi will allot you DL2 or DL4, and a South Delhi dealer will allot you DL3.

Not quite sure about that. I bought my car from a dealer in Connaught Place (New Delhi) but its registered in the RTO in East Delhi since I stayed there.

The registration no. does not change for transfers of ownership within the Delhi area. You will continue to be registered at the RTO where the original registration took place, thus needing to go to that particular RTO for the transfer even though it may not be nearest to your residence.

This is what I thought as well, just wanted to double confirm it. So, there will be difference for a used car buyer depending on whether his/her residence is in the same State/UT ! So, what extra steps need to be taken for out-of-state deal ?

[Need4Spd]

This is a great article, very informative. Thanks!

[psmith]

I have to sell the car which belongs to my sister.
Unfortunately, she is not here as she has moved to the US.

Is there any way I could sell the car on her behalf?
What kind of paperwork would be required to make this happen?

Thanks.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by psmith

Is there any way I could sell the car on her behalf?
What kind of paperwork would be required to make this happen?

Just her signature on Forms 29 and 30 will be enough. You can then fill up the forms as necessary when you finalize a deal with a buyer.

[funkydude]

Thanks for sharing this important info on selling old cars.

Its very important to make sure that the ownership is being transferred to the new owner, else you will be responsible for every incident with the vehicle.

Had previouly sold my 2 wheeler to a dealer. Almost after 2years received a ticket for jumping red light. Was surprised to see the ticket. Rushed to the same dealer next day and asked him for the new owner address and phone number. When questioned the dealer, why the ownership was not transferred, he simply answered that the new buyer did not want the ownership to be transferred as he wanted to resale the bike as second hand and not third hand.

Had a tough time tracking the new owner. When contacted, asked him politely to transfer the registration, but he refused. Then threatened him, if the registration is not transferred, then I would lodge an FIR for using the bike without transferring the ownership and he would be responsible. His father seemed to be a gentleman, and assured me that they would get the ownership transferred in a week. After a week, the guy came over to my residence to show the copy of the receipt as a proof.

As a learning from this incident, recently sold my 2 years old Maruti Alto and made sure the new owner transferred the ownerhisp. Informed the buyer of the consequences if I ever received a ticket from todays date.

[GTO]

@ Funky Dude : Did you read up on Ajmats experience (Got a summons for jumping a red light...)?

[shreeps]

Very timely article since I am planning to sell my car soon.
Wow! Didnt know about all these issues. Thanks GTO - forewarned is forearmed. I guess I'll make sure I take time off and go to the RTO to ensure the ownership details are changed.

[puneet8796]

Thanks GTO. The article was extremely informative. I had sold my old WagonR 4 years back without following many of the mentioned steps.

There was no one to guide me at that point in time.

I am sure this article would go a long way to help people who are willing to sell their cars.

Thanks again.

[toll gate]

Great article GTO. my friend is selling his car and i had forwarded all this info to him. he was flabbergasted and happy to get a step by step info on how to sell his car. hope he makes a good selling. Also if a detailed write up on the same lines on "how to buy a used car", would help many. (if a article already exists then do excuse my ignorance)