Got our 2006 Honda City ZX's registration renewed at the Bangalore Central (KA-01) RTO today.
NOTE: The Bangalore Central RTO has moved to HSR Layout. It is no longer situated at Koramangala.
Steps I completed before I visited the RTO:
1. Applied for renewal on the Parivahan website. I chose to pay at the RTO instead of paying online.
2. Printed Form 25
3. Printed the receipt (though I had not paid online)
4. Got a letter of authorization from the registered owner (The template is attached at the end of the post)
5. Self-attested copy of Aadhaar of the registered owner
6. Printed the Insurance Copy
7. Photocopied the emission test certificate
8. Got the chassis impression on Form 25, receipt and an empty piece of paper
8. Spoke to an agent. He said RC Renewal will cost around Rs.6,000 to Rs.6,500. And if I want to get it done without presenting the car, Rs.10,000. Chose to do it myself since I didn't believe in feeding the same system I complain so much about.
9. Packed a pen, pencil, eraser and the documents in a bag for the mission
What you should do that I did not - take a punching machine with you.
I got to the HSR RTO on a Saturday at around 11 am. Luckily, they work between 11 am - 1:45 pm. (The Jayanagar RTO only works from 10 am - 12 pm on weekends!)
I bought the following stationery:
1. A brown file
2. A self-addressed envelope with stamps. Don't worry about the value of the stamps, the stores will have them ready-made. You will not need an A4 size envelope. A regular-sized envelope will do just fine.
3. They didn't have the zip pouch for the RC Book. But the plastic cover they usually give with the emission certificate is a perfect fit!
Don't arrange the documents just yet. Do it once the payment is made.
Got into the RTO and headed straight for the Cash Counter. To get to the cash counter, turn left at the entrance, take the right and enter the open-top verandah. Go to the furthest counter and present the person with the receipt you printed online.
I was asked to pay Rs.2,424 in total for RC Renewal. This includes Rs.63 extra for the Smart Card since the system says the cost for the Smart Card is Rs.137 whereas the cost has increased to Rs.200. Paid the amount and then arranged the documents in the following order.
1. Fee paid receipts (Original).
2. RC Book (original)
3. Emission Test certificate (copy)
4. Insurance copy
5. Form 25
6. Receipt of the online application
7. Empty sheet with chassis imprint
8. Self-addressed envelope
Went to meet the Motor Vehicle Inspector who sits directly opposite the cash counter.
He looked at the file and asked me if I was the registered owner. When I said no, he said the registered owner must come. I then told him I have a letter of authorization from the owner. He looked at it and then asked me to get a signature from someone in the Non-Transport Section on the 1st floor. Got the signature and came back down.
He now asks me why my signature isn't on the Letter of Authorization. Then made me sign twice on the letter. Then tells me I need to attach my Driving Licence to it as well. So I had to go back outside and get my DL photocopied. For good measure, I got my Aadhaar photocopied and attached it to the end of the file.
So along with the previous documents, I now added the Letter of Authorization, my self-attested DL copy and my self-attested Aadhaar copy.
Back to the Motor Vehicle Inspector. He asks me to bring the car to the front of his window. I go out and then move the car to in front of his window.
This is what he saw.
He then turned to my friend who had accompanied me and said he cannot authorize the renewal of the car's registration.
Why? Because the bumper is damaged. We requested him but to no avail. "Fix it and come, I will approve", he said. I asked him if he knew a body shop nearby. He said he was no clue and could not be of assistance.
Oh, well.
Fired up Google Maps and looked for the nearest body shop. The quotation they gave me - Rs.3000 for the entire bumper and it would take 3 hours.
It was already 1 pm. There was no guarantee the work would get done in 3 hours and I had nothing to do in those 3 hours as well. So decided to head back home.
At this point, I briefly considered taking the help of an agent. But then decided to give it one more go before I gave in.
Contacted an FNG nearby and asked them to collect the car to fix the bumper. They quoted Rs.2500. Sure, workmanship won't be great. But the goal here was to get the renewal completed. Not much else. So agreed and let the car go.
The rains delayed the painting process but after 3 days, the car was back home.
Now to attempt the renewal again.
Left in the morning at 10:30 am and reached the RTO at 11:10 am. It was a different motor vehicle inspector. I presented the file and he asked me to go get the signature from the same person on the 1st floor at the Non-Transport Section. When I asked him to sign, he asked me to pay Rs.63 for the Smart Card. I told him I had already paid but he didn't seem to understand (or tried hard not to). Never mind, Rs.63 is nothing to worry about. Luckily, he signed and then sent me off. Paid the fee and attached the receipt to the start of the file.
Presented the file again to the Motor Vehicle Inspector. He asked if the vehicle was on the premises. I answered in the affirmative.
He asked me to go wait near the vehicle and he would come for the inspection.
Sigh, more waiting.
I waited near the car for about 20 minutes when the inspector's PA waved at me asking me to get my file.
Reached the office and gave my file and he asked which car was mine. Pointed it out to him and he signed Form 25 authorizing the renewal. Then his PA put some stamps on it and gave it to a lady for entry on the computer. Then sent me to the same Non-Transport Section on the 1st floor to submit the file.
Went up to the Non-Transport section and I was asked to give the file to the furthest counter on the left side. Submitted the file there and asked for an acknowledgement. He suggested I take photos - which I did. He said the new RC will take 30 days to arrive.
What you might want to know:
1. Koramangala RTO is now HSR RTO. The location is available on Google Maps as HSR RTO
2. The registered owner MUST be present during renewal - at least in the HSR RTO. If not, a letter of authorization is mandatory. Sign on the letter and include a copy of your DL and Aadhaar along with it
3. There are two parking lots in the RTO, use the larger one. This is where the inspector will ogle at your beautiful car
4. You only need to know the following places - Cash Counter, Motor Vehicle Inspector's Room, Non-Transport Section on the first floor. Nothing else matters.
5. You do not need an agent. Sure, I would have saved 3-4 hours. But for Rs.1200 less, I did not contribute to corruption and got my car to look better! You can be in and out of the RTO in about 1 hour if you have all your docs in a row.