[PassionateDrive]

In the month of August this year i bought a used car. The buying and the initial ownership experience have been written under this thread -> (Tata Safari Storme Varicor 320 4x2 Ownership Review | Bought a pre-worshipped beast)

The car is originally MH-02 registered, and is currently hypothecated. The loan is duly closed by the first owner, and I have got the copy of the bank NOC with respect to this. I stay in Pune, and hence the new address is going to be that of Pune.

The ownership transfer application was submitted in the MH-02 RTO on 25th Aug (as visible on the online portal). However, since then there is absolutely no progress of the transfer application.

When I checked with dealer (who is responsible for the ownership transfer), he is citing that there is a huge shortage of smart cards to print the RCs in the MH-02 (and also in MH-47) RTO. Due to this shortage, the ownership transfer of hypothecated vehicles are specifically impacted because of the need to print the RC twice in the entire process. The current process of ownership transfer of hypothecated vehicles is as follows:

1. Hypothecation Removal -> RTO will first remove the hypothecation and print a new RC in the name of the existing owner. The new RC will be sent to the existing owner's registered address via post.
   
2. Ownership Transfer -> Apply for ownership transfer with the original copy of the new RC (RC without hypothecation). Post ownership transfer on the records, another RC will be printed in the name of the new owner and then sent to the his/her registered address via post

Due to this shortage and the existing backlog of the new RCs to the printed, it seems the RTOs are not prioritising the applications for hypothecation removal in the first place. Moreover, RC printing and couriering this to the owner's address takes months. And there is no provision for the RTO agent to take the RC delivery 'by hand', so that, once the hypothecation is removed, he can immediately apply for ownership transfer then and there itself (without having to wait for the RC to get delivered by post).

It's been exactly 90 days since i have bought this car, and still the car is not in my name. Due to this i am not able to transfer the insurance in my name, neither I am able to buy a comprehensive insurance (currently it is insured only for the third party risks).
Moreover, all the risks of 'a used car not transferred' are still applicable to me and to the previous owner, even though there is a delivery challan in place.

Can anyone guide how do i expedite the transfer process? Is there anyone who has faced or is facing similar challenges at the moment?

[GTO]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line!

[iTNerd]

Take the service of an agent who will know how to deal with the RTO processes and workarounds. I believe a paper based RC can also be requested in leu of smart card and the agent should be able to 'manage' a way to physically get the new RC from the RTO without needing to courier it to your address. I am saying this because I had applied for a new RC to remove hypothecation plus correction of VIN number through an agent in Noida, UP. And it took me around 2 weeks for the whole process.

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by PassionateDrive

neither I am able to buy a comprehensive insurance (currently it is insured only for the third party risks).

Why don't you add comprehensive insurance to the policy (in the earlier owner's name) by paying for it yourself.

Can anyone guide how do i expedite the transfer process?

Try filing an RTI; they tend to magically get things moving.

[PassionateDrive]

Originally Posted by iTNerd

Take the service of an agent who will know how to deal with the RTO processes and workarounds. I believe a paper based RC can also be requested in leu of smart card and the agent should be able to 'manage' a way to physically get the new RC from the RTO without needing to courier it to your address. I am saying this because I had applied for a new RC to remove hypothecation plus correction of VIN number through an agent in Noida, UP. And it took me around 2 weeks for the whole process.

My dealer has hired couple of agents so far, but none of them are able to ‘get through’.

Originally Posted by libranof1987

Why don't you add comprehensive insurance to the policy (in the earlier owner's name) by paying for it yourself.

Yes, this is one option i have. But the first owner stays in other city and will cause some hassles while making the claim if required. Will wait for a week to see if there is any progress post Diwali, else will get this done.

Originally Posted by libranof1987

Try filing an RTI; they tend to magically get things moving.

Ok.

[condor]

I am not able to understand why the RC card will be printed twice. But yes, there looks to be a shortage of RC cards all across.

dealers - esp the used car sellers, normally have agents working for them to complete the transfer process.

Additional point:
Once the transfer has been done in your name, ask the dealer to get you an extract of the ownership details which you can keep in the Storme till you get the RC.

[PassionateDrive]

Update:

Finally got the vehicle transferred on my name yesterday, after a loooong SIX and HALF MONTHS. During this period:
1. We applied for the procedure of Hypothecation cancellation + ownership transfer twice
2. First application was applied from Mumbai RTO. We waited and waited for more than 4 months -> with no results. Application was not even processed by the RTO
3. In the second instance, we withdrew the first application and applied for a fresh procedure
4. This time, we first applied for hypothecation cancellation in Mumbai RTO - as the vehicle originally belonged from MH-02. This step took almost 1 and half months.
5. Later, we applied for ownership transfer in Pune, as the new address was from MH-12. This final step took another 20 odd days.
6. The ownership transfer is complete on electronic records. The new RC is yet to be physically printed and shipped - Not sure how long would this take, but i can at least take the soft copy of the RC and start next processes - like Insurance transfer

Observation:
- At steps 4 and 5, when there was no action on the submitted applications for more than 1 month and 20 days respectively at each step, I had dropped an inquiry email on helpdesk-vahan(at)gov(dot)in. And magically, in both the instances, my applications were processed within next 48 hours.
Not sure if this is the reason which helped to expedite the process, since i was continuously following up with my dealer every single day (much to his irritation), and he was eventually pushing his agents to get the things done by 'any means'. So there can be multiple factors at play. But no harm in trying out this if anyone faces similar delays.