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How to renew your car registration at the 15-year mark

Important to note = it was not necessary for the registered owner to be present himself. The RTO officer inspected the vehicle very carefully for faults and took a print of the chassis number.

Sreesh1009 recently shared this with other BHPians.

Hey guys, I know a 2005 Hyundai Santro Petrol. The car has clocked 119k kms. It's approaching it's 15th year this December. I wanted to know if it's worth getting it's Fitness done or should I sell it and buy a new car. We're open to both options, wanted some advice before deciding.

PS: The car is mechanically sound and has very minute issues. It is primarily used by my mom.

Thank you (in advance).

I read some posts where BHPians were apprehensive about their car's 15th birthday coming up and hence, thought of writing this thread. Is the process really that painful? The answer is NO. DON'T worry or think of selling your beloved car. It is not half as complicated or tedious as it sounds. In fact, if you have your documents in place & the car is in decent shape, it is actually a very simple process.

The Government of India requires you to renew the registration of your old car after obtaining a fitness certificate for it. While the original RC is valid for 15 years, subsequent renewals have to be done very 5 years.

GTO's 1997 Mahindra Classic needed its Registration Certificate renewed some years ago. Because it is registered in Nasik, the vehicle had to be driven to the city. The process cannot be done remotely.

We ensured that the vehicle was in excellent shape, be it the body, mechanicals or electricals. We then hired an agent as GTO isn't a DIY guy at all. The original RC, insurance, PUC, pencil print of the chassis / engine numbers, copy of the owner's id proof and PAN card were sent to him. He filled out the Form 25 & kept the document set ready. Guess Aadhar card might need to be added today (it wasn't then).

The agent gave us a date for the re-registration of the vehicle and since GTO was occupied with other matters, I took the car to the Nasik RTO to have it passed. Important to note = it was not necessary for the registered owner to be present himself. The RTO officer inspected the vehicle very carefully for faults and took a print of the chassis number. This was done by placing an A4 size paper on the portion where the chassis number was engraved and using a pencil to print it out on the paper.

As the Jeep is in good shape, there was no problem found. After the documents were duly signed and stamped by the inspecting officer, our agent paid the necessary charges and on obtaining the receipt, I drove back to Mumbai. While the official renewal fee is just 600 bucks, you can expect the RTO to add various charges, fees & levies (registration charge despite one-time tax paid, green tax etc. etc.). Time taken? In total, I spent about 4 hours at the RTO.

About a month later, the renewed Registration Certificate was sent by registered post to the address mentioned on the old RC. Due to the infamous fake address racket, the RTO came up with this method of verifying that the address actually exists.

The new Registration Certificate:

IMHO, it was not a tedious process at all. If things are organised properly, it will take just a handful of hours to get the RC renewed. A tiny price to pay if you want to keep your existing car for longer, or are planning to buy a 15-year old example. Better to get the renewal done promptly, else you are driving the car illegally on Indian roads. Any insurance claims (including 3rd party) will also be outright rejected if your RC has expired, thus making you directly liable for 3rd-party damages.

 
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