Buying or selling a used car can be cumbersome; First, choose well, then the procedures, avoid possible fraud, know how much to pay or ask … Here are a series of tips that will be very useful when buying or selling a VO

What to consider before signing a contract

  1. – Always request a vehicle report :

You can request it at any Traffic Headquarters, it will cost you € 8.20 and they will give it to you at the moment; or in an agency, where they will charge you about € 20 and, in approximately 24 hours, they will send it to your email account. This document includes, among other information, the date the car was registered for the first time – so you can make sure of the real age of that unit -, what ITVs has passed, if it has pending charges, the use for which it was registered – private vehicle, rental, taxi, learning or driving school, etc. – and the name of all its owners, including the current one. Therefore, it will help you to check several questions:

  1. – If the person who sells you the car – and is going to sign the contract of sale – is really its owner. If it is a mere intermediary – it can happen in the case of sales that sell the car of an individual -, later you will not be able to claim anything from him.
  2. – If the vehicle does not have pending loads, such as:

The reservation of domain. It is a clause, which is very common in cars whose first purchase has been financed, which prevents their sale … until all the credit is paid to the bank or finance company. “Be careful, because if the seller has not canceled it -may be because he still owes money to the financial company or because he has forgotten to do so-, Traffic will not transfer the vehicle to your name until it is canceled. The worst thing is that if you acquire a vehicle without checking it and the seller does not want to pay what he owes to the financial company, you will have to do it yourself: it is the only way for the car to be put in your name “, warns Olga Muñoz, head of management at CEA.

Non-payment of very serious fines -such as breathalyzer, reckless driving …- or seizure for non-payment of any fine. If the seller of the vehicle was imposed sanctions for very serious infractions and he has not paid them € or Traffic has come to seize his account for non-payment of any fine, the car cannot be transferred to your name unless the seller pays them.

Payment of the road tax for the previous year in progress. That is, if you want to buy a car in 2017, the seller must be aware of the payment of the 2016 tax. If he is not, the vehicle cannot be put in your name, until it is paid by someone: the seller or yourself.

  1. – If the car has the ITV up to date. Be careful, because although Traffic already processes the change of ownership of vehicles that have not passed the corresponding ITV, if that is the case of the car you are going to buy, the circulation permit in your name will not be valid until you pass it. Do it as soon as possible because that means that if you circulate with that vehicle and they stop you, they may penalize you for going with the expired ITV -it supposes € 200 of penalty- and, also, for doing it with a circulation permit that is not valid-€ 80 fine-.

2.- Agree who pays according to what expenses.

Keep in mind that the buyer is usually responsible for paying the property transfer tax -which represents 4% of the value of the car, according to the Treasury-, to pay the sales tax of a car in the DGT -52.8 € – and management expenses -about € 120, if the sale is made through one-; but the payment of these expenses can be negotiated -in addition, if the ITV of the car is about to expire, consider asking the seller to make you a reduction equivalent to the cost of it-. For its part, the seller will always have to pay the municipal road tax for the current year: it must be paid by whoever owns the car on January 1.

3- Finally, and as recommended by the DGT, never deliver a vehicle without having in your hands the contract of sale or a photocopy of it -if you sell it to a private individual- or invoice -if you deliver it to a sale- and a photocopy of the DNl -or NIES if they are natural persons, or CIF, if they are companies-. In addition, to avoid problems with possible fines, tell the buyer that, within 15 days, they send you a copy of the vehicle registration certificate stating that the vehicle is already in their name. If it does not do so on that date -and to avoid problems-, go to your Headquarters to communicate that you have sold the vehicle: you will have to request the ‘sales notification’ form, pay a fee of € 8.20 and present your ID and a copy of the sales contract that includes the buyer’s ID.

AND BE CAREFUL WITH THE PRICE YOU INDICATE

If you buy a car from a private individual, you will have to pay, as property transfer tax, 4% of the valuation of that car – the figure is stipulated by the Treasury from its own tables. Some individuals prefer to put a lower price in the contract than the one set by the Treasury to pay less taxes but … what usually happens? Well, the Treasury notifies them, a few months later, that it has inspected the contract and that the tax paid is not correct, asking the buyer to pay the real amount … plus a surcharge -which is around 20% -. Therefore, we do not advise it.

What must have, at least, a sales contract

On the Internet, you will find a multitude of sales contracts, but be careful, because many do not reflect all the requirements that would be desirable -for example, the DGT recommends leaving a record in the contract of the time the vehicle is delivered , so that, if the car is sanctioned that same day, there is evidence of who it was in at the time of the fine. We provide you, so that you can download it directly -remember to print it in duplicate-, one of the most complete sales contracts , carried out in collaboration with the online agency Servitráfico-More information at transfers.autofacil.es-; but if you choose any other, we will tell you what should not be missing in its text, “at least”, and what it would be desirable for it to include “to avoid problems.”

PERSONAL INFORMATION

As minimum. At the beginning of the contract, both the date of the transaction must appear, as well as the personal data of both parties -with name, ID, address …-.

What to add to avoid problems. It is important to record the details of the vehicle being sold: make and model, cylinder capacity, license plate, chassis number, mileage marked at the time of sale and, if any, extras included.

VEHICLE STATUS

  • At a minimum . A second section should state that the buyer has checked the car and accepts the state it is in; Any defect – mechanical, paint, any missing or broken element …- will appear in detail.
  • What to add to avoid problems. Have a trusted mechanic inspect the vehicle – it will cost you from € 60 / hour – and detail, in a document attached to the contract and also signed by the seller and buyer, the state of the main mechanical elements of the car: body, engine, change , clutch, steering, tires … In this way, as a seller you will avoid any future claims and as a buyer you will have the assurance of the good condition of the Rapid Car Removal.

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO MAKE A CAR TRANSFER?

IF YOU GO TO TRAFFIC

  1. The request: it is a form that is provided in Traffic -free- or that you can download from dgt.es and that must be completed and signed by the buyer and the seller.
  2. Original DNI -or passport or NIES- of the buyer and a photocopy of the seller’s document.
  3. Vehicle documentation, the technical sheet and the original of the registration certificate.
  4. Contract of sale with the signature of the seller and buyer. Remember that, in order to carry out this procedure, you will first have to go to the Tax Agency of your Autonomous Community where, presenting the aforementioned documentation, you will have to pay the Property Transfer Tax – filling in the 620 form – corresponding to that vehicle .

AND IF YOU GO TO A GESTORY

  • Photocopy of the DNI -passport or NIES- of the buyer and seller -the agency will ask for the originals to compare them-.
  • Vehicle documentation -see ´If you go to Traffic´-. The contract will be signed at the agency itself. In the case of online agencies, they will ask you to send them the documentation and the signed contract by e-mail. Keep in mind that to go to certain Headquarters *, you need to request an appointment through dgt.es – “it means a delay of approx. 15 days”, says Muñoz-. Of course, if you go to Traffic, they will provide you with the definitive driving license; While if you go to an agency, they will give you a provisional one: the final one will be sent to your home “in about a week.”