How to buy a car second hand

What is car registration?

In essence, this is the registration of a vehicle by its identification VIN number in the traffic police with the issuance of other identifying items - license plates. That is, the car has a VIN, which is tied to its essence (more precisely, to the body). And when registering a car, they issue license plates, which are already tied to the car in the context of registration with the traffic police - for fines and the like. At the same time, the owner can change the numbers, but the VIN cannot.

Registration is carried out in a special registration department (MREO) of the traffic police. At the same time, if you bought a used car, then you register it; it is already registered with the previous owner. But since you need to change the owner’s registration documents, you need to re-register this car in your name. And only new, recovered from recycling or found vehicles are registered.

In general, the order of this process includes the main stages:

• submitting an application for registration (registration) with the State Traffic Safety Inspectorate,
• payment of the state fee for the procedure,
• collection of documents,
• on-site inspection,
• issuance of new documents.

Documents required when purchasing a used car at a dealership

Some specialized car dealerships offer used cars and also reduce the risk when buying a used car. In addition to the above documentation, the car dealership is required to provide the following:

• Service book, which indicates that the car has been repaired.
• Documents confirming the fact of purchase of the car. This includes checks and certificates of down payment.

At the end of the procedure, you will receive the car keys and PTS, where your data and signature must be entered.

Also read: Buying a used car: pitfalls

What documents are needed for registration with the MREO in 2021?

The list of required documents is quite simple, but varies depending on the specific situation. In addition, there are a number of subtleties when some of the documents are lost, unusable and other non-standard cases. Let's look at them all!

Buying a new car

So, if you picked up a brand new car from the showroom, then it is registered with the traffic police for the first time, and you need the most minimal set of documents for registration:

1. PTS,
2. OSAGO,
3. contract of sale,
4. passport,
5. 2 receipts for payment of state fees (see below),
6. registration application (can be filled out at State Services, instructions below).

If the car is used

In this case, there is exactly one more document:

1. PTS,
2. OSAGO,
3. vehicle registration certificate (STS),
4. contract of sale,
5. passport,
6. receipt of payment of state duty (see below),
7. registration application (can be filled out at State Services, instructions below).

Now let's look at all these documents in detail (perhaps, except for the passport - nothing complicated here)!

You will also be interested in:

• How to register a car of a legal entity with the traffic police?
• How to sign up to register a car with the traffic police and pay the fee through State Services?
• I lost my STS (registration certificate) - how to restore it?

PTS

The vehicle passport is the only document the owner needs, which comes with the car from the factory. Everything here is quite simple - to register with the traffic police you will need a PTS:

• in case of purchasing a new car - with a registered person - you after the legal entity-car dealership,
• in case of purchasing a used car - with a person registered - you after the previous owner.

The buyer must be entered into the PTS at the stage of completing the transaction (signing the contract), and not at the registration department of the traffic police.

If the PTS runs out of space

In this case, it will have to be replaced, and there are 2 options:

• the seller does this before the sale by submitting the appropriate application, then the MREO will issue a duplicate title,
• This is done by the buyer already at the stage of registering the car in his name at the MREO, then, along with signing the contract, the buyer needs to write in the margins of the expired vehicle passport.

Which of these options to choose is a matter of the specific transaction, that is, how the parties to the transaction agree. There are no other subtleties in this matter for 2021.

If PTS is in the bank

This is already a rather difficult case, and the point here is not the lack of a passport as such and the difficulty in registering, but the consequences of the fact that the car itself is pledged to the bank (in this case, the bank can take it away even from a bona fide buyer). We examined all the subtleties of this issue in a separate article about cases where PTS is in a bank or microfinance organization.

If the PTS is lost

Then, in the same way as the empty space, it needs to be restored. This procedure is simple, and the application can also be submitted by both the seller during the sale and the buyer after the purchase. The only difference is that:

• if the title is restored by the seller, then you need to submit an application (can be done at State Services by selecting the appropriate src=»https://AutoTonkosti.ru/sites/default/files/inline/images/2018-06-05_162200.jpg» class=»aligncenter "width="967″ height="402″[/img]
• If the title is restored by the buyer, then in the application for registering the car with the State Traffic Safety Inspectorate, you must indicate that the title needs to be replaced, and pay a state fee of 800 rubles (560 if paid through State Services).

We have a separate article about restoring a lost passport.

OSAGO policy

To register or register with the traffic police, you will need valid MTPL insurance. The main requirements for it are:

• the owner in the policy upon registration must be the current owner (buyer),
• The period of use of the car in the policy must be at least 3 months (transit insurance for 20 days is not suitable).

According to the first option, it is also possible for the seller (more precisely, the policyholder) to change the owner in the current policy. But for the seller this is a loss, since otherwise he can return the money for the unused insurance period.

However, you won’t need the policy itself directly at the MREO of the State Traffic Safety Inspectorate when registering the car (especially if you have issued an e-MTPL) - here they check its availability in the database. However, it is better to take it with you (or a printout in case of electronic insurance).

Calculate the cost of your MTPL policy

Registration certificate

Everything here is also simple - when buying a car, the seller, in addition to the keys and the contract, must give you a pink plastic certificate. When re-registering, you hand over the STS to the traffic police and receive a new one, where you will be indicated as the owner.

If the STS is lost

The situation is completely similar to the loss of PTS. It can be restored by both the seller and the buyer when registering the vehicle. Only in the latter case, unlike the loss of a PTS, you do not need to pay anything additional (after all, you will be given a new one in any case), and indicate in the application that the document is lost.

We have a separate article on restoring STS in case of loss.

Contract of sale

This is also a mandatory document. The data of the seller and buyer under the contract must match those entered in the PTS, and if we are talking about a used car, then the seller under the contract must be indicated in the STS. Also, when completing the transaction, make sure that you have 2 copies of the signed agreement in your hands - one will remain with the traffic police.

If you bought a car from a reseller who did not register the car in his name, then you will need the entire chain of sales contracts to present to the traffic police from the person indicated in the STS. Or, as an option (a rather dangerous option, however), an agreement with an empty buyer field (which will be filled in by you during the transaction), where the seller will again be the one indicated in the STS.

And remember, in 2021 you cannot buy a car without a contract - by proxy you are taking it just to show off, but legally the car still does not belong to you.

Statement

It is written in one copy and submitted at the place of registration of the car. You can write by hand or print, but we strongly recommend doing this through State Services (instructions below).

Documentation for buying a car second hand

Buying a car on the secondary market from private owners is considered the most profitable and at the same time the most dangerous. In such transactions, private persons de facto are:

• Real car owners;
• Small and medium-sized resellers with or without the status of a private entrepreneur;
• Medium and large outbids with the status of a private entrepreneur or legal entity.

These are all private owners and various problems with documentation are found in all three categories, especially among resellers. I advise you to read the details about how resellers register cars, which I described in a separate article.

What documents are needed to conclude a private transaction for the sale of a car in this case? It depends on who. If you are a buyer, the seller may only require your personal passport, but in many cases just your passport information is sufficient.

But the seller is obliged to provide you with valid mandatory and additional documents. In general, the whole heap of “ausweiss” here is divided into three groups:

• Buyer's documents;
• Seller's documents;
• Purchase and sale documents.

Buyer's documents

These include:

• Personal passport;
• Rights (optional);
• Standard photocopy with passport data (optional).

If the seller is not interested in your personal passport, then do not show it.

The same goes for rights. You can leave a photocopy of your passport data to the seller after the transaction is concluded, if he asks for it, but you can refuse - there is no obligation.

Seller's documents

The seller's documents can be divided into mandatory and additional.

Mandatory documentation

Mandatory documentation includes:

• Personal passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation;
• Vehicle vehicle passport (PTS);
• Vehicle registration certificate (CTC).

Personal passport

Be sure to check your personal documents, especially if you are dealing with the so-called. persons of suspicious appearance (with whom it is better not to deal at all). This must be a valid passport of a Russian citizen.

Vehicle vehicle passport

The PTS is the most important document for a car and take a very close look at it. It must have at least one free field for recording the new owner and a signature with wet stamps in place.

Examine all the owners included in the PTS for suspicions, and if a duplicate is presented instead of the original, then this is already a signal moment that requires comprehensive and adequate explanations from the seller.

For example, if a duplicate was issued due to the end of free fields, then this is one thing (but you need a copy of the original), and if the PTS is marked “Due to loss”, then you should not rush into such a transaction, but you need to check the car according to all available databases.

Vehicle registration certificate

Although a vehicle registration certificate (VRC) (“plastic”) is included in the package of mandatory documentation, it is possible to conclude a transaction without it. This is if the owner deregistered the car before selling it to the traffic police. Then the STS will be issued to you in your name upon registration.

When the STS is available, you must check everything that is written in the PTS and STS - the information in them must match, especially the VIN number.

Additional Documentation

Additional documentation includes:

• Driver license;
• Standard photocopy with passport data;
• OSAGO or CASCO insurance policy;
• Permission to sell joint property;
• Diagnostic maintenance card;
• Service book;
• Instructions and manuals for cars and embedded systems.

Of course, some of these documents may not exist at all or may not be necessary (for example, permission to sell joint property), but the provision by the seller of the widest possible package of additional documentation is considered evidence in favor of the purity of the transaction.

Purchase and sale documents

These documents include all the papers drawn up by you and the seller during the transaction.

Here are the documents:

• Contract of sale;
• Transfer and acceptance certificate;
• Financial receipt.

The purchase and sale agreement (SPA) is the main document of the transaction, which secures your ownership of the car.

Attention! You should know that the PTS is the main document of the car, and the DCT is the main document of the transaction. Therefore, these two documents should be your top priority!

The act of acceptance and transfer may be included in the DCT as a special clause, but for greater legal weight of the transaction it must be drawn up as a separate document. It will record the fact that the car was transferred into your hands and describe its technical condition at that moment.

A financial receipt serves as an insurance document in case of any misunderstandings with payment or fraudulent schemes. It is highly advisable to write it in all cases of transfer of large sums of money.

Well, it looks like I haven’t forgotten anything. All the main documents are now listed and you, if the need arises, can always consult this section.

State duties

So, we moved on to the financial component of our question about the procedure for registering a car with the traffic police. To register your car, you may be required to pay the following government fees.

1. For issuing a new STS - always, since in all cases a new certificate is issued: 500 rubles (350 when paying through State Services),
2. For making changes to the PTS - always, unless the document runs out of space to add a new owner: 350 rubles (245 when paying through State Services),
3. For issuing a new PTS - if there is no space in the old one: 800 rubles (560 when paying through State Services),
4. For issuing new license plates - if you bought a new car: 2000 rubles (1400 when paying through State Services); 1500/1050 rubles respectively, if we are talking about a motorcycle or trailer. If you buy a used car, then in any case it must have license plates (you can only change them if you wish), only if the vehicle was not imported from abroad or deregistered.

All prices are valid for 2021. When paying at a bank, the applicant must match the state fee with the owner upon registration, otherwise the state fee will be invalid. Save the receipts for presentation to the traffic police when registering or registering the car.

Car registration procedure

The procedure for registering with the traffic police or registration is quite simple and, as we mentioned above, consists of 5 main procedures. We will describe them in more detail, except for collecting documents and paying state fees, to which we devoted a lot of text above.

And let's start with the procedure for submitting an application to register the MREO. It can be submitted online and in person to the traffic police department.

Step-by-step instructions for submitting an application for registration through State Services

To do this, we first need to register and log in to the State). For 2021, this procedure has been significantly simplified (previously it was necessary to come to various organizations in person with a passport).

So, here's the step-by-step application process!

1. Log in to the State Administration and go to the “Transport and Driving” section (hereinafter we will provide screenshots of the computer version of the site, but in the mobile version and in the State Services application everything is identical).

2. Next, go to the “Vehicle Registration” section.

3. Then select the set.

4. Now you need to choose one of the following, if you are registering a new car with the traffic police or one that was previously deregistered,
5. or “Change owner data” if you bought a used car. ​

Submitting an application in person to the traffic police

Everything is simpler here: you need to fill out an application and submit it to the traffic police in person. The registration procedure must take place on the day of application.

• (DOCX format),
• (PDF format),

On-site inspection

This is a simple process if you or someone before you has not made changes to the design of the car, and its condition complies with the traffic rules, the Basic provisions for vehicle approval (Appendix to the traffic rules) and the Technical Regulations of the Customs Union.

Pay special attention to the following points that may cause registration refusal:

• the car’s engine has been replaced with another one – different in characteristics and/or model (separate article on engine replacement),
• tinting must comply with the rules,
• the machine should not be equipped with gas cylinder equipment (LPG) without previously made changes to the design,
• other design changes - even minor ones - must be suitable for a given car model (be approved by the manufacturer in the list or included with the car), including a towbar, roof rack and others,
• The VIN number must match that indicated in the documents, be readable and have no signs of counterfeiting.

About deadlines

An important point is the registration period. According to paragraph 6 of Order No. 399 of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, owners are given 10 days to register a car with the traffic police after acquiring ownership - that is, from the date specified in the sales contract. The same period is allotted for car insurance under MTPL.

The fine for late registration of a car is 500 rubles under Part 1 of Article 12.1 of the Administrative Code, and if you are caught again, you may be deprived of your license for up to 3 months.

Also remember that if we are talking about a used car, then the previous owner on the 11th day after the sale has the right to deregister the car with the traffic police. And then for driving an unregistered car you will face the confiscation of license plates and STS.

You can rewrite the contract (even re-sell the car to your relative/friend, etc.), but this is also stopped by the courts in 2021.

Something else useful for you:

• How to buy a used car legally?
• Is it necessary to change the registration certificate when changing the registered address?
• I lost the title of my car - how to restore it?

Mandatory documents provided by the seller

Below is a list of documents that the seller must provide to the buyer before completing the purchase and sale transaction of a used car:

• Vehicle passport. You must be provided with the original. If not, you have the right to demand an explanation from the owner of the car, because it may turn out that the car cannot be sold because it is pledged to the bank. When inspecting the PTS, pay attention to the degree of its filling. At least one field must be free to record the new owner of the car. Also check that you have the required stamps.
• Vehicle registration certificate. However, you need it if the seller has it in order to re-register it with the traffic police. If the certificate is missing, then when registering the car, a new certificate will be issued with your data.
• Personal passport of the car owner.

The listed documents are required to be included in the purchase and sale agreement.

useful links

• The procedure for checking a car before purchasing for successful registration.
• About the period of registration and acquisition of compulsory motor liability insurance after purchasing a car.
• About cases with a replaced engine.
• Is it possible to register a car in another city?
• Amounts of state duties for 2021.
• How to register a car if 10 days fall on a weekend?
• How to register a car of a legal entity with the traffic police?
• How to check whether the previous owner removed the car from the traffic police register?
• Will they be registered and deregistered if there are fines?
• What happens if you don’t register your car within 10 days?
• Order No. 399 on the procedure for registering a vehicle.
• Order No. 605 on the state service for vehicle registration.