How to check a vehicle for legal purity?

In order to quickly sell a problem car, their owners resort to fraudulent methods. Therefore, it is very important to check the car before purchasing for legal purity.

If this action is not taken, the buyer risks buying a car that he will subsequently not be able to register. There are several ways, based on various parameters, that will help the buyer check the cleanliness of the car, from a legal point of view. Carrying out the verification process yourself is quite simple; you need to have access to the Internet and certain documents on hand.

When to check a car when buying?

The car should be checked for legal purity immediately after the first inspection before signing a car purchase and sale agreement. Once the sale transaction has taken place, it will be difficult for the buyer to prove that he is right and there is a high risk of losing money. Usually, legal problems with a car emerge at the stage of paperwork, when the new owner realizes that it will not be possible to register the purchase. There is no way to find the previous owner, and the buyer has already lost the money invested in the car. Then the courts and problems begin.

Attention! If you have any questions, you can chat for free with a lawyer at the bottom of the screen or call Moscow; Saint Petersburg; Free call for all of Russia.

Ideally, you need to invite the seller to be present at the removal and installation of the car for registration with the traffic police, and then pay. Then the buyer will be able to ensure that the transaction is legal and that there are no problems when registering the vehicle.

Car tracking upon purchase

It is necessary to carry out legal diagnostics of the car after its first inspection, without concluding a purchase and sale agreement. If the inspection is carried out after the conclusion of the contract, then if certain problems are discovered, it will be almost impossible for the new owner to prove that he is right and, quite possibly, he will suffer financial losses. Problems associated with the legal purity of a car, as a rule, arise at the moment when the owner who purchased the vehicle wants to register it and complete all the necessary documents. As a rule, such problems are not always possible to solve, especially if the old owner of the car cannot be found, and then all sorts of legal proceedings begin.

In a good way, in order not to run into legal problems, when registering a car, you need to ask the seller of the vehicle to be at the traffic police when deregistering the car and its further registration. Only in this situation can the new owner of the car be sure that he bought a “clean” car and will not have any problems with it.

Why check your car for legal cleanliness?

If you miss the moment of checking the legal purity of a car when purchasing, you may encounter the following difficulties in purchasing a car:

1. Listed as stolen. It does not matter how many times the car was resold. If it is discovered, I will cancel all transactions and return it to the owner from whom it was stolen.
2. Participated in a traffic accident resulting in death or serious injury.
3. The car appears in a criminal case in which the culprit has not been found.
4. It is collateral or is detained by bailiffs under Article 80 of Federal Law No. 229 “Law on Enforcement Proceedings,” in particular the seizure of the debtor’s property.
5. Important parts were replaced without being indicated in the documents.
6. Fake registration certificate or PTS.
7. It is registered in another country where it could have been stolen.

Any of these details of the legal purity of the vehicle suggests the presence of problems during registration and operation of the vehicle. You may have to pay extra to pay off the banks or lose your car altogether.

According to Order No. 1001 of 2008, it is prohibited to drive an unregistered vehicle. Therefore, if a registration ban is imposed on the purchased car, then you will not be able to use the purchase.

What to look for when buying a vehicle?

There are details that you should definitely pay attention to when buying a car yourself:

1. Original or duplicate PTS.
2. Place of registration of the car owner.
3. Coincidence of all specified PTS parameters with true indicators.
4. The owner is in too much of a hurry to sell the car or is asking for a low price.

Be sure to ask the car seller for all the documents for the car and the owner’s civil passport. If he refuses to present it, turn around and leave, as there is a risk of purchasing a problematic car. The more open the seller is with the buyer, and the less nervous he is when asked to show documents, the greater the chance of purchasing a legally clean car that is easily registered with the traffic police.

What to consider when buying a car

There is a certain list of details that should be given special attention if the buyer purchases a car from another owner:

1. PTS. The document is provided in the original or in the hands of the owner there is only a duplicate of it.
2. Registration. You should check where the owner of the vehicle is registered.
3. Reliable information. It is necessary to check all the information specified in the PTS and its authenticity in the present.
4. Behavior of the vehicle owner. It is worth looking carefully at the behavior of the car owner. If he behaves strangely and rushes the process of selling his car, or demands too low a price for it, then it is quite possible that the vehicle has certain problems with legal purity.

IMPORTANT !!! The seller should not refuse the buyer’s request to provide his passport and all documents for the car. This is the legal right of any buyer. And if he still refused, you should immediately leave him and leave.

Ways to check a car

To check the legal purity of a car, you must have 5 minutes of free time and Internet access. Thus, based on several data, the past of the machine and its problematic nature is analyzed. There are companies that offer similar services for money. The cost of services for a complete check of the legal purity of a car and its documents ranges around 400-500 rubles. If you contact an expert bureau, the cost will be about 2,500 rubles, but the buyer will be provided with complete information about the car and its owners, from the production itself. Such a check is the most reliable, but not everyone can afford it, especially since no one can give a 100% guarantee of the purity of the transaction. Nowadays, scammers and unscrupulous sellers use a variety of sophisticated methods to hide the true data of a problem machine.

If you feel sorry for spending money, then take the opportunity to do it yourself and for free. It is advisable to check on several resources at once to be sure. Each site has different access and frequency of updates to the main databases, and therefore on one resource you may not find a car, but on another you find out that the car has a debt or has been resold 10 times.

First of all, you should contact the collateral property register so as not to purchase a credit car. But, if the loan is pledged by a private person, then it may not appear in the register. The official website of bailiffs is also suitable. But only seized property is listed there, for which enforcement proceedings have already been opened.

Free ways to find out if your car has any legal problems

In order to be able to analyze a car for all legal aspects, a person must have the following data:

1. Citizen's passport assigned to the owner of the vehicle.
2. Information from the PTS.
3. Vehicle number assigned by the state.
4. Engine number information.
5. VIN number of the vehicle.
6. Information about the technical passport of the machine.

All of the above information can be asked from the car owner. But if it turns out to be a problem for him to provide the necessary data to his potential buyer, then doubts should immediately arise in the latter.

ATTENTION !!! The check, which a person can carry out for free, and find out all the information about the car of interest, is based on Internet resources on which it is possible to find all the necessary data: the past of the owner of the vehicle, how many owners the car has had, whether there is a loan for the car and the reliability of all documents.

How to check the legal purity of a car for free?

To check the legal purity of a car for free, you must have the following information:

1. Owner's civil passport (his details).
2. PTS of the vehicle.
3. State numbers.
4. Engine number.
5. Unique registration number (VIN).
6. A notarized power of attorney from a notary, if the car is not being sold by the direct owner.
7. Vehicle registration certificate.

If the seller refuses to provide documents or information, then doubts must arise. A free check is carried out on specialized Internet resources that can provide information on basic parameters: criminal history, number of owners, credit obligations, data of the current owner, originality of documents.

Here are some of them:

https://avtokods.ru/

traffic police.rf

https://i-vin.ru/

To check the legal purity of a car when purchasing, just enter the necessary data in the window that opens and click the search button. The check takes a couple of minutes.

How to check PTS for falsifications

When purchasing a car, you may encounter a partial or complete fake title, as a result of which you risk being left without money and the desired purchase. To prevent this from happening, check this document for falsifications. If the document was issued by the traffic police, most likely it is a duplicate and will require a more thorough check. Pay attention to whether there are any signs of counterfeiting. Now in the automobile market there are both completely fake PTS and partially falsified ones. How to distinguish a fake from the original?

Important! The form on which the PTS is made must be made at the Goznak enterprise and have several degrees of protection.

Hold the form up to the light. There should be inclusions on the paper like on banknotes. Watermarks such as stars, stripes, and the inscription RUS must be clearly visible. The text “Vehicle Passport” should be embossed to the touch. The hologram should be bright, iridescent and made in the form of a circle or strip. Hologram inscriptions are easy to read and clear. And, of course, it should not be stuck on, for example, with tape.

In the upper left corner of the back side of the PTS there should be a voluminous to the touch design in the form of a rose. The color of this image should change from green to gray when the angle of inclination is changed.

If you have not identified any signs of counterfeit in the appearance of the PTS, then you can proceed to the next step of checking for legal purity - studying the contents of the document. The first two digits in the series are the code of the region that issued the PTS. If the car was manufactured in the Russian Federation, then the region code must correspond to the seal of the manufacturer, which is located in the lower left corner near the signature of the responsible person and the date of issue of the document.

The vehicle passport must indicate the manufacturer, its address, and the name of the organization that issued the document. If the vehicle was brought from abroad, then its passport must indicate the name of the customs office that issued the PTS and bear the customs stamp.

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It is also worth paying attention to the VIN code - the unique number of the car. It is a set of letters and numbers that provide information about the release date of the car, its characteristics, and the manufacturing plant.

If the design of the vehicle has been changed, this must be noted in the PTS and there must be permission for them.

Step-by-step instructions for checking the legal purity of a car when purchasing

First of all, the car is checked for loans and collateral problems. Signs of car debt:

1. There is an entry about the creditor in the CASCO policy.
2. Duplicate PTS.
3. The car is sold a short time after purchase.
4. The vehicle passport indicates that the car is being sold under a commission agreement.
5. Low cost.
6. There is no purchase and sale agreement in hand.

It is more difficult to check a car if it is in debt to small creditor companies or private individuals. In this case, you need to contact the state bailiffs website to exclude the possibility of legal proceedings against the car.

Second step: checking the car for theft.

The buyer must understand that when purchasing a car that is listed as stolen, Art. 302 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. According to this law, a found car, if it is resold after it was stolen, can be returned to the owner, even if the buyer is in good faith. The only thing the purchaser can count on is a court case with the seller under Art. 450 and 460 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

Signs of a stolen car:

1. Lack of at least one set of keys.
2. Damage and signs of lock dismantling.
3. The vehicle's VIN does not match the data in the documents.
4. Checking numbers.
5. Lack of compulsory motor liability insurance policy or data discrepancy.
6. The owner refuses to check the car.

Particular attention should be paid to the originality of documents. If there are signs of counterfeiting or corrections made, then you should refrain from purchasing. The check is carried out on special Internet resources or directly on the website of the traffic police and bailiffs.

To check on Internet resources, you need to use the following sites:

https://pristav-russia.ru/ - website of bailiffs.

https://gibdd.rf/ - traffic police website.

To do this, you must enter the car’s VIN code or license plate number on the resources, depending on the request. After some time, information from the database is displayed on the screen.

What should you pay attention to when purchasing a vehicle?

When buying a car in a showroom or secondhand, you need to know the signs of legal problems that the seller may not talk about . They may occur on the machine:

• in theft, the so-called “double”;
• pledged to the bank;
• having a “criminal” past;
• under arrest or prohibited from registering.

Even the owners or sellers themselves do not always know the dark past of the car. For the new owner, this may come as a big surprise. When selling, he was told one thing, but when registering, he learns completely new details about his purchase. Therefore, it is worth paying attention to the characteristic signs of deception or forgery of data about the car at the time of the first inspection.

Attention! In 2021, 21,112 thefts were committed in Russia. Criminals sell some of the cars for spare parts; the rest appear on the secondary market under the guise of “doubles.”

Used car from showroom

Car showrooms and dealership centers can engage in both regular resale and sale of cars under the “trade-in” program. At the same time, the store must check the legal side of the purchase even before the used car arrives at the showroom.

But this doesn't always happen. Sometimes managers forget to look at some of the documents or take people’s word for it, taking the car for resale without checking. To avoid buying a pig in a poke, it’s worth checking at the car dealership :

1. Year and month of issue according to documents. Check the authenticity of the VIN numbers on the body and engine. If the internal combustion engine was replaced with a contract engine, ask for documents or receipts for the new engine.
2. Online databases for theft, unpaid fines, bans or arrests. Perhaps the previous owner forgot to pay the fine, and the salon manager simply did not check this data.
3. Conditions of the initial and final contract, which you will be offered to draw up at the car dealership. It happens that managers first show one document and give another for signature. In the second version of the contract, the store may relieve itself of some responsibility for malfunctions and other issues relating to the car being sold.

Be careful and remember: the car dealership does not guarantee you the purchase of a legally clean vehicle . Before purchasing, double-check all the information again to be sure that the transaction is clean.

According to the Law “On the Protection of Consumer Rights” (Law of the Russian Federation dated 02/07/1992 No. 2300-1) Art. 18, the new owner of the car can return the car to the dealership after purchase within 15 calendar days. At the same time, he must point out a significant flaw in the design of the machine. Used car dealerships know this standard and deliberately include amended clauses in the final purchase agreement. This way they insure themselves against illiterate buyers and, in case of a claim, appeal to the document.

Read about all the intricacies and nuances of purchasing a used or new car at a dealership.

Used car with mileage, purchased second hand

A huge number of “gray” cars are sold secondhand. At the same time, some sellers indicate in the advertisement that the vehicle cannot be registered with the new owner. Usually the price for such a car is significantly lower than the market price.

Important! Many are captivated by the low cost and buy a problematic car without documents or with registration restrictions. The joy of the purchase ends at the first stationary traffic police post.

There are a lot of offers on the market when a car is given away at a normal price, but in fact it cannot be registered. Sometimes the seller does not suspect that he has a car with a problem on his hands. There are resellers and swindlers who know very well about the past of the car. They try to make sure that the buyer never finds out about the car’s past. To protect yourself from such a purchase, you need to pay attention to:

1. VIN number . It should be easy to read and not overwritten. The real number is stamped evenly on the body; no traces of cooking or other defects are visible on it. It is not welded onto the metal on top and is integral with the vehicle body.
2. Documentation . Independently check the documents in all databases. If the seller insists on looking at sites and services on his phone, you should be wary. Some scammers completely fake the official websites of the traffic police and other services where you can check your car. Such pages are difficult to distinguish from the original. And they will show only a car that is “clean” before the law.
3. Data on the last owners of the car . If possible, check the last two owners of the vehicle using the bailiff database. Sometimes, due to a small debt from the previous owner, problems with registering a car may arise.
4. Contract of sale . If the seller asks for a sales amount of 100,000 rubles under the pretext of non-payment of tax, you should not meet him! Especially when the cost of the car is many times higher. If the car is stolen or wanted, you may be left without it and the maximum that can be recovered through court from the seller is 100,000 rubles under the contract.
5. PTS duplicate . If the seller is trying to sell you a car with a duplicate of the main document, you should think twice about it. Fraudsters often use this technique. They assure the owner that the original document is lost and sell the car as a duplicate. Later they claim the car through court or steal it.

If you see that the seller is fussing and doesn’t finish talking, it’s better to leave this option alone. Good condition of the car and an adequate price do not always mean a good deal. Remember this rule before purchasing.

You can find out all the detailed information about buying a second-hand car here.

Signs of a fake car title

The presence of a fake PTS is the first sign of big problems. It is for this purpose that, from July 1, 2021, the Russian government introduced electronic PTS. In order to distinguish a vehicle passport from a fake, it is better to have an ultraviolet flashlight and an infrared detector, as well as a magnifying glass with a magnification greater than 10, when meeting with the seller.

To check the legal purity of the car, we first carry out an external inspection of the title. The original document has the following characteristics:

1. The form has signs of Goznak.
2. The hologram does not have clear transition boundaries to the touch.
3. When viewed through a magnifying glass, in the center of the hologram there is a car with the inscription “Russia” on it.
4. When tilted at 30 degrees and shined with a flashlight, you can see the PTS inscription.
5. The inscription “Vehicle Passport” must be voluminous and easily palpable.
6. There should be a security pattern in the form of a rose in the upper left corner of the document. When viewing angle changes, the color changes from green to gray.
7. Compare the year the PTS was issued and the year the form was produced. For counterfeits, the year of issue is earlier than the date the form was produced.

If you have an ultraviolet light, it is recommended to check for watermarks.

There are 3 types of fake PTS. Some are easy to spot, others can only be revealed by professionals:

1. The form was printed on a color printer. The hologram is pasted onto the fake. Even a novice can easily recognize such counterfeit, but there are also amateurs who fall for these.
2. Counterfeits on original forms. In this case, you need to check the release dates of the title and the car.
3. Original PTS, which were purchased from disassembled or old cars. In this case, the VIN code on the car being sold is changed. Only specialists can detect such a counterfeit, since checking by identification number may not yield results.

Conducting a psychological test

This type of check can also be classified as intuitive. Purchasing a vehicle secondhand always involves interaction with the seller, direct personal contact and communication. At the very first conversation on the phone, at the first meeting with the seller, you can calculate how conscientious a person can be.

Usually, the ability to see through people is a valuable skill that helps you avoid getting into trouble. But even without amazing abilities, a person may find some little thing suspicious, and an unpleasant tone, nervousness in a conversation is something that will repel the buyer even without a sixth sense.

A seller who has nothing to hide always makes contact, because he is interested in completing a transaction, and not in receiving dishonest income. As a rule, a conscientious person will be happy to accommodate you in terms of providing the required information about the car for the inspection. After all, the more the buyer is interested in the product, the more interested he is in it, the faster the car will sell.

And vice versa, if the seller is irritated, very nervous when communicating, and refuses to provide information about the car, this is a clear sign that he has something to hide. With each possible check, the likelihood that the fraud will be discovered increases, which is why the wicked seller is worried.

The Buyer should exercise particular caution in any type of bidding. A professional fraudster who wants to sell off a car will not deliberately set a low price. Most likely, during the inspection process, he will gradually reduce the amount to the desired amount, luring the buyer with a discount.

Check the cleanliness of the car by VIN

To check the legal purity of a vehicle purchase, you first need to check the car using its VIN registration number. This number is assigned to the car at the factory and is retained regardless of the number of sales or changes in ownership. This combination consists of 17 digits, which are located on different non-removable parts, depending on the make and model of the car.

If you go to the website https://avtokods.ru/, then by VIN code you can find out the following information:

1. Where the car was made and where it was imported from.
2. Road accident involving a vehicle.
3. How many times have technical inspections been carried out?
4. Registered cases of theft and participation in criminal cases.

To check on the website, just enter the VIN number in the window that opens and wait for the result.

Sites to check:

https://avtokods.ru/, as well as traffic police.rf. There is a database on third-party sites as well.

What to check when buying a used car

If you don't want to be deceived, don't trust anyone. Even the most honest seller will not tell you about all the problems of the car, but what a dishonest one is capable of - you can guess for yourself. Therefore, it is in your best interests to check not only the technical part of the car, but also the legal part - after all, it is the legal component that brings the most serious problems.

So, what you need to do before buying a used car:

• Make sure that the VIN code is not interrupted and meets the standards.
• Using the VIN, check the car for theft, arrest and credit.
• Find out if the driver has debts.

Even if the car is not under arrest now, it is quite possible that it will be arrested tomorrow. Therefore, be sure to make sure that the owner does not have open enforcement proceedings on the FSSP website (read how to do this at the end of the article).

You can get a car history either for free or for money. To save time and not check each aspect of the vehicle’s history separately, it is better to immediately order a full report from an auto expert. Moreover, all the information cannot be found in open sources, and paid reports cost no more than 400 rubles.

Check the legal purity of the car by body number

The body number and VIN number are not the same thing. The body number consists of 9-12 digits and in most cases is applied to a special plate. But there is an exception for foreign cars - the VIN, in fact, includes the body number. Therefore, no additional numbers are required. Therefore, when checking body numbers, the VIN combination should be preferred. It provides more accurate data on the legal history of the car.

The body number or VIN must match those indicated in the documents. At the same time, the PTS in the registration certificate and the MTPL policy must contain the same combinations of numbers. If there are any differences, refuse to buy the car.

How to check if a car is pledged

Nowadays, more and more cars are purchased on credit. There are situations when a car owner decides to sell a vehicle, the loan for which has not yet been fully repaid. Thus, the sale of the vehicle occurs along with the loan that is assigned to it. In the Russian Federation, a unified database has not yet been created that contains complete information about all cars that are pledged to banks. Usually, if the original PTS is in the possession of the owner of the vehicle, this serves as an indication that the vehicle is not under collateral. But there are cases when banks give away the original PTS even before the loan is fully repaid. In such cases, the State Traffic Safety Inspectorate contains information about the restriction of registration actions related to this vehicle, as a result of which it will not be possible to deregister such a vehicle. If the vehicle is pledged, then a contract of agency must be drawn up, which is noted in the PTS in the “Special notes” paragraph.

In order to make sure that the loan is paid in full and the car is legally clean, you should ask the seller to present a purchase and sale agreement from the car dealership with cash receipts attached to it. You should also ask for a letter from the bank stating that the seller has no debt on this loan. If the seller for any reason refuses to provide such documents, then the purchase should be abandoned. If you like this particular car, but the loan for it has not been fully repaid, then you can, together with the seller, go to the bank where the loan for this vehicle was issued and pay the rest of the debt. After this, you will receive the original PTS and become the full owner of the car you liked. Another option to protect yourself from buying a collateralized car is to include a clause in the purchase and sale agreement stating that the seller guarantees that there is no loan for the object of sale. It is also worth indicating the actual cost of purchasing the car. Then, if fraud is detected, the purchase and sale transaction will be considered invalid and will be canceled, and the seller will be obligated to return the money you paid.

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Video checking a car for collateral:

Check the cleanliness of the car according to the state regulations. number

There are several online resources that provide services for checking the legal purity of a car when purchasing by license plate. The information may be inaccurate, but if the numbers are fake, it will immediately become clear. Using this information, you can also identify a car that has been stolen or is being pawned. The state number also gives access to data on registration of road accidents and car resales.

Using free services on the Internet, you can easily find out the entire legal history of a car in 5 minutes. In addition, a specially hired person can check the car by license plate number. Now there are quite a lot of such detectives, and prices for their services range from several hundred to a couple of thousand.

There are also many specialized forums on the Internet where you can check a future purchase if the car is registered at a specific address.

Check with a notary

One of the most common ways to check the legal purity when buying a car, however, is not free. The notary will be able to confirm the authenticity of documents, both the car and its owner. In fact, the notary checks the owner more than the vehicle itself. A notary check of the legal purity of a vehicle may turn out to be ineffective if the car is resold more than once, since a specialist will only check the history with the current owner, and the car may be on credit from the owner before last. The buyer simply becomes another on the list of those who buy this car.

Step-by-step verification instructions

Let's look at a step-by-step diagram of how to properly check a car before buying it:

1. Check for fines . To do this, you can use the official traffic police resource on the Internet. Go to the website gibdd.ru and go to the tab in the right menu “checking fines” to the page with the check field. In it, enter the vehicle data and click the “check” button.
2. For bail . You can check your car for collateral on the website banki.ru. This will require new user registration. You will also have to pay 300 rubles for car inspection services.
3. Check with the traffic police for participation in an accident . Today you don’t need to go to the traffic police to check your car for involvement in an accident. Just go to the website avtokod.mos.ru. On the main page, in the “Autohistory” section, enter the vehicle’s VIN code, and you will be shown the entire “life history” of the car.
4. Restrictions through bailiffs . To do this, you will need to know the full name of the previous owner, or better yet, two former owners of the car. You also need to know the exact date of birth. On the website fssp.ru, in the “Find out about your debts” field, enter the name of the seller, as well as his date of birth. The site will display the current debts of an individual. If they exist, the car may be subject to registration restrictions or seizure.
5. For theft . To check the location of the vehicle in the database of stolen cars, use the same gibdd.ru service. On it, go to the “vehicle check” item in the right menu of the main page and enter the vehicle data.
6. To work in a taxi . You can check the car from the taxi fleet on the “Autocode” website at the link https://avtocod.ru/proverka-ispolzovaniya-avtomobilya-v-kachestve-taksi.
7. Recycling check . To prevent traffic police officers from removing license plates from a car and taking it to a fine site under the recycling program, follow the link https://avtocod.ru/proverka-mashiny-na-utilizaciyu and check using the car’s VIN code.

The listed points will tell you almost everything about the car you are buying. This information is quite enough to check the legal purity of the vehicle.

Check the cleanliness of the car at the traffic police

The most reliable option for checking is to come to the traffic police together with the owner and make a request for all questions of interest. Here they can issue documents about the criminal history of the car and about participation in an accident, including fatal ones. In addition, the traffic police has information about the number of owners and place of registration of the car. During the verification, documents are presented that are immediately checked for authenticity.

If it is not possible to submit a request with the owner directly to the traffic police, then you can go to the official website of the inspection, but the data received may not be complete. It all depends on the number of specified documents.

It is safer to go to the inspection with the car seller, since the employees may not give some information, since it is confidential.

When checking the legal purity of a car upon purchase on the official website of the traffic police, it will be indicated whether restrictions or prohibitions are imposed on registration actions, as well as whether the car is listed as stolen.

If the owner-seller refuses to go with you to the traffic police, he has something to hide, it is better to refuse the dubious purchase.

Legal purity of the vehicle

for any driver to know what data on the car to check before purchasing . Don't think that checking one parameter will tell you the full legal picture. You need to approach the purchase issue comprehensively and find out information about both the car and its owner.

What databases can I search for information for free?

Today you can find out almost the entire history of a car on the Internet, using only open sources. The most popular of them, where you can study information about the car:

1. Official website of the State Traffic Safety Inspectorate of the Russian Federation (gibdd.ru). On it you can see restrictions on car registration, unpaid fines, as well as the location of the vehicle in the theft database.
2. Website "Autocode" (avtokod.mos.ru). This resource displays information about the previous owners of the car. You can also see the participation of the car in an accident.
3. Service for checking cars for collateral (vin.auto.ru). On this resource you can view information on pledging a vehicle to a bank. Verification is carried out by VIN code. But it is worth remembering that this resource cooperates only with ten banks that transmit information on their clients’ collateral.
4. Another site for checking the cleanliness of banks is “banki.ru” (banki.ru). The database of this service contains about 3 million vehicles, pledged in more than 80 banks.
5. Official website of the FSSP of the Russian Federation (fssp.ru). Bailiffs website. Here you can find the most up-to-date information on enforcement proceedings against an individual. On the resource you can see fines and other outstanding debts of a person. Their presence most often entails the arrest or ban on registration of the vehicle owner.

The listed sites are enough to find out the full legal picture of the car you are interested in.

Reference! If you are buying a car from the American market, use the vin.auto.ru service. It will show accurate information on the year of manufacture of the car, as well as the number of important entries in the AutoCheck system.

Information on VIN and numbers

By checking the VIN code, you can find out exact information about the location of the car in the database of stolen cars. You can check the data on the official website of the traffic police in the “vehicle check” section. There you can also see unpaid fines according to the state sign. To do this, you will need to enter the state registration mark of the vehicle. The system will display all unpaid fines for this number.

Documentation

Basic documents that need to be compared and verified:

• PTS;
• diagnostic card;
• document of purchase and sale.

The main document for the car is the PTS (technical equipment passport) . It indicates the VIN code of the car. It must match the code on the car body. Sometimes the VIN code in a car is placed in several places: in the engine compartment, under the seat or on the frame. In any case, all codes must match each other, as well as the main VIN code indicated in the vehicle title.

From November 1, 2021, paper PTS will no longer be issued - this provision is contained in the Decision of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission “On approval of the procedure for the functioning of systems of electronic vehicle passports (electronic passports of vehicle chassis) and electronic passports of self-propelled vehicles and other types of equipment” dated 14 October 2021.

The PTS indicates the details of the current owner of the vehicle: full name and registration address. It is worth checking this information with the seller’s passport. If there is a discrepancy in the data, you need to ask the person for a document on the basis of which he owns this vehicle. Most often, this is a general power of attorney. Buying a car using such documents is a very risky proposition.

Attention! Carefully check the title of vehicles imported from abroad. In the documents of such vehicles there should be a column opposite “Customs restrictions”.

Having a completed diagnostic card is a definite plus for the legal cleanliness of the car. Especially in the case when the car regularly undergoes mandatory maintenance from the dealer. Firstly, it shows a more detailed picture of the car. Secondly, it speaks about the level of responsibility of the seller. It is advisable that the card be issued specifically to the owner of the car, and not to the reseller.

In the purchase and sale document, check all the points, and also check the passport details of the owner of the car. Avoid mistakes and omissions. Fill out the contract with one pen .

Nuances

Sometimes, without any papers or notaries, you can guess about the problems with the car. First of all, you need to carefully look at the odometer. It may show signs of curling: scratches, uneven placement of numbers, signs of penetration. In addition to mileage, parts and components can be replaced with lower quality ones. To check, it is better to take a specialist with you or ask the seller to take the car to a service station that the buyer trusts.

So far there is no direct liability for mileage misrepresentation, but in the near future they are going to amend the Criminal Code and create liability for such falsification.

If available, use the body defect indicator. With its help, it is easy to check the thickness of the paintwork and any existing defects on the body. This way, you will be able to find out without any inspection whether the car has been repainted.

No one wants to give away a purchased car or not be able to use the vehicle after purchase. The surprise that the car cannot be registered awaits every third buyer. And, despite the conscientiousness of the transaction on his part, you can lose your car at any time. For example, the bailiffs will come and seize the purchase. In order not to be disappointed in the future when making a transaction, pay special attention to checking documents and past history. You can do this yourself or involve professionals, but it is important to understand that when purchasing a car, it is necessary to analyze the legal purity of all small details, double-check all numbers and watermarks on the title. Then the legal purity of the car purchase and sale transaction will not raise doubts and will not create problems.

Family status

Everyone knows that before concluding a purchase and sale agreement it is necessary to check the seller’s documents. In this case, be sure to check the presence or absence of a marital status stamp. According to Articles 34 and 35 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation, all property acquired during marriage is joint property, and it can be disposed of only with the consent of both spouses. Make sure that the purchase and sale agreement contains written permission from the other half to alienate the car. Otherwise, if the car is very expensive and the spouses are at the stage of divorce, the transaction will be easily challenged in court, and the property you purchased will be divided between husband and wife.

As practice shows, the process of checking a car for legal purity is not very complicated and is accessible to most citizens.
These tips are addressed to those who plan to independently buy a car on the secondary market. If you decide to make a purchase at a dealership, then you don’t have to worry about legal subtleties. For example, in the showrooms of the FAVORIT MOTORS Group of Companies, all used cars undergo a thorough legal check, and the likelihood of purchasing a “gray” car is reduced to zero. Ask a Question