Procedures for buying or selling your car: paperwork, taxes and documentation

We have all faced, or will face, a car purchase or sale. Quite possibly, the change of car is so we can get hold of a new vehicle, and this involves very clear-cut procedures that need little explanation. Normally, the car will be handed over to the dealership and no special procedures will be needed. But it may be that we choose to buy a used car, or we are going to sell ours to another person. And that is where we need to pay attention to several things. Let’s look at what procedures must be carried out to buy or sell your car.

Buying a used car

When buying a used car, a distinction must be made between whether the purchase is made from a company specialising in this type of transaction or from a private individual. In both cases it is advisable to check all the vehicle’s documentation, to make sure it is in order and that we won’t come across any surprises. If buying from a used vehicle dealership, it is assumed they have checked all this information and that, if they have not been honest, they could face a serious problem.

The following documentation must be verified:

• Circulation permit: You must check that the vehicle has the corresponding circulation permit and that all the details shown on it match the car.
• Circulation tax: The circulation tax must be up to date. If it is not, that cost may fall on the buyer, so you must make sure of this.
• I.T.V.: The Technical Vehicle Inspection (ITV) must be valid.
• A record of all approved modifications made to the vehicle: It is important to know whether any modifications have been made to the car and whether they have been authorised, so that they do not cause problems later on.
• Request a Vehicle Report from the DGT: This report shows all existing charges on the vehicle, fines, seizures and any other encumbrance that could give the new owner an unpleasant surprise.

In addition, a sale contract must be drawn up showing all the details of both the buyer and the seller. It is also important to include a copy of the DNI, residence card or passport, to guarantee the legality of the contract. The contract must state any feature present in the transaction (known existing charges or anything else relevant to the buyer). It must be signed by both parties and it serves as proof of the change of ownership. This contract must also record the day and time of the transaction, since fines imposed before that moment will be the responsibility of the previous owner.

As the buyer, you must notify the change of holder within a period of no more than 15 days, so that the seller is released from the obligations that may arise during that time. If this is not done, the seller can make this notification using the vehicle sale notification procedure, obtaining the corresponding form from the DGT website, which is available in Spain’s official languages and in other languages of the European Union.

With all this at hand, you are ready to buy your car. You must go to the DGT office with the documents relating to the change of ownership and submit them. A fee must be paid for the procedure, which is around 50 euros, so be prepared for this payment. You can also delegate all the procedures to a gestoría (administrative agency), which will cost somewhat more, but will save you from following all these steps.

Selling a used car

In this case you are on the opposite side, so what you need to do is have all the above documents ready. The vehicle must be free of any encumbrance or, if it has any, this must be recorded in the sale contract, with the agreements reached regarding that encumbrance.

The next step is to pay the Property Transfer Tax (Impuesto de Transmisiones Patrimoniales), a tax that varies depending on the Autonomous Community, but which you can check on the General Access Point website. Once the contract has been signed by both parties, the car is sold, on the date and at the time stated in the contract.

All these procedures are carried out when the transfer of ownership is between private individuals, since if a car is bought or sold from a company dedicated to this business, that company usually handles everything.