Transfer of ownership for car in Ireland

ampleforth

Hi all,

I am planning to buy a car privately.

I read the sticky thread on 'Buying a Car in Ireland' (see: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056198864). I still have a question regarding the actual transfer of the ownership.

At Citizeninformation (http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/travel_and_recreation/motoring_1/buying_or_selling_a_vehicle/change_of_ownership.html) it says that the transfer is performed by a) the seller handing the new owner the Vehicle Registration Certificate (for a pre-2004 car) and b) complete and post Part B of the Vehicle Licensing Certificate to the Driver and Vehicle Computer Services Division. They then send you the new certificate.

What would happen, if the seller would not post this part B back to the division? How can I make sure that no funny business occurs between my paying and my receiving of the transfer of ownership from the division?

Intuitively, I would make a picture of that documentation and also get a receipt for the money that I paid. Is there anything else that one should do? I am aware that a private purchase does not give me protection against loosing my money, so I guess I am extra careful of malpractice.

Do you prefer to only pay in part until the transfer is fully settled? I would not be surprised that the seller would not really agree to that... What is the custom?

I am sure my question only touches the very exceptional case. I had some bad experience in the US when my car dealer went bankrupt before I had the ownership document and it took me several months to sort out the mess.

biko

Standard is that buyer writes their details on the back of the logbook and the seller posts it to Shannon.

If you're thinking there may be some funny business you can ask for a receipt for your money at the sale.
"I <seller> have received 2000 euro from <buyer> for a Honda reg number 05G1234" or similar.
Also take photos of the logbook pages with your new details clearly visible.

colm_mcm

You have it a bit backwards. The change in cert in 2004 is for vehicles which have changed ownership or been registered since 2004. The old cert was the vehicle licencing cert which is yellow/gold coloured, and the new vehicle registration cert is what we use now, which is a grey/blue colour.

To make matters confusing, back before 2004, a new car would be issued with a vehicle registration certificate, which is nothing to do with the one they use now, and is of no use to a buyer. The registered owners name and address were at the top of the cert and it was a blue/white colour IIRC.

colm_mcm

Actually, to quote myself from another thread

colm_mcm wrote: »

When trading in a car, the most important document to surrender is the Vehicle Registration Certificate

If your car was first registered, or last changed ownership after May 2004 - it looks like this:


If your vehicle was first registered, or last changed ownership before May 2004, you will most likely have a Vehicle Licensing Certificate - it looks like this:


Please note that, confusingly, older cars (before May 2004) will also have a Vehicle Registration Certificate. This document has no purpose now and is no use if you're trading a car in to a garage or changing ownership.



There is no need to bring the NCT certificate, but any documentation relevant to the car may be useful to the next owner.
Naturally you may wish to exclude any documents that have your personal details on them.



Related to this:

Getting replacement documents

mgbgt1978

You ensure you have an envelope with you when buying the car. You confirm with the Seller that they have the VLC (before you meet).
You both complete the 'change of ownership' details (take a photo of both sides of the VLC on your phone if you wish)....and then you both go to the nearest Post box and post the VLC to Shannon.
If the Seller doesn't have the VLC with them at the time of sale, walk away. It's not worth the hassle of chasing it up.

It's Freepost, so no stamp necessary.