What paperwork do you need before selling your car?

It’s time to sell your car. You’ve already figured out how to get the highest price and how to clean the interior, but how do you sell your car without going through a used car dealer?

Assuming that you’ve somehow managed to find for a buyer that’s willing to buy your old car, there are some steps to follow before you can sell off your old car.

Also Read: Selling your car soon? Here's how to ensure you get the highest price

If it’s a cash sale and there’s no outstanding loan, it’s pretty straightforward

If you’ve settled the outstanding loan on the car you’re selling, then the steps are pretty straightforward.

Once the deal has been confirmed, the buyer will have to pay the seller a booking fee (no fixed price, agreed between buyer/seller), so that you know that the deal is legit.

The buyer has to agree to the amount you’re selling and you as the seller need to do a Puspakom (B5) Ownership Transfer inspection and head to the nearest Road Transport Department (JPJ) branch to transfer ownership. Your old car keys should be handed over to the buyer at the end of the day.

Cost: RM 130 (RM 30 for the Puspakom inspection, borne by buyer and RM 100 for ownership transfer, borne by you, the seller. 

But if the buyer needs a loan, the process is a bit more complicated

However, things are not so straightforward if the buyer needs a loan to buy your car, as the banks need to get involved.

You see, banks require a more comprehensive Puspakom (b7) Hire Purchase Inspection report. This report is an additional RM 60 over the B5 report and generally takes more time.

It’s also rather tedious for the potential buyer, as they would need to arrange for their own Hire Purchase loan. In fact, there’s more paperwork involved, as one bank is paying another bank before the deal can proceed.

That being said, this is an ideal situation whereby the amount of the sale of the car exceeds the amount of the loan balance.

If the selling price of your car does not cover the loan balance, it’s a tedious process

Let’s say the car you’re selling is priced less than the Hire Purchase loan, the process is far more tedious.

For example, if you plan to put your car up for sale at RM 65,000, while your actual loan balance is RM 75,000, you will need to top up an additional RM 10,000 just to sell off your car.

Even if you can justify paying RM 10,000 just to sell off your car, you still need to go to your bank for a bunch of paperwork, including top-up payments, loan settlement and release paper, as well as getting these papers sent to your buyer’s bank for processing.

Again, that’s the ideal situation, as some banks require you, the seller, to settle your outstanding loan before the car can be released and sold to the buyer. Which means, as the seller, you would need to fork out RM 75,000 just to sell your car.

Of course, you could find a used car dealer to be your broker, but keep in mind that used car dealers infamously include a number of hidden fees, such as:

• Invoice fee
• Processing fee
• Agreement fee
• JPJ fee
• Puspakom fee
• E-Auto fee
• Servicing
• SST and relevant taxes (not supposed to be included)

These fees usually amount to the ballpark of RM 4,000 to RM 5,000.

Why not just sell your car through Carsome.my?

Selling your car through Carsome.my is a pretty straightforward process, as they will guide you through the entire buying / selling process – no need to run around negotiating with your buyer or fussing over missing paperwork.

Here’s the documents you need to prepare beforehand prior to selling your car through Carsome.my

• Owner’s IC
• Original registration card
• Approved Permit (AP) forms – for reconditioned cars
• Purchase invoice – for cars purchases with cash
• Outstanding hire purchase (if applicable)

Carsome.my also requires these documents from private sellers to private buyers:

• Both parties’ IC
• Original registration card
• Puspakom B5 report
• JPJ K3 form

In fact, Carsome.my will pay you, the seller, within one hour. How's that for efficiency? 

This post is made in partnership with Carsome.my.