The Law Handbook 2024

Chapter 6.7: Buying a car 631 • an inspected write-off – this is where a repairable write-off vehicle has been repaired and has passed an independent vehicle inspection; these vehicles can be registered in Victoria. Obligations of the seller and purchaser Where to find the procedures The procedures – relating to the sale of cars, transfers of registration and roadworthiness certificates required at the time of sale – are regulated by the RSV Regulations, MCT Act and the Motor Car Traders Regulations 2018 (Vic) (‘ MCT Regulations ’). The following procedures apply to registered vehicles. If the seller is a car trader and the purchaser is not The purchaser must: 1 complete and sign a transfer of registration application form and give it to the seller; and 2 give the seller the transfer fee payable (reg 75 RSV Regulations; penalty: 10 pu). NOTE If you give the car trader written notice (at or before the time of purchase) that you do not require the car trader to act as your agent for payment of stamp duty on the transfer of registration application, the above purchaser’s obligations do not apply. Instead, the purchaser’s obligations outlined below under ‘If neither party is a car trader’ apply. The seller must: 1 give you a current roadworthiness certificate before you take possession of the car (s 42A(1) MCT Act; penalty: 50 pu); and 2 lodge with VicRoads within 14 days after selling the car: a the completed transfer of registration application, b the transfer fee payable, and c evidence that a current roadworthiness certificate has been obtained (regs 71, 72 RSV Regulations; penalty: 10 pu); NOTE If you give notice under regulation 73(1) then the above seller’s obligations do not apply. Instead, the seller’s obligations outlined below under ‘If neither party is a car trader’ apply. Also, the seller’s obligations above do not apply to a car disposed of in accordance with a court order or other legal process. 3 give the purchaser a prescribed form setting out cooling-off rights before the purchaser enters into the sales contract; 4 as soon as possible after the sale, give you a copy of: a the sale contract (for information on what must be contained in the contract, see ‘Prescribed particulars’, below), b any extended warranty documents, c the prescribed notice (required by s 52 MCT Act) in the correct form (depending on whether the warranty under section 54 of the MCT Act applies), and d any defect notice (under s 55 MCT Act); Points (c) and (d) above only apply for used cars. NOTE The sale contract, extended warranty documents, prescribed notice and any defect notice must be retained by the car trader for at least six years (s 83A, 83C MCT Act; reg 30 MCT Regulations; penalty: 50 pu). They are dealt with more extensively below; see ‘Is there a warranty?’ and ‘How to get out of a car deal’). 5 for used cars, if the car trader has agreed to: a have defects in the car repaired, b supply and fit a part or accessory, c make an arrangement or pay money in relation to the registration, duty or insurance, then the trader must ensure that the terms of such an agreement are written in the sale contract (reg 25 MCT Regulations; penalty: 10 pu ). If you suffer loss as a result of a car trader’s failure to provide a roadworthiness certificate, or failure to pay transfer or registration fees or stamp duty, you may make a claim to the Motor Car Traders’ Guarantee Fund to seek compensation for the loss (s 76 MCT Act). (The Motor Car Traders’ Guarantee Fund is administered by CAV; for CAV’s contact details, see ‘Contacts’ at the end of this chapter.)