The Law Handbook 2024

632 Section 6: Houses, communities and the road If the purchaser is a car trader and the seller is not The seller must , immediately after disposing of the car, complete and sign a transfer of registration application form and give it to the purchaser (regs 71, 72 RSV Regulations; penalty: 5 pu). The purchaser must , 1 as soon as possible after acquiring the car, complete and sign the transfer of registration application form obtained from the seller; 2 lodge with VicRoads within 14 days: a the form, and b the stamp duty and transfer fee payable (reg 75 RSV Regulations; penalty: 5 pu); and NOTE The above seller’s and purchaser’s obligations do not apply to a car disposed of or acquired in accordance with a court order or other legal process. In this event, the purchaser must obtain, complete and sign a form of notification of a court order or other legal process and lodge this form and the stamp duty and transfer fee with VicRoads within 14 days after acquiring the car (reg 76; penalty: 5 pu). 3 as soon as possible after the sale, give the seller a copy of: a the sale contract, and b any extended warranty documents. NOTE The sale contract and warranty documents must be retained by the car trader for at least six years (s 83A, 83C MCT Act; reg 30 MCT Regulations; penalty: 50 pu). These documents are dealt with more extensively below; see ‘Is there a warranty?’ and ‘How to get out of a car deal’. If you suffer loss as a result of a car trader’s 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.) If neither party is a car trader The seller must , immediately after disposing of a car: 1 complete and sign a transfer of registration application form and give it to the purchaser; and 2 give the purchaser a current roadworthiness certificate (unless thepurchaser is the seller’s spouse or domestic partner) (reg 71 RSV Regulations; penalty: 5 pu). NOTE The seller’s obligations above do not apply to a car disposed of in accordance with a court order or other legal process. The purchaser must: 1 as soon as possible after acquiring the car, complete and sign the transfer of registration application form obtained from the seller; and 2 lodge with VicRoads within 14 days: a the form, b evidence that a current roadworthiness certificate has been obtained, and c the stamp duty and transfer fee payable (reg 75 RSV Regulations; penalty: 5 pu). NOTES List point (2)(b) above does not apply to the acquisition of a light trailer, specially constructed car or recreation motor cycle, or if the purchaser is the seller’s spouse or domestic partner (reg 75(4)). The above purchaser’s obligations do not apply to a car acquired in accordance with a court order or other legal process. In this event, the purchaser must obtain, complete and sign a form of notification of a court order or other legal process and lodge this form and the stamp duty and transfer fee with VicRoads within 14 days after acquiring the car (reg 76; penalty: 5 pu ) . Joint purchasers Cars can only be registered in the name of one person (aged 17 years or more) or a corporation. Therefore, joint owners must nominate one person to be the car’s registered operator (reg 22 RSV Regulations). A joint owner can transfer registration to another joint owner (reg 78).