Vehicle transfer help

[Prabasha]

Im planning to buy a car but it has open papers so what is the proper procedure to transfer that vehicle to my name and how many days will it take? Please help me i dont know much about this

[Crosswind]

First of all, get the documents checked from RMV. Dont rely on the information provided on the website but go to the RMV car section with a copy of the CR and get it checked.

Secondly, get a letter signed from the seller saying its on open papers and you bought it from him on x-date and he will take responsibility of all actions related to the car until that date. Also he will take responsibility if there are any issues with the transfer.

Pay him via post-dated cheque or bankdraft. Submit the papers to RMV. If they accept the papers for transfer and send you to pay the transfer fees, you are clear. If they raise any serious issues, do a stop-payment on the cheque immediately.

 

[The Stig]

Take crosswinds advice. 

I also faced a similar situation where the owner I bought my current car from was on open papers and paid a lease under the previous owner. He showed me the signed mta form and the letter of no objection from the bank for the lease. However how can I know for sure that the signature on the mta form is from the registered owner? One can fake a signature and even falsify documents easily ,this is Sri Lanka after all. 

I got the car first converted to the name of the person that I was going to buy from via 1 day service. That way I know the person I'm buying it personally and I know the mta + no objection letter is legit. Then I bought the car from him. Yes there was an additional owner added and I had to get a normal transfer from the seller (only one 1day transfer per year is allowed)  but worth the risk. 

This I think is the best way to go forward. Also do keep in mind that the government had a deadline to convert vehicles with open paper which has passed and you may face some trouble when converting it to your name (possible penalty fines). 

[Seeker LK]

Two years back I did it. Actually NDB did it on behalf of me. They did the double ownership transfer on single day. But there was a penalty associated with it, and unfortunately I end up paying it.

We should avoid these open paper idiots and it only brings more trouble than any good.