Buying or selling a second-hand car

Buying or selling a vehicle between private individuals is completed with 4 actions: the sale contract signed by both parties, the settlement of the Property Transfer Tax (ITP) paid by the buyer, the change of ownership at the DGT requested by the buyer, and the sale notification submitted by the seller.

The order matters. First the contract is signed, then the buyer pays the ITP (modelo 620) and, with that receipt, they can request the change of ownership at the DGT. The seller, in parallel, notifies the sale to stop being responsible for the car. Managora prepares the sale contract and submits the change of ownership and the sale notification for you (you can see the cost of each service on the procedure page).

Before signing, it is advisable to request the vehicle report at the DGT headquarters. The basic report is free and warns of incidents that prevent the transfer or driving. The full or encumbrance report (tasa (official fee) 4.1 of €8.67) reveals charges, embargoes, reservation of title, ITV history, number of owners and mileage.

Check 4 things: that the seller is the real owner, that the car has a valid ITV, that it does not have a reservation of title (pending financing) or embargoes, and that there are no debts or obstacles. A vehicle with a reservation of title or a registered embargo cannot be put in your name until that charge is lifted, so verifying this before paying prevents you from buying a car that you will not be able to transfer.

They are 2 different procedures and both are necessary. The sale notification is submitted by the seller: it informs the DGT that they have sold the car to stop receiving its fines and notifications. The change of ownership is requested by the buyer: it puts the vehicle in their name in the Vehicle Registry.

One does not replace the other. Even if the seller notifies the sale, the car remains in their name until the buyer completes the transfer. That is why the seller must keep a signed copy of the contract and notify within 10 days of the sale (artículo 32 of the Reglamento General de Vehículos (the General Vehicle Regulations)), without waiting for the buyer to do their part.

The change of ownership at the DGT has a fixed official tasa (fee): tariff 1.5, of €55.70. The reduced tariff 1.2, of €27.85, is ONLY for mopeds; a motorcycle, even if it is 125 cc, pays the €55.70 like a passenger car. The buyer has 30 days from the signing of the contract to process it. The DGT will not make the transfer if the payment of the ITP or its exemption is not justified beforehand.

The ITP is a tax transferred to the autonomous communities: the rate is set by each community (usually around 4%) and is applied to the higher of 2 values, the price paid or the fiscal value from the official average price tables. Vehicles over 10 years old may have reduced fixed quotas depending on the engine capacity. You can see the cost of Managora's service on the change of ownership page.

No. The sale notification frees you from fines and penalties imposed on the vehicle from the date of sale, but not from the Tax on Motor Vehicles (IVTM), the so-called municipal road tax.

The IVTM is owed by whoever appears as the owner of the vehicle on 1 January. If you were the owner on that day and sell halfway through the year, you are responsible for paying the full IVTM for the financial year: in sales, there is no pro-rata by quarters, since artículo 96.3 of the consolidated text of the Ley de Haciendas Locales (the Local Finance Act) only provides for it in the first acquisition and in vehicle deregistrations, not in ordinary transfers. The notification protects your pocket against traffic fines, not against this local tax.

Managora manages the sale from start to finish and entirely online. We prepare the sale contract with all your details, calculate and submit the ITP (modelo 620), process the change of ownership at the DGT and submit the sale notification that frees the seller.

You only provide the documentation for the car and the parties: we take care of the forms, the tasas (fees) and the submission to the administration. You can check the details and the cost of each service on the sale contract, change of ownership and sale notification pages.