Moving a car between private individuals: guide

About this draft

This guide helps you choose how a car you buy from or sell to a private person gets to its new owner: nearby or over a long distance, within the country or across a border.

Draft and not professional, legal or insurance advice. We name no carriers, no prices and no insurers. Always check rules and terms with the official bodies and with the insurer.

The options at a glance

1. Drive it yourself: the buyer drives the car away. Handy nearby, but the car must be allowed on the road and be insured (see the insurance section).
2. Borrow or rent a trailer or car carrier: you load the car yourself. Check that your car and licence are suitable for this.
3. Let a carrier do it: a company collects and delivers the car. Always ask for a written quote.
4. Let a driver do it: someone drives the car on its own wheels. Kilometres are added to the car's mileage and extra risks apply.

Use the car transport cost service to work out a quote.

Nearby: the same region

• Agree in advance who does what: collecting, loading, driving and unloading.
• A car that does not run or has no valid inspection often has to go on a trailer or carrier. Tell the carrier in advance.
• Fix the pick-up and delivery address and a time window. Exchange phone numbers.

Far away: long distance

Over a long distance more is involved: planning can take weeks, the car may have stops on the way and costs rise. Ask whether the carrier has return loads; that can be an advantage, but only if the carrier confirms it in writing.

• Ask for a quote that includes all costs, tax and extras. A quote with something missing is only a partial price.
• Ask about the window for collection and delivery, and what happens in case of delay.
• Ask whether the vehicle is insured in transit, by whom and up to what amount. Have the insurer confirm it in writing.
• Ask about cancellation terms before you pay.

Across a border

Transport to or from another country involves permits, customs, taxes and registration rules. We give no rules or amounts here: they differ per country and change.

• Ask the carrier whether it may drive the route and which permits it holds.
• Check with the official bodies what is needed for registration, tax and transfer.

Registration, road tax and ownership transfer are not part of the transport unless the carrier expressly offers it in writing.

Insurance during transport

A general sign-up or a spoken promise is not proof of insurance. Ask the insurer or the carrier for proof that the vehicle is covered in transit.

• Who is insured: the carrier, the buyer or the seller?
• Which damage is covered, and what is the excess?
• Does the car's own insurance still run until the handover?

What we do not have yet

No carriers or insurers are connected yet. That is why this guide shows no offers and no prices. Once real, verified providers exist, quotes can appear here.

Sources

• RDW: buying or selling