Job Discussion Forums

[angiestar]

A friend of mine gave me his car for free. (He doesn't need it where he's moved to, and the shaken expires in a few months so he probably wouldn't be able sell it if he tried.)

I need to change the ownership to my name. My employer is willing to assist me with this, but they want to charge me 15,000 yen in paperwork fees. Is it really that difficult? Does anyone know where to start? Do I go to the Japanese equivalent of the DMV, or to the city hall...? Is there a website? Do I just need to mail in one form, or is it significantly more complicated than that?

I have a hanko, a hanko certificate, a residency certificate, and all the paperwork for the car (I think).

My Japanese level is intermediate.

Can I do this myself? Or should I pay someone to do it for me?

Note: The parking space for the car is not changing; he used to live in my building.

(Sorry if this has already been discussed on the forum somewhere; I couldn't find anything...)

[JimDunlop2]

[JimDunlop2]

I can't seem to find the original website that I used for reference but here are some which are quite helpful.


http://www.okinawajet.com/resources/articles/driving5/

http://www.jistec.or.jp/Fellow/AH/HotlineDR.htm#1

I almost forgot too. After you finish all the proceedings with your car you will need to get car insurance. Just like anywhere else in the world, liability insurance in mandatory, and there are many companies and policies to choose from. In the end it doesn't matter what you end up choosing, but you need something.

EDIT: AHA! Found the original article It is here: http://www.jetsetjapan.com/infozone-trans-auto.shtml

The excerpt I was looking for is this:


Checklist for buying a car in Japan.

Once you have chosen your vehicle you will need to:
*Obtain an international driver's licence or Japanese licence

*Have your personal stamp or hanko registered at your town hall and collect an Inkan Shomei - Certificate of hanko registration

*Get the following three forms from your local police station:
-Hokan Basho Shomei - Certificate of parking space
-Hokan Basho Shomei Shinsei Sho - Police parking application
-Shozaizu to Haichizu - Location of parking space

*Take the first to the person from whom you are renting a space and ask them to write their address and stamp their hanko

*Fill in the second and draw your parking space position on the third. You will need some information from the car shaken papers so have them available

*Take all the documents and your hanko to the police station and then they will advise you when you can pick them up again. You will have to pay around 2,100 yen when you submit the forms. You will also be charged 500 yen when you collect them

*When they are ready, you or the seller will need to take the car and all documents to the Kensa Toroku Jimusho, or Inspection Registration Office and submit with two other forms which can be obtained from your town hall:
-Meigi henkou - Re-registration papers. (stamped by previous owner)
-Massho toroku - Owner's cancellation registration papers. (stamped by previous owner)

*Registering the car at the Inspection Registration Office will take a little while as it is a very bureaucratic process. There are likely to be long lines so you will need a few hours from when you get there. (They usually close at 4pm) You will need to visit a few different desks at the centre to re-register the car..

*You will need to submit the aforementioned papers and fill out another form at the front office. You will then have to go to a different desk and pay 500 yen for a de-registration form. Fill this out and have your forms processed.

*Once they are processed you will have to go to another part of the complex to pay a taxation fee on the vehicle.

*If you need to change the plates on the car (If the car is from another prefecture) you will need to buy new plates at a cost of around 1500 yen. Fix them to your car and you are done.

*The car will at this point be registered in your name and you should have a new shaken certificate in your name when you leave.

Note: This process shows is the procedure for buying a car from an individual, if you are buying a car from a dealer then they will take care of some of this process

When I got my car in September, I followed this checklist and it was accurate almost to a "T" right down to the fees charged by the police... I would recommend to "clip n: save" this sheet.

[Gordon]

Thanks for info, Jim. You have just reassured me that the 10,000 yen I was charged for vehicle tranfer was money well spent.

[JimDunlop2]

[G Cthulhu]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it varies from prefecture to prefecture. In most of the Tohoku kens, for example, they never issue a new plate and the paperwork is (much) less, and all the parking space steps can be omitted for yellow plate cars. In fact, I don't know offhand of _any_ prefecture that hands out new plates just because the car has changed owners - new ownership transfer stickers on the back windows, anyone? YMMV.

That said, many car dealerships and workshops will handle a change of ownership for you for 2-3000 yen, which when you consider the amount of messing about is money well spent IMO. If I ever have to do it again I'd be happy enough with anything up to 10,000 if it meant I didn't have to spend an afternoon doing it myself - it's not difficult, but it's hardly worth my time just to save 4-5000 yen.

[JimDunlop2]

[G Cthulhu]

[angiestar]

wow, this is exactly the kind of response i was hoping for. thanks so much, jim!

[JimDunlop2]

The latter.

And as for parking, even though the space is staying the same, I think you do need to still follow the procedures outlined above. If not, you may be hard up trying to explain to the bureaucrats why you don't have them.

All I can say is -- try it without if you like and see what happens. The worst that can happen is that they tell you to go away and come back when you have them....

[angiestar]

a friend of mine sent me more links about car transfer paperwork, if anyone is interested:


http://www.sagajet.com/wp-content/files/car_transfer.pdf


http://www.occidental.co.jp/images/cofo_process.pdf


this link discusses the parking certificate required:

http://www.sagajet.com/wp-content/files/parking.pdf