Selling a car with outstanding finance or a lease in the Netherlands

First find out who owns the car

In the Netherlands a car can be paid for in several ways, and each one puts the ownership somewhere else. Before you plan a sale, look at your contract and at the registration documents you hold. Together they tell you whether the car is yours to sell today, or whether someone else has to agree first.

The RDW allows a lease car to be registered in the name of the lease or finance company, a private person such as the driver, or a company such as the employer. The name on the registration card does not settle the question on its own, so read the contract as well. The RDW explains these options on its page about registering a lease vehicle.

• Private lease: you pay a monthly amount to use the car, and the lease company owns it for the whole contract. You return it at the end.
• Business or operational lease through your employer: the car belongs to the lease company and is arranged through your work.
• Financial lease or car finance: you pay the car off in instalments, and the contract says when it becomes yours.
• A personal loan or a loan from family: the car was bought with borrowed money, but the loan is a separate contract.

Why the registration code may be with your lender

To sell a car you hand over the registration card (kentekencard) and the complete registration code (tenaamstellingscode, what this meanstenaamstellingscodeNine digits in two parts that allow the car to be transferred to a new owner. Part 1 is on the tenaamstellingsverslag, part 2 on the letter that came with the registration card.). The RDW lists both on its page about selling a car. Without the code, nobody can move the car out of the current registration.

When a lease or finance company owns the car, you do not receive the registration code. The RDW sends it to the company, as it explains on its page about the registration document. If you look through your papers and find a registration card but no letter with part 2 of the code, that is often the reason.

For a lease car, only the lease or finance company can request a new code from the RDW. That is stated on the RDW page about a lost registration code. So if the code is missing on a car with finance, contact the lender first.

A car on finance: settle the contract, then sell

If you are paying the car off, the usual order is to ask the lender how the contract ends early, settle what is left, and then sell with the full paperwork in hand. Ask for a settlement statement (aflosnota, what this meansaflosnotaThe statement a lender gives you with the amount needed to pay off the contract in one go on a given date. Ask for it before you agree a sale, so you know what has to be settled.) with a date on it, and ask in writing what the lender sends you once the contract is paid off. Lenders handle this in their own way, so their answer is the one to follow.

Some sellers use the money from the sale to pay off the finance. That can work, but the sale and the settlement then depend on each other, and the buyer needs the registration code at the handover. Agree with the lender beforehand how the code reaches you, and tell any buyer about the finance before you agree a price. Our blog post on selling a car with outstanding finance goes deeper into this situation.

1. Read your contract and note the name of the lender and the contract number.
2. Ask the lender for a dated settlement statement and how early repayment works.
3. Ask what you receive once the contract is settled, and when the registration code reaches you.
4. Settle the contract, or agree in writing how the sale money will settle it.
5. Sell the car with the registration card and both parts of the code.

A private or business lease car belongs to the lease company

A private lease car or a lease car from your employer is not yours, so you cannot sell it. What you can do depends on the contract: return it at the end, end the contract early on the terms it sets, or ask the lease company whether you may buy the car. Once a purchase is completed and the car is registered in your name with the full code, it is yours to sell like any other car.

For expats this often comes up when a work contract ends. If the lease runs through your employer, talk to the person who manages company cars before you make plans, because the employer and the lease company decide what happens to the car. Our post can you sell a leased car answers the most common questions about this.

A car bought with a personal loan

If you bought the car with a personal loan (persoonlijke lening, what this meanspersoonlijke leningA loan in your own name that is not tied to a particular car. You may have used it to buy the car, but the loan and the car are separate contracts.) and the car is registered in your name with both parts of the code in your papers, the sale itself works the same as for any car. The loan stays a separate matter between you and the lender. Check your loan contract for any condition about the car, and plan how you will keep up the repayments, especially if you are leaving the country.

Selling a financed car to sellcar.nl

You are welcome to ask for an offer while the finance is still running. Mention the lender and the type of contract in the notes, so we know the situation from the start and can talk it through with you. Your offer stays valid, which gives you time to arrange the settlement with your lender at your own pace.

At the handover we collect the car for free anywhere in the Netherlands, transfer it out of the current registration at the RDW on the spot and pay at the handover. For that transfer we need the registration card and the full registration code, so the finance has to be settled and the code in hand by then. The RDW transfer guide explains that step in detail.

What you need

• Your finance or lease contract, with the name of the lender and the contract number
• A dated settlement statement (aflosnota) from the lender
• Written confirmation from the lender once the contract is settled
• The registration card (kentekencard) in the name of the seller
• Both parts of the registration code (tenaamstellingscode)
• A valid passport or ID card of the person the car is registered to