Vehicle name change is a must – concerns of foreigners using the vehicle unlawfully

You must transfer vehicle ownership when you sell your car, especially to foreigners as they have been found to use the vehicles unlawfully. 

One of the reasons why everyone must change names when they sell their vehicles is so that the previous owner can avoid any potential liability issues if anything happens to the car.

Kosmo recently brought to light that there is an issue regarding the sale of vehicles to foreigners without transfer of title, and apparently, it has been happening in the country for a long time now by a few parties who want to make a quick buck.

However, these few parties are not sensitive to the fact that selling vehicles to foreigners without changing ownership is legally wrong and can put themselves and other road users at risk.

The president of the Federation of Malaysian Car and Credit Companies Association, Datuk Tony Khor Chong Boon, has chimed in on this issue and said that this could lead to criminal incidents such as road bullying, robberies and road misdemeanours that the vehicle owner himself is not aware of.

"Not changing the name of the ownership of the vehicle is definitely wrong in the law. If anything happens, the fault lies with the vehicle owner, not the party who bought the vehicle.

"This will cause the vehicle owner to bear the risk and be hunted by the authorities if anything were to happen with the car," he told Kosmo.

He said, buyers should also follow the proper channels to buy any vehicle to avoid fraud.

"Sellers should also not take advantage of these foreigners. Some of them have valid documents and can change the title, but the seller prefers not to change the title in order to make a higher profit," he added.