An inherited car: keep, re-register or sell

In Germany and Switzerland the estate passes to the heirs automatically on death, without anyone having to sign anything. If there are several heirs, they own the car jointly as a community of heirs: not a share of the car each, but the whole car together. As a rule they can therefore only sell it, give it away or transfer it to one of them jointly.

In Austria it works differently: the estate only passes to the heirs with the court's final transfer order at the end of the probate proceedings. Until then it belongs to the estate itself. An heir who has formally declared acceptance can obtain a certificate from the notary conducting the proceedings on the court's behalf, confirming their authority to represent the estate. Other countries have their own rules; as a rule, what counts is the inheritance law of the state where the deceased last lived.

If an executor has been appointed, they can deal with the car alone, within the scope of their mandate. That simplifies a great deal, and for a buyer it means: not every heir may sell, and not everyone who may sell is an heir.

One warning belongs at the start, because it cannot be put right later: if you have not yet decided whether to accept the inheritance, neither sell the car nor use it for yourself. Such acts can be treated as acceptance and close off the option of disclaiming an estate that turns out to be in debt. The deadlines for disclaiming are short and differ by country; the probate court or the competent authority will tell you what they are.

The insurance does not end with the registered keeper's death; the contract initially continues, and the premiums are charged to the estate. Tell the insurer about the death early all the same, together with the question of who may drive the car until things are settled. Many policies are tailored to a particular group of drivers, and anyone outside it may be driving in breach of the terms — which costs money if there is a claim.

The car initially remains registered to the deceased. The authorities require a change of keeper to be reported as soon as the car passes into other hands; in the meantime, leaving it parked is the cleanest solution. If the car will not be needed for a while, taking it temporarily off the road saves tax and insurance: in Germany by deregistering it at the registration office, in Switzerland by depositing the number plates with the cantonal road traffic office, in Austria by deregistering it. After that it may no longer be parked or driven on public roads, so a space on private ground is needed.

Before taking it off the road, remove what nobody will find later: papers in the glovebox, the service book, the spare key, parking permits, the garage door opener. If the car was linked to an account with the manufacturer, the link can usually be removed through its customer service, with the death certificate and proof of inheritance.

Anyone acting as an heir has to be able to prove they are entitled to. The registration office, the insurer, the bank and a buyer all ask the same thing: who has died, who inherits, and who is acting for whom? The death certificate answers the first question, the vehicle documents show which car is concerned, and for the other two there are different documents depending on the country.

Which document a given office accepts is for it to say; ask beforehand rather than turning up at the counter with the wrong paper. And expect proof of inheritance to take time. If you plan to sell early, apply for it early.

If one heir is to keep the car, the others must agree, and as a rule the car's value is counted towards that heir's share when the estate is divided. This is where a traceable value prevents disputes: a market value from comparable listings — same model, similar year, similar mileage, asking prices with a discount for negotiation — or, for a valuable car, an expert's assessment. A gut-feeling figure is a typical reason for an agreement to fall apart later.

Re-registration is done at the registration office or, in Switzerland, the road traffic office, just as after a purchase: vehicle documents, proof of inheritance, the co-heirs' consent, ID and proof of insurance for the new keeper, which these days usually goes to the authority electronically. Whether a technical inspection is due first depends on the date of the last one and on the rules of the country or canton; the office will tell you before you book an appointment.

The insurance is switched to the new keeper or taken out afresh, based on their own details. Whether the deceased's no-claims discount can be transferred is for the insurer to decide under its terms; some allow it for close relatives who demonstrably drove the car as well. Asking costs one phone call. And a car that has stood for months needs a check of battery, tyres, brakes and fluids before its first longer drive.

If the car is registered abroad, a second legal system comes into play: it has to be re-registered or deregistered there, with the proof accepted by the authority there, and importing it into your own country follows the usual rules. Some customs administrations grant relief for inherited goods; whether it applies to a car and on what conditions is for the customs administration of the destination country to say — in Switzerland, the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security.

The sale is made in the name of all the heirs, and the contract must say so: all of them as sellers, or one person as seller with a written power of attorney from the others attached to the contract. A buyer who wants to re-register the car needs this chain complete. If a link is missing, they get stuck at the registration office, and a co-heir who was bypassed can challenge the sale.

Agree beforehand who handles viewings, what the lowest acceptable price is and which account the money goes to. The cleanest option is an estate account or one that all heirs have named in writing. Cash to a single heir is the arrangement most likely to breed mistrust among heirs.

In the advert and the contract, one rule matters particularly for heirs: write only what you know or can prove. Whether the car is accident-free, whether the cambelt was changed, how regularly it was serviced — after a death, often nobody knows for sure any more, and a statement made in ignorance is still binding. Better to write “according to the service book” or “according to the invoice dated …”, and where nothing is documented, to state explicitly that the sellers know the car's history only from the documents available.

On Carvexia, a seller answers fixed questions about the car in the listing, such as the last service with a receipt, known defects or whether finance is still outstanding. For each of these questions, “Don't know” is a valid answer — often the honest one for heirs, and for buyers clearer information than a sentence promising more than anyone can know. Buyers see the answers as the seller's statements, not checked.

Debts are part of the estate just like assets. A car loan still running at the time of death therefore passes to the heirs, and the bank keeps its security over the car — in Germany usually the registration certificate part II, in Switzerland possibly a registered retention of title. First check whether payment protection insurance was taken out with the loan; it may cover all or part of the outstanding amount on death. The answer is in the loan agreement or can be had from the bank.

If the car is to be sold, the same order applies as for any financed car: request the settlement amount from the bank in writing; the buyer pays that amount directly to the bank and the rest to the heirs; the bank releases the document or gives its consent; only then do the car and papers change hands. That finance is outstanding belongs in the advert from the start.

A leased car is not part of the estate; it belongs to the lessor, and what the estate holds is the contract. The heirs cannot sell the car. Many lease terms deal with death explicitly, for instance with a right to end the contract early, and some lessors let an heir step into the contract if they pass the lessor's checks. Which routes are open — return, buyout, takeover — is for the lessor to say. Ask early, because payments and insurance continue until a solution is found.