Buying a car

If you buy a used car from a private person, you're less protected than with a dealer. Choose where you're buying, and you'll get the steps from checking the car to changing the owner.

• Your driving licence must be valid in Sweden. Check it with the Driving licence tool.
• This is a checklist. It can't guarantee that a car or a seller is safe.

1. Look the car up in the register

   Text the registration number to 71640. You get a text with the car's status, the owner's name and special notes such as LEASING, KREDITKÖP (bought on credit) or STULET (stolen). It's free, but your operator may charge for the text.

   Transportstyrelsen's e-service also shows the inspection, whether the car is registered for use (påställd) and the yearly vehicle tax.

   If it says STULET, don't buy the car. If it says KREDITKÖP, you could end up paying for the car twice if the loan isn't paid. If it says LEASING, the change of owner is only approved if the leasing company agrees.

   Search by registration number (in Swedish) The SMS service (in Swedish)
2. Check for debts and loans

   Unpaid vehicle tax, congestion tax, parking fines and infrastructure fees follow the car. Kronofogden (the enforcement authority) can take the car from you even though the previous owner owes the money, and the car can be banned from use.

   Ask the seller to show you the e-service Fordonets skulder together, or call Transportstyrelsen's automated service on 0771-14 15 16 and say “ägaruppgifter” (in Swedish).

   Also ask whether there's a loan on the car. If it isn't paid off, the bank may have the right to take the car, even if you're the new owner. It's easiest if the loan is paid off before you buy.

   No service shows everything right away. Congestion tax, for example, is only decided the month after.

   Transportstyrelsen: debts on a car (in Swedish)
3. Meet the seller and inspect the car

   Check that the seller is the registered owner, and that they have the latest registration certificate (registreringsbevis). Take a test drive.

   If you inspect the car, do it carefully: you can't complain later about faults you should have found. If the seller asks you to inspect the car, do it.

   Be careful if the seller rushes you, and don't pay anything in advance.

   Konsumentverket: buying privately (in Swedish)
4. Write a contract

   Write two identical contracts and both sign both. Include the buyer and seller, the car, the mileage, its condition, the equipment, the price, the payment and anything else you've agreed.

   When you buy from a private person, you have no legal right to change your mind. If you want to be able to undo the purchase, it must be in the contract.

5. Insure the car

   If the car is registered for use, you must have traffic insurance (trafikförsäkring) from the date of the change of owner. The seller's insurance ends automatically when the change is registered.

   Traffic insurance covers injuries to people and damage to other people's property, but not your own car. Consider part or full cover (halv- or helförsäkring) as well.

   Without traffic insurance you pay a fee to Trafikförsäkringsföreningen that is much higher than a normal premium.

   Transportstyrelsen: traffic insurance
6. Pay safely

   Avoid paying in advance. Meet, and pay when you get the car. If you pay by Swish, check that the money goes to the seller you've met.

   A seller giving you their personnummer or account number doesn't protect you.

   Been scammed? Call your bank right away, then report it to the police on 114 14.

   Police: fraud when buying (in Swedish)
7. Register the change of owner

   If you and the seller both have valid Swedish driving licences and are over 18, the seller can report the change on Transportstyrelsen's Mina sidor with BankID. It's registered the same day.

   Otherwise you use part 2 of the registration certificate, the yellow part. Fill in the date and your personnummer, name and address, and both sign it. Send it to Transportstyrelsen, 701 81 Örebro.

   With a foreign driving licence you can't use the e-service. The yellow part must arrive within 10 days, otherwise the change counts from the day it arrived.

   No personnummer? You need a personnummer or an active samordningsnummer. Otherwise Transportstyrelsen applies for a samordningsnummer for you: enclose a clear colour copy of every page of your passport or national ID card. Skatteverket then calls you to a service office, where you show the original.

   Transportstyrelsen: change of ownership
8. Tax, congestion tax and winter tyres
   • Vehicle tax: the last digit of the registration number decides the month you pay. If it isn't paid in time, the car may not be used.
   • Congestion tax in Stockholm and Gothenburg: cameras photograph the plates, and the owner gets a notice to pay.
   • Winter tyres: from 1 December to 31 March the car must have winter tyres when there are winter road conditions, with at least 3 mm tread.
   • Inspection: if the car isn't inspected in time, it's automatically banned from driving.

   Taxes and fees Congestion tax Winter tyres
9. If something is wrong If needed

   When you buy from a private person, the Sale of Goods Act (köplagen) applies. You can complain for two years from the day you got the car, but always within a reasonable time of finding the fault. That applies if the car doesn't match the description, is in much worse condition than the price suggested, or the seller hid something important.

   “As is” (befintligt skick) doesn't remove the seller's responsibility. Complain in writing, for example by e-mail, and keep a copy.

   Konsumentverket: faults after a private purchase (in Swedish)

1. Look the car up in the register

   Text the registration number to 71640. You get a text with the car's status, the owner's name and special notes such as LEASING, KREDITKÖP (bought on credit) or STULET (stolen). It's free, but your operator may charge for the text.

   Transportstyrelsen's e-service also shows the inspection, whether the car is registered for use (påställd) and the yearly vehicle tax.

   Search by registration number (in Swedish) The SMS service (in Swedish)
2. Check for debts on the car

   Check this from a dealer too. Unpaid vehicle tax, congestion tax, parking fines and infrastructure fees follow the car. Kronofogden (the enforcement authority) can take the car from you even though the previous owner owes the money, and the car can be banned from use.

   Ask the dealer to show you the e-service Fordonets skulder together, or call Transportstyrelsen's automated service on 0771-14 15 16 and say “ägaruppgifter” (in Swedish).

   Transportstyrelsen: debts on a car (in Swedish)
3. Choose a dealer and read the vehicle declaration

   Preferably buy from a dealer who is a member of Motorbranschens riksförbund (MRF). Then a used car should come with a vehicle declaration (varudeklaration) of its condition. Read it carefully, and both sign a copy.

   Faults listed in the declaration are hard to complain about later. Search for the dealer and read other customers' reviews too.

   Konsumentverket: buying from a dealer (in Swedish)
4. Read the contract before you sign

   See which warranties are included. Warranties are voluntary, and external warranties can cost money. You have three years to complain about faults whatever the warranties.

   If you borrow to buy the car, you can borrow at most 80 percent of the price. You pay the rest as a cash deposit.

   If you buy at a distance, for example on the dealer's website, you may have 14 days to change your mind from the day you get the car.

5. Insure the car

   If the car is registered for use, you must have traffic insurance (trafikförsäkring) from the date of the change of owner. It covers injuries to people and damage to other people's property, but not your own car. Consider part or full cover (halv- or helförsäkring) as well.

   Without traffic insurance you pay a fee to Trafikförsäkringsföreningen that is much higher than a normal premium.

   Transportstyrelsen: traffic insurance
6. The change of owner

   The dealer can often register the change of owner for you. Ask about it.

   No personnummer? You need a personnummer or an active samordningsnummer. Otherwise Transportstyrelsen applies for a samordningsnummer for you: a clear colour copy of every page of your passport or national ID card goes with the notification. Skatteverket then calls you to a service office, where you show the original.

   Transportstyrelsen: change of ownership
7. Tax, congestion tax and winter tyres
   • Vehicle tax: the last digit of the registration number decides the month you pay. If it isn't paid in time, the car may not be used.
   • Congestion tax in Stockholm and Gothenburg: cameras photograph the plates, and the owner gets a notice to pay.
   • Winter tyres: from 1 December to 31 March the car must have winter tyres when there are winter road conditions, with at least 3 mm tread.
   • Inspection: if the car isn't inspected in time, it's automatically banned from driving.

   Taxes and fees Congestion tax Winter tyres
8. If something is wrong If needed

   When you buy from a dealer, the Consumer Sales Act (konsumentköplagen) applies. You have three years to complain about faults, even on a used car. Complain as soon as you can, and at the latest two months after you found the fault.

   A fault that was there when you bought the car must be fixed at no cost, but not normal wear. The dealer usually gets to try to repair it first. Complain in writing and keep a copy.

   Konsumentverket: complaining about faults (in Swedish)