Will having an uninspected vehicle under my name affect buying a new car?
4 Answers
An uninspected vehicle that hasn't been scrapped won't affect purchasing a new car, but you cannot use the original license plate. According to Article 9 of the "Motor Vehicle Registration Regulations", registration will not be granted under any of the following circumstances: 1. The certificates or vouchers submitted by the vehicle owner are invalid; 2. The vehicle's origin certificate has been altered or the vehicle owner recorded in the origin certificate doesn't match the identity certificate; 3. The certificates or vouchers submitted by the vehicle owner don't match the vehicle; 4. The vehicle was produced without permission from the competent motor vehicle product department under the State Council or imported without permission from the national motor vehicle import department; 5. The vehicle's technical data doesn't match the data announced by the competent motor vehicle product department under the State Council.
I've been driving for over 30 years and have seen many car owners encounter this situation. Having an uninspected vehicle under your name will indeed affect your ability to purchase another car. Firstly, the traffic bureau's system will record that your vehicle didn't undergo its annual inspection on time, which will cause problems when trying to register a new car. My neighbor couldn't get his new car licensed last year because he ignored his old van's overdue inspection for three years. Secondly, if an uninspected vehicle exceeds three inspection cycles, the DMV will forcibly deregister it, but you must proactively complete the scrapping procedures, otherwise the vehicle status will remain under your name. What's more troublesome is that some cities link overdue inspections with credit reporting, which might affect car loans. It's safer to promptly address that uninspected vehicle - either complete the overdue inspection or go through the scrapping procedures as needed.
As a mother of two, I specifically consulted the DMV before buying a car. The staff said that if you have a vehicle with expired inspection under your name, it might indeed cause issues when registering a new car. It mainly depends on how long the inspection has been overdue and local policies. For example, in our city, if the inspection is overdue for more than two years, all DMV services for your vehicles will be locked. My friend had an old motorcycle that was overdue for inspection for six months, and he almost couldn't register his new car. In the end, he had to pay the overdue fines to resolve the issue. Additionally, if a vehicle is overdue for inspection for too long and gets forcibly scrapped, the system will show that you still have an unregistered vehicle under your name, making it impossible to pass the new car registration review. I recommend checking your vehicle's status on the 12123 app first. If you have a vehicle with overdue inspection, take care of it promptly to avoid bigger problems later.
Just went through this myself. My old pickup hadn't been inspected for two years, and it bit me when I tried buying a new car last month. The DMV said my vehicle status was abnormal and straight-up rejected the new registration. Had to settle the overdue inspection issue with the pickup first - paid over 800 yuan in late fees before it went through. If an uninspected vehicle goes three years without inspection, it gets forcibly scrapped. But here's the kicker - the DMV won't automatically deregister it for you. You have to initiate the scrapping procedure yourself, or forget about buying any new car. Rules vary by location - some cities even restrict car purchase quotas. Don't procrastinate, dealing with uninspected vehicles ASAP is the smart move.
