[sushantk]

Originally Posted by hserus

I did this and kept the car a long time, so that the cost difference of first vs second owner sale wasn't much. Go ahead. List the sale price as one rupee or something and transfer that money to her account.

Did you have the same concern as me which made you do this or was it something else? I ask this as I could not make out this part clearly from your response. If yes, then we two are turning out to be of rare league of paranoia considering all the responses received in this thread so far.

Originally Posted by Sahil

Yes you are. If this is how most thought then cars would be bought in chauffeur names

I would want to frame and keep these lines on my wall.

Originally Posted by subraiyr

... unless of course the family gets disbanded
Pardon my cheekiness, but today has been one of those weird Mondays

Hope you are having a better day today.

Originally Posted by aargee

PS - Somehow I'm reminded of this scene from Shawshank Redemption
Attachment 2223577

Yep, I apprehended to find myself in a situation exactly like that.

Originally Posted by GTO

P.S. If anything, it is your wife who should be concerned, not you . Very noble of you.

Thanks for the kind words, GTO !

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Do you have matrimonial discords very often? Does your wife hate your guts? Do you love your car more than you love your wife? Are you planning to keep the car for a longer term than you plan to remain married? If you've answered 'yes' to a majority of these questions, go ahead and transfer the car to your name.

I get your point. I am happy to be on "No" side.

Originally Posted by FHW

... then definitely you shouldn't transfer it. The car will keep you both together.

That makes me think that a Car indeed helps keeping family together. On a long drive on lonely highway in the early mornings on a weekday, when most of the world around is either sleeping or getting ready to work, we love to talk to each other. Oh yeah, there are kids sleeping too in the car, but let's bond with them later when they wake up.

[GrandTourer]

You have nothing to worry about. Set the paranoia aside and enjoy the car.

At the time I started my career, I used to drive a car for 2.5 years, that my friend and flatmate bought, but he didn't know how to drive. The car was purchased on the assumption that I would be the sole driver until he learned to drive. At the umpteen police checks, no one ever questioned why the car wasn't registered in my (driver's) name, irrespective of whether my friend was with me or not.

As long as you have the right documents (RC, Insurance & PUC), no cop is ever going to trouble you, unless you piss your wife off and she decides to report the car stolen to mess with you.

[bravo82in]

It’s ok to drive a car registered in the name of a close relative, as long as the relationship is holding good. However, Car being an expensive possession for Indian middle class, can be a source of dispute. I know a friend who’s marriage had a bad ending. Since his car was registered in his wife’s name, he was never able to claim insurance for repairs (had to pay from his own pocket) nor could he sell the car. The car is still with him biting dust.
Another example, the younger brother of a reputed business family bought a Beamer after pooling much of his resources. The car was registered in the name of his elder brother. Thanks to Covid their business collapsed and the elder one sold off the car, much to the disagreement of the younger brother, to pump money into business. The car was close to heart of the younger one and became a source of dispute between them and finally the brothers separated.
Another example. Mr X drives a car registered in name of Ms Y. Ms Y moved abroad or to distant city for work, settling down etc. The car gets stolen or meets with a major accident. Signature of Ms Y is needed to file an FIR and for insurance formalities.
Since the process may run in months, availability of Ms Y is needed couple of times in the city which may not be possible at times.
These are worst case real life scenarios. It’s better to have the car one drives to be registered in their name only.

[Aviator_guy]

Originally Posted by sushantk

Greeting BHPians,

My car was bought in name of my wife as the car company had significant corporate discounts for select companies and my wife is an employee with one of them. However, I drive the car all the time.

I am not very comfortable with this arrangement. There is possibility of car getting involved in some unfortunate accidents or traffic/legal issues and usually car owner will be have to available in such matters. This will be unnecessary inconvenience and hassle to my wife.

I have been thinking of transferring the ownership to me. The only drawback is that RC will show up me as the second owner of the car and future resale value will be impacted. However, I am not much concerned about this as I am going to keep the car for long time (7-8 years +).

Am I being paranoid here? If I am the owner (and I am the the driver anyway), my wife could be fully out of the matter.

I am very much inclined to change the ownership but would like to hear your experiences and view on this matter. Thank you !

I drove car registered in my wife's name for 8 years without any issue. I personally don't see a reason to transfer ownership and add another owner to the RC unnecessary. If car gets into accident, the driver of the car at that time has to have valid license and there is no major problem in claiming insurance etc. Please give it some more thought rather than going for ownership transfer for no major gain. The only place your wife has to do some leg work is while applying for de-hypothication (if car is on loan) or sale of car. Even in these cases, agent can help or if digital way is possible in RTO then it can be done online. I have gone through both these steps and found it to be acceptable trade off rather than getting ownership transferred. At the time of sale, I got good offer for 8 yr old car due to single ownership.

[clevermax]

Second hand market won't care if the RC transfer happened just for namesake or not, but the car is changing hands. It will have its impact on the prices that you're going to get for this car on the used car market. I had faced this situation - my car was originally registered to my then employer, and later I got it transferred to my name. The car had never changed hands. However, the second hand evaluation marked me as the second owner of the car.

You're simply being paranoid, given the fact that it's in your wife's name - not even in the name of a friend or a relative.

[EshanS]

Should not be a problem. My current setup is all in Wife's name because we were getting some amazing discounts on the Ciaz through her organization (RIL). The kind of service you get at SVC just because the owner is a woman is completely different. To give you an example, the Ciaz is from NEXA and they have 'free' pick and up and drop plus a few concierge services especially for women. My previous car WagonR was on my name and I didn't even get a free coffee heck a nice place to sit during servicing. So, whenever there is a request, she makes the calls and I execute it.

Now, coming to the point where I'm driving and I get involved in a mishap or a situation where the onus is on me. In such scenarios, the driver (me) is accountable, not the owner. This has been vetted extensively as my wife is a lawyer! She would only have to be present to pass a signed statement that she wasn't driving when the situation occurred and is completely fine with the husband on the wheel.

For insurance claims, ensure that you have added your name to the policy.

[saurabh2711]

Originally Posted by sushantk

Greeting BHPians,

My car was bought in name of my wife as the car company had significant corporate discounts for select companies and my wife is an employee with one of them. However, I drive the car all the time.

Identical scenario - Even I have this arrangement. And as most of the BHPians have said, this is not an issue.
Thankfully for me (just a plus point) RC carries My name as her middle name followed by our surname. It will become easier to convince the cops that vehicle is not used for commercial purposes and is within family.

As "Normaltusker" already mentioned: in unforeseen circumstances - you can represent her in court. (GOD FORBID) and I pray this never happens.

EshanS has made it more clear when it comes to law proceedings.

[Aviator_guy]

Originally Posted by EshanS

Now, coming to the point where I'm driving and I get involved in a mishap or a situation where the onus is on me. In such scenarios, the driver (me) is accountable, not the owner.

For insurance claims, ensure that you have added your name to the policy.

Not sure if adding name to insurance policy is required. I used to drive car registered in my wife's name and was involved in a couple of small accidents. Never faced any issue with insurance even when I declared that I was the one driving the car. So it is better to check if adding name is necessary before taking the trouble. Insurance anyway covers anyone driving the car with valid license. Please correct me if it is not the case.

[frewper]

Originally Posted by sushantk

I am not very comfortable with this arrangement. There is possibility of car getting involved in some unfortunate accidents or traffic/legal issues and usually car owner will be have to available in such matters. This will be unnecessary inconvenience and hassle to my wife.

Take a chill pill dude. If I look at the possibilities on me getting hurt once I step out of the house, then I should not be stepping out of the house at all. Alls good and no your wife will not get into trouble even in the worst of scenarios. A little hassle here and there is a part and parcel of life. Deal with them and dont be worried about them.

[jithin23]

As long as it's the same members in the family it doesn't matter. Car is registered in my father's name and mom and I drive as well. My scooter was registered in mom's name and I repressed her when the vehicle got stolen. Don't worry, just keep it as is. Nothing to be paranoid of

[EshanS]

Originally Posted by Aviator_guy

Not sure if adding name to insurance policy is required. I used to drive car registered in my wife's name and was involved in a couple of small accidents. Never faced any issue with insurance even when I declared that I was the one driving the car. So it is better to check if adding name is necessary before taking the trouble. Insurance anyway covers anyone driving the car with valid license. Please correct me if it is not the case.

You are right there! Yes, it does not matter when claiming damages to the car. However, I was referring to adding the name to cover hospital-related bills. In an accident, let the car insurance also cover the hospital bills (for the husband if the name has been added) as well - the first level of insurance. In case that's sufficient, case closed. If not, then move over to your personal accidental cover. I would rather save the personal cover for big cases and not hamper with its NCB.

[SN88]

Originally Posted by GTO

However, it would definitely be concerning if the car was registered in the name of a cousin, friend or previous owner (very common in the used car world).

Hi ,
I have one question here. If I sold my car to a used car dealer and he gives me a delivery note signed and stamped by the dealer but does not transfer the car to the new buyer as he did not find a buyer in time and say something unfortunate happens with the car then am I liable?

I have been chasing Shaman cars Mumbai to get my car removed from my name which they exchanged sometime back when I purchased a new car from them. They only say we haven't got a buyer yet.

[Aravind_M92]

I've been driving and riding vehicles registered under my dad's name. Only issues I've faced were with Insurance claims which had to be signed by him, even though my name has been added to it; which caused delays in the claims process. Apart from that no issues so far. And also any accidents caused, will be the liability of the driver ( if they hold a valid one) and not the vehicle owner as long as the purpose of vehicle usage is within regulated norms.
And for resale values, you'll be handing the keys to the next owner. And you can very well explain the reason for change of ownership. And I hope you'll be holding on to your vehicle till 2035 ( hoping for a major paradigm shift to EVs by then), I believe there won't be a resale for ICE cars and manufacturers might provide kit conversions for existing shells.

[RoadAtlas]

Here in Kolkata, driving a car registered in someone else's name creates a problem during the random checks by the authorities. These are very common.

Very recently, a friend who is an emergency services worker was going to his workplace (a hospital) during the night curfew times when he was stopped in a Naka checkpoint. They checked all his documents which were fine, however, they found out that the car was registered in his father's name and demanded that he pay a fine.

So technically according to the cops, he should have gotten a notary agreement signed by his father allowing him to drive the car. I checked the MV Act, there is nothing mentioned like this. So I suggest you make a notary agreement and talk to the local cops once before driving your wife's car. Just to be sure.

[Aviator_guy]

Originally Posted by RoadAtlas

Here in Kolkata, driving a car registered in someone else's name creates a problem during the random checks by the authorities. These are very common.

Very recently, a friend who is an emergency services worker was going to his workplace (a hospital) during the night curfew times when he was stopped in a Naka checkpoint. They checked all his documents which were fine, however, they found out that the car was registered in his father's name and demanded that he pay a fine.

So technically according to the cops, he should have gotten a notary agreement signed by his father allowing him to drive the car. I checked the MV Act, there is nothing mentioned like this. So I suggest you make a notary agreement and talk to the local cops once before driving your wife's car. Just to be sure.

Your friend was tricked by the police! By their logic, no one else in the family (let alone friends or driver) can drive the car and everyone need to carry notary letter!