Sellers confused, buyers bewildered
After 10am, Mr. Hieu (45 years old), owner of a used motorbike shop on Phan Dang Luu Street (Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City) was still sitting and yawning because no one had come to ask to buy.
Inside the house, old motorbikes were stacked close together, filling the entire room. The shop had no employees, no customers, only Mr. Hieu sitting and waiting… for the right time. Occasionally, people came to ask to buy, but they shook their heads and left after listening to Mr. Hieu’s advice on current legal procedures.
According to Mr. Hieu, one of the reasons causing difficulties for both him and his customers is the recall and issuance of identification license plates according to the new circular. Despite having decades of experience, Mr. Hieu still had to admit that he "didn't know how to sell cars".
Mr. Hieu's used motorbike shop is packed with motorbikes but has no customers (Photo: Nguyen Vy).
The shop owner said that most of the customers who come to buy used motorbikes are low-income workers. Their needs are simply to find a cheap motorbike with quick procedures and paperwork.
"If the buyer does not have permanent or temporary residence in Ho Chi Minh City, they are forced to return to their hometown to register the vehicle, which is too time-consuming. Therefore, many customers have confirmed that they will not buy used motorbikes anymore," said Mr. Hieu.
Above all, the most difficult thing for car shop owners is how to contact the person who sold them the car. Previously, Mr. Hieu tried to contact them but only a few of the former owners agreed to go to the authorities to do the procedure to revoke the license plate. The rest, even though they called "nowhere", still could not be contacted.
Holding the sales documents in his hand, Mr. Hieu was sad because the car buyer had paid but the legal procedures were not completed (Photo: Nguyen Vy).
"The procedures for revocation and transfer of ownership rights cannot be done immediately. I tried calling people to ask for a day to help me go to the authorities to work, but it was difficult to agree. Everyone is busy working to earn money and make a living. In addition, many car owners have gone abroad or unfortunately passed away, how can we contact them?", Mr. Hieu wondered.
Holding the sales documents for the customer in his hand, Mr. Hieu sighed as the customer had paid but he had not been able to complete the related legal procedures.
In the authorization contract with the old owner of the motorbike, Mr. Hieu pointed to the scope of authorization: "Party B has the right to contact the competent authorities to carry out procedures for authorized acts, and to decide on all authorized matters. Party B has the right to create and sign related documents, and to exercise the rights and obligations prescribed by law...".
"However, when I brought the authorization paper with the notary's stamp, the authorities still did not agree to let me do the license plate revocation procedure on behalf of the old owner, but required the old owner to come along. I do not object to issuing identification license plates, but if the old owner of the motorbike is required to personally go along with the procedure, it will be too difficult for both the business and the customer," said Mr. Hieu.
Not stopping there, in case he can contact the old owner but they live in the suburban districts of the city, Mr. Hieu must close the shop for 1 day to travel to the area where this person lives to do the paperwork.
"If we close for 1 day with no revenue to do the paperwork for 1 vehicle, what about the millions of dong in expenses? If we have to do the paperwork for all the vehicles we buy and sell every day, how many days will we have to close?", the owner of the used motorbike shop was confused.
According to Mr. Hieu, requiring the previous owner of the vehicle to be present to complete the procedure to revoke the issued license plate is inconsistent with the contents of the previously notarized authorization contract (Photo: Nguyen Vy).
In case he hires a broker to help him with the procedures, Mr. Hieu does not have to close the shop but will have to spend a few hundred thousand more VND on services for each motorbike. If he fails to complete the procedures for repossession and transfer of ownership, both the old and new owners of the motorbike will be fined. Many customers are now very hesitant to buy used motorbikes.
Now, Mr. Hieu does not dare to buy used motorbikes because there is still a lot of inventory, and importing new motorbikes will also be very difficult to resell. The delay in buying and selling used motorbikes due to license plate revocation procedures has also caused the price of this item to plummet in the market.
"I buy motorbikes, repair them and sell them, each one makes a profit of more than 1 million VND. But when I leave them for too long, the price of new motorbikes on the market drops, forcing used motorbikes to drop as well, the longer I leave them, the more I lose. There's a motorbike I haven't sold for 2 years, now I'm selling it and I'm taking a loss and not dreaming of breaking even," said Mr. Hieu.
Tired of "move out in the morning, move in in the afternoon"
The owner of the used motorbike shop said that the sluggish situation at the shop has lasted for the past 2 months. Previously, he could sell 10-20 used motorbikes per month. But now selling just 1-2 motorbikes per month is difficult.
In addition, car prices on the market have dropped, many new car models have been released, causing old models to drop in price. Mr. Hieu has to grit his teeth and accept a loss of millions of dong for each car.
Mr. Hieu sat sadly complaining with other shop owners (Photo: Nguyen Vy).
Every month, Mr. Hieu has to pay more than 20 million VND for the rental space, not to mention the electricity, water or other repair costs. Having been in this service business for 10 years, Mr. Hieu has never witnessed such a difficult situation as the current one.
After the Covid-19 pandemic, the owner of this car shop had to bear a loss of more than 100 million VND. His savings and reserves were almost exhausted. Mr. Hieu was very worried because the car shop was the main source of income for his family.
"I'm trying my best to hold on for a few more months, I don't know how I'll manage when I get there. If I quit this job, I really don't know what to do amid the constant wave. Now driving a motorbike taxi is also difficult, with no customers," he confided.
Close colleagues he knew also closed their used motorbike shops when they could not bear the mounting monthly debts.
Many used motorbike shop owners yawn and sit on their phones when no customers come to inquire about buying (Photo: Nguyen Vy).
Colonel Nguyen Quang Nhat, Head of the Traffic Accident Investigation, Dissemination and Guidance Department (Traffic Police Department), said: "In case the old owner does not agree to carry out the license plate revocation procedure after transferring vehicle ownership, he/she must be responsible before the law for any violations related to that vehicle."
Circular 24/2023 stipulates that vehicles that have registered a 5-digit license plate before the effective date of the circular but have not completed the revocation procedure will be identified as the vehicle owner's identification license plate. If the vehicle owner completes the revocation procedure before August 15, the license plate number will be transferred to the warehouse to be reissued to someone else.
When people want to sell, give away, inherit, exchange... a vehicle with a license plate according to the identification code, the vehicle owner must keep the vehicle registration certificate and license plate (not give them to the buyer) and submit them to the vehicle registration agency to complete the revocation procedure.
However, the Circular has not yet clearly stated how to handle cases where the previous owner has died or gone abroad.
Regarding the procedure for issuing identification plates, vehicle owners residing (permanent or temporary) in which locality must register identification plates in that locality.
There are 4 steps to register a license plate: Log in to the Public Service Portal and declare information in the vehicle registration; the vehicle owner brings the vehicle to the vehicle registration agency according to regulations; the vehicle registration officer checks the documents and the actual vehicle to ensure validity; the vehicle owner receives an appointment to return the results and pays the fee.
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