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Step 1: Driver's license
In order to drive in Uzbekistan, you need either an international driver’s license or a certified translation of your home country’s driver’s license into Russian or Uzbek.
When you buy the car, the only people who can legally drive the car are you, your spouse, or someone else while you are in the vehicle. Later you can give power of attorney to other people to drive the car.
Step 2: Find a car to buy
Buy from a friend or other foreigner. Expats who are leaving will often post cars for sale in the expats Facebook or Telegram groups or on community boards at the embassy or school where they work.
OLX or Avto Elon are the most popular online marketplaces for cars.
The Sergeli used car bozor is open on the weekends. Most of the sellers are agents who are selling the car on someone else’s behalf.
Step 3: Inspect the car
Check the car thoroughly for signs of an accident or things that may be broken or not working. The seller may not be forthright about these things. This is especially true if it is a middleman at the bozor.
It is a good idea to take a mechanically-minded friend with you, but if that’s not possible, you can ask the seller to take the car to an usta (mechanic) to look it over. The seller will want you to put down a couple hundred dollar deposit before he lets you take the car, and he will need to go too since you are not legally able to drive the car.
If the car is at the Sergeli Bozori, it will be hard to get it off the lot to take to an usta, and the seller will probably not want to do so. If you insist though, it can be done.
Step 4: Agree on price
It is standard to barter about the price. Who pays the notary fees is also up for negotiation. Although the buyer typically pays, sometimes the seller will agree to pay half.
After agreeing on a price, the seller will lock the car and give the keys to the buyer. Then they will go together to the notary. The buyer will give the seller the money before going into the notary to sign the papers. Neither party needs to report the price the car was sold for, but the notary will ask if the transaction has been completed.
Almost all car transactions in Uzbekistan are done in cash in USD. If buying a more expensive vehicle, the seller may agree to $20,000 in cash and the rest in a bank transfer.
Step 5: Go to the notary
The seller will need
- Passport
- Visa, registration, and most recent entry stamp (if seller is a foreigner)
- Spouse’s passport (or proof of singleness)
- Car’s guvohnoma (also referred to as “tex passport” in Russian)
The buyer will need
- Passport
- Visa
- Registration
- Most recent entry stamp
Give all the documents to the notary and they will prepare the documents for transferring ownership. This will take a while, so they will either have you come back later in the day or the next day to sign.
Return to the notary with the seller and sign the documents. First pay the notary fees (typically $100-200). Both buyer and seller will need to give their thumb prints and sign the documents. If either the buyer or seller doesn’t speak Russian or Uzbek an authorized translator must be present.
The seller is now done with his responsibilities and the buyer has 10 business days to register the car.
Step 6: Vehicle inspection
Before registering the car, the buyer must get the car inspected. This usually costs around $10 and can be done at a texnik ko’rik. These can be found throughout the city and there are always a few around the GAI.
They rarely inspect the car very thoroughly, but they may check if the car has the required first aid kit.
After you pay, they will give you a stamped inspection certificate to show to the GAI.
Step 7: Register the car
Foreigners must go to the Mirobod Traffic Safety Department (GAI) which is located on Beshkent Street just south of the airport.
At the front of the property, there is a small office where they will take all the information about the car and the owner and put it into a form. For this you will need the owner’s passport, the car’s old guvohnoma, inspection slip from the texnik ko’rik, and deed of sale from the notary. If you are buying the vehicle from a local, you must get new license plates. If you are buying the vehicle from another foreigner, you can decide if you want to change the license plates or not. If you decide to change the plates it will cost an additional $20. At this point you will pay for the new guvohnoma. The amount is based on the age of the vehicle and size of the engine, so the cost varies from vehicle to vehicle.
Next to this office is a passthrough garage where they will check that the numbers on the engine match those of the cars guvohnoma. If there is a long line for the inspection and you have two people, one person can get in line with the vehicle while the other person goes inside to prepare the paperwork. You need the paperwork though before you get to the front of the line. You will need to show the inspector the form you just received along with the inspection slip from the texnik ko’rik and the car’s old guvohnoma. If everything matches, the inspector will sign and stamp the form you received inside.
After completing these steps, go to the building at the back of the property. There you will take a number and when called submit your documents. These consist of the owner’s passport, the deed of sale from the notary, the car’s old guvohnoma, the form from the first office, and the inspection slip from the texnik ko’rik. If the GAI is busy, you can go to the office at the back of the property and get a number before doing the steps in the office at the front of the property. The officer will prepare a document for you to sign. He will keep the form from the first office and the car’s old guvohnoma and return the rest of the documents to you.
Then you will wait for the car’s new guvohnoma to be printed. Everything up to this point can be done in an hour or less, but depending on how busy they are, it can take another hour or more for the new guvohnoma to be printed. When you leave the office, go around the corner to the left and you will see a group of people waiting for guvohnomas and license plates. They will call out your name when it’s ready, so stay within earshot of the window.
Step 8: Register online
Once you have the new guvohnoma, go back to the texnik ko’rik (or send them pictures via Telegram), and they will register your inspection slip online.
They will need the inspection slip and the car’s new guvohnoma.
You will need to get the car inspected at the texnik ko’rik each year.
If you register your car in the “road 24” app, it will remind you when your car needs to be inspected as well as notifying you if you have any speeding tickets.
Step 9: Buy Insurance
It is mandatory to have basic insurance on the car. This is cheap and can be purchased near the GAI, but only covers a portion of damages incurred by an accident.
Additionally, you can buy comprehensive insurance. Plans differ, so ask what all “comprehensive” covers. Sometimes you need to purchase add-ons to cover passengers other than the driver, or other things.
If you are adventurous and know at least a little Russian or Uzbek, you should be able to use this guide to buy a used car on your own. If however, you found the guide useful in understanding the process, but you are not interested in doing it on your own, Charter Expat Services can assist you with every step from translating your driver’s license to buying insurance for a one-time fee of $600.
Image credit: Shuhrataxmedov
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