Licence in hand and a car of your own in sight? Then there is more to sort out than the purchase itself. Here you read what you arrange with the RDW, which insurance is compulsory, what tax and the APK cost you, and what to look out for as a beginner.
Putting the car in your name
When you buy a car, the registration has to go into your name. This is called overschrijven and you do it with the RDW. You must be 18 or older and registered at an address in the Netherlands.
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Papers from the seller
The seller gives you the kentekenbewijs and the full tenaamstellingscode, a 9-digit code that belongs to the car.
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Transferring
Online with the DigiD app with identity check, or without an appointment at a kentekenloket or an RDW location, with your driving licence, ID card or passport. You pay a fixed fee for it; the amount is on the RDW's transfer page.
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Drive straight away
You immediately receive a tenaamstellingsverslag with part 1 of your new code and a vrijwaringsbewijs for the seller. You can drive straight away.
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Post from the RDW
The kentekenbewijs and part 2 of the code arrive by post; you only need to carry the card after 14 days. Keep the code separately: you need it if you ever sell, suspend or scrap the car.
Which insurance is compulsory?
Third-party liability insurance (WA) is required by law. WA covers the damage you cause to others; not damage to your own car. For that you choose limited casco or fully comprehensive yourself.
Arrange the insurance before you collect the car, otherwise you are not allowed to drive it home. Your insurer asks for the registration number and the meldcode, the 4 digits on the registration document.
Does the car need WA insurance?
The car is in your name and you drive it every day
Yes. WA is compulsory from the moment the car is in your name.
The car is in your name, but it only sits on the driveway
Yes. Every day the RDW compares the vehicle register with the insurance register. An uninsured car in your name gets noticed, even when it is standing still.
You won't use the car for a long time and have had it suspended with the RDW
No. A suspended (geschorst) car temporarily does not need to be insured.
Tax and the APK
Registering the car in your name automatically counts as your declaration for motor vehicle tax (motorrijtuigenbelasting). The Belastingdienst sends a bill every quarter, or you give a direct debit authorisation and the amount leaves your account around the 27th of each month. How much you pay depends on the type of car, its weight and its fuel. Work it out beforehand with the Belastingdienst calculator.
The APK is a compulsory inspection. When the first one is due depends on the fuel.
What fuel does the car run on?
Petrol or electric
The first APK is due when the car is 4 years old, then twice every 2 years, and from 8 years every year.
Diesel or gas
From 3 years the car has to go for its APK every year.
With a used car, check the APK date on rdw.nl beforehand.
Which engine oil goes in?
A bottle of engine oil carries a code such as 5W-30. It says how thick or thin the oil is, cold and warm. Which code your engine needs is laid down by the manufacturer: you find it in the car's instructieboekje (owner's manual).
What does 5W-30 mean?
The number before the W: cold
This says how fluid the oil is when it is cold. The lower the number, the better the oil keeps flowing at low temperatures and the sooner lubrication gets going after a cold start.
A 0W-40 is therefore just as thick as a 10W-40 on a warm engine; the difference is only in the cold.
The W: Winter
The W stands for Winter. It belongs to the first number and is about how the oil behaves in the cold, for example at what temperature the oil stiffens.
The number after the W: warm
This says how thick the oil is at operating temperature, measured at 100 degrees. The higher the number, the thicker the oil when warm: a 10W-50 is thicker than a 10W-40 on a warm engine.
Too thick or too thin for your engine are both wrong. Stick to what the manufacturer prescribes.
The codes next to the SAE grade
Besides 5W-30 the bottle often carries more codes, such as ACEA C3 or API SP. Those are quality classes: they say which European or American requirements the oil meets, for example whether it suits an engine with a particulate filter.
Many makes also set their own requirement, with an approval number from the manufacturer. If such a number is in your owner's manual, choose an oil that carries exactly that number.
Mineral, synthetic or semi-synthetic
Mineral oil comes from crude oil. Synthetic oil is put together in a laboratory: it ages more slowly and gives less friction loss. Semi-synthetic sits in between.
Here too: the most expensive bottle is not the best one, the oil that meets your car's specification is.
Topping up yourself is fine, but check the level first: too much oil is just as harmful as too little. How you check it and what else belongs in your monthly round is in Car maintenance for beginners.
Wrong fuel: petrol in the diesel or the other way round
It mostly happens to people who have just changed cars. What you do next decides whether it becomes an annoying hour or a bill of thousands of euros.
- Do not start the engine. As long as the wrong fuel stays in the tank, usually nothing is broken.
- Leave the car closed and do not put the key in the ignition. In some cars the fuel pump starts running as soon as you open the door.
- Call a breakdown service or your insurer and say what you have put in. The Wegenwacht, the ANWB breakdown service, has vans with equipment to pump the tank empty safely.
- Have you already driven off? Then stop as soon as it is safe, switch off the engine and call. Driving on makes the damage worse.
What does the wrong fuel do to the engine?
Petrol in a diesel car
This is the nastiest one. Diesel lubricates the fuel pump and the injectors; petrol is much thinner and does not lubricate. In a modern diesel engine the fuel system is damaged as soon as you drive with it, even if it was only a few litres.
Diesel in a petrol car
Diesel ignites far less readily than petrol, so the engine runs badly or cuts out. Unburnt diesel also ends up in the sump, which makes the oil level rise.
Who pays for it?
Filling up wrongly is your own mistake, so your WA insurance does not cover it. Breakdown services usually charge a surcharge for it, and any repair needed afterwards is at your own expense. Check your policy or your breakdown cover to see what is covered.
How to prevent it
In a car you are not used to, always take a look at the fuel filler flap: it says which fuel belongs in it. Since 2018 every pump and every filler flap in Europe carries the same label, for example E10 for petrol and B7 for diesel.
What to look out for as a beginner
Your premium is higher
Young people pay a higher premium because they are more often involved in accidents. That says nothing about you, it is an average. So compare not just the monthly price, but also the excess and what is actually covered.
You build up claim-free years
Every year without a claim earns you a claim-free year (schadevrij jaar), and with it a lower premium. If you do claim, you lose 5 per claim; paying for a small dent yourself can therefore be smarter. Mostly driving your parents' car? Ask whether you can build up claim-free years on their policy.
Small, light and well maintained
Tax depends partly on weight, so a small, light car is usually cheaper. A car of 10 years or older is often insured WA only, which also saves on the premium. Do look at the service history and at safety features such as ABS, ESP and airbags: a well-kept car that looks a bit tired is a better buy than a shiny one with hidden faults.
Sources: RDW: transferring a registration to a person, Rijksoverheid: do I need WA insurance?, RDW: when and how often APK, ANWB: which engine oil do you choose?, ANWB: putting in the wrong fuel