How To Change Your Car's Colour Legally: Explained! [Video]
Most car enthusiasts love adding a personal touch to their cars. Changing it to a custom colour of choice is one good way to personalise your car. This can be more complex than it sounds. Getting the paint job done at a garage is the easy part. Doing the paperwork to make it legal, however, requires much more time and effort. Many vehicle owners are ignorant of the risks of not declaring the new colour on vehicle documents, and the right way to do it. A video shared on the channel ‘Brotomotiv Daily’ explains these in detail.
The video starts by mentioning that there is a legal way of changing your car’s colour. The Registration Certificate (RC) and insurance documents mention the car’s colour. These need to be updated after the paint job.
Before starting painting, one must seek prior approval from the RTO, stating details of the new colour. You can start the paint job once this is granted. Once complete, the car will have to be taken to the RTO for inspection.
The officials will check and verify that the new paint matches with the declared colour and samples provided previously. A new RC will then be issued, mentioning the new colour as the vehicle’s paint. This will be sent to the owner via post.
The video then gives the example of a custom paint job that they did in their garage. One of their crew members wanted to change the colour of his Volkswagen Polo from White to a new Lamborghini-derived shade or Green, called ‘Verde Ermes’. We have seen this rare, deep shade of Green on models like the Aventador and the Huracan. This Polo owner chose the same for his humble VW Polo as well.
The video shows the hatchback getting its new colour, and later displays the RC with the old and new paint details. Towards its end, the video also mentions that the new colour should also be declared in the insurance company’s documentation to avoid complications in the future. Getting this paperwork done will keep the owner safe from running into legal troubles and insurance issues.
The first step is to download the ‘form NAMV’ (Notice for Alternations in Motor Vehicles) from the internet. This can also be sourced from the nearest RTO. Make two photocopies of this for use later. One of these copies needs to be submitted to the RTO later. Fill up the form. Details like your name, car model, and details of the desired (new) colour will have to be provided.
Submit the filled-out form at your local RTO and pay the service charges. Make sure to take along your original RC and colour shade samples while going for this submission. The RTO officer will then review the request and (hopefully) approve it. Start the paint job only after you receive the approval.
In most cases, changing a car’s paint has no direct impact on its insurance price. It is, however, important to inform the insurer about the personalisation. In some cases, using an expensive colour can possibly add to the car’s overall value and may attract a slight upward revision in premiums.
It is thus, always a good idea to consult with the insurance company before getting the colour change done. Keeping the insurer informed about the change will further help in avoiding any complications duing future claims.