“New Vehicle” Any vehicle that is submitted with a Manufacturers Certificate of Origin, and has never been titled or registered is considered new.

"Used vehicle" includes every motor vehicle or OHV which has been sold, bargained, exchanged, given away or title transferred from the person who first acquired it from the manufacturer or importer, dealer or agent of the manufacturer or importer and so used as to have become what is commonly known as "secondhand" within the ordinary meaning thereof.

“Rebuilt Salvage” is a vehicle that has been deemed a total loss from an insurance company and has been repaired, taken thru an Auto Theft Unit for inspection and given the Brand of Rebuilt Salvage from Auto Theft. A dealer or agent of a dealer must disclose to a buyer if the vehicle title has been branded "reconstructed", "flood damaged", "salvage" or was a "taxi". The buyer(s) shall acknowledge the disclosure as described in this paragraph by signing a disclosure statement which has been approved by the Division of Motor Vehicles and is provided by the dealership. A copy of the disclosure statement shall be provided to the Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles with the title application. In the absence of any disclosure statement, the contract may be rescinded at any time by the buyer and the dealer shall provide a full and complete refund to the buyer of all purchase moneys, including interest paid, plus all fees paid. Disclosure shall not prevent any person from otherwise bringing any action under any law for a failure to disclose material information concerning the condition or prior use of any vehicle.

Document Fee is covered in Delaware Code, Title 30 chapter 30 § 3002

Document Fee is charged at the time of titling.

The Document fee imposed herein shall be computed as follows:
(1) Where the purchase price is less than $400, there shall be a uniformrate of $8:00;
(2) Where the purchase price is $400 or more, up to and including $500, the document fee shall be $13.75; (3) The document fee payable thereafter shall increase in increments of $4.25 per each additional $100 of purchase price or any fraction thereof, rounded to the nearest dollar; except that the document fee thereafter for mobile homes shall increase in increaments of $3.75 per each additional $100 of purchase price or any fraction thereof, rounded to the nearest dollar.

There is imposed upon the sale,transfer or registration of any new or used motor vehicle, truck tractor, trailer or motorcycle in this State a motor vehicle document fee, which fee is to be paid by the owner and shall be collected by the Division of Motor Vehicles for deposit to the credit of the Transportation Trust Fund pursuant to Chapter 14 of Title 2, as amended, and any resolution or agreement of the Delaware Transportation Authority, authorizing the issuance of bonds to finance the costs of transportation facilities described in said title, to be used to finance the costs of roads, highways and other transportation facilities and not to defray the expenses and obligations of the general government of the State.

Documentation fees must be in accordance with 21 Del.C. §6305 and 30 Del.C. §3001(5).

The dealerships are responsible for calculating documentation fees on the price of the vehicles minus the trade-in credit or any allowance, or credit against the purchase price granted by the manufacturer.

§ 6305. Bill of Sale. Every motor vehicle dealer shall complete, in duplicate, a bill of sale for each sale or exchange of a motor vehicle. The original shall be retained for a period of 5 years. A duplicate copy shall be delivered to the purchaser at the time of sale or exchange. The bill of sale shall be signed by both buyer and seller.

A bill of sale shall include the following:

(1) The name and address of the person to whom the vehicle was sold or traded;

(2) The date of the sale or trade;

(3) The name and address of the motor vehicle dealer selling or trading the vehicle;

(4) The make, model, year, vehicle identification number, and body style of the vehicle;

(5) The sale price of the vehicle;

(6) Th e amount of any deposit made by the buyer;

(7) A description of any Delaware-titled vehicle used as a trade-in and the amount credited to the buyer for the trade-in;

(8) The amount of the document fee, title fee, registration fee, or any other fee for which the buyer is responsible, and the dealer has collected; each fee shall be individually listed and identified; and

(9) The amount of any balance due at settlement.

§ 3001. Definitions.

(5) “Purchase price” means the value or any other consideration given by the owner to the seller for a motor vehicle; where trade-ins or allowances are given in conjunction with the purchase of any motor vehicle, the purchase price shall be the gross purchase price less any trade-in or allowance given by the seller of the motor vehicle to the owner of the motor vehicle; except that where a motor vehicle having been bought and registered outside the State and not subject to the limitation of

§ 3002(a)(4) of this title is first registered and titled in this State, “purchase price” shall mean the fair market value as of the date of such titling and registration.

If the owner made no trade-in in conjunction with the purchase of any motor vehicle or trailer but 60 days prior to or subsequent to the date on which a certificate of title was issued in Delaware on such vehicle such owner sold privately the previously owned vehicle, credit shall be given in the same amount on the document fee as if the owner had made a trade-in of such previously owned vehicle in connection with the purchase of another vehicle. Credit shall be given for only 1 motor vehicle or trailer per application. Application for such credit in event of a prior sale shall be made at the time application is made for title of the purchased vehicle. In the event of a subsequent sale, an application for such credit shall be made not later than 15 calendar days after such sale in person or by registered mail to the Division of Motor Vehicles. Proof of prior ownership and the amount of sale shall be furnished at the time the owner claims credit pursuant to rules and regulations promulgated by the Division of Motor Vehicles.

Helpful Manual Links:

• Dealership Manual
• Guidelines for New Residents
• Vehicle Inspection Manual