Syrians cannot sell their Syrian registered cars inside Turkish territory. No one other than the car owner may drive the Syrian registered car inside Turkey, and the car must be removed from Turkey within a short period if he gives it up to someone else. The car is then sold as a used car in the liberated areas in northern Syria, or it is sold to the regime areas if there are no legal issues related to the car. Car owners are forced to sell the car at the lowest of prices.
Many Syrians brought their cars from Syria within to Turkey in a legal manner. Many brought their cars as cars are an essential need to facilitate movement and ensure people met their personal needs.
However, now that they are in Turkey, there are many reasons why a large number of Syrian car owners are abandoning their cars.
Syrian car owners mention several reasons for this phenomenon. They complained about the high fuel prices, high fees for renewing and securing annual car registrations, Syrians’ lack of awareness of Turkish laws especially traffic laws, high fines for violations, Syrians’ lack of Turkish proficiency and the impoverished situation of many Syrians. In addition to all these points, some car owners mentioned that many car owners migrated to Europe leaving behind their Syrian registered cars.
-Cannot Sell Their Cars in Turkey-
At the same time as Syrians are choosing to abandon their cars, Turkish laws do not allow Syrians to give up their car to others even if the person they give it up to is a Turkish citizen.
Speaking to Eqtsad about the ways Syrians can give up their cars, the lawyer Issa Mohammad said, “Syrians who want to give up their cars should project it to the Turkish transport, and in this case he must transfer it himself to Syria within seven days from the date of the projection, or he must give power of attorney to someone else to authorize them to transport the car outside Turkish territory.”
Some Syrians have resorted to selling their cars by drawing up an authorization where by the buyer manages the car’s affairs and pays a fee to drive it. However, these authorizations have been highly problematic since the authorization does not adhere to Turkish laws and regulations. In many cases, the cars are impounded and deported to Syria with the buyer.
-Trade and Exploitation-
“As a result of the legal problems, most vehicle owners are often victims of extortion by traders who trade in Syrian cars. These traders have connections with the Syrian authorities, and they obtain information about the car from the Syrian transport authority online. Based on this information they know if the car has security issues or a reserve impound notification, which is usually the case if the al-Assad intelligence have issued an arrest warrant for the car owner. Based on this information, they buy the car at low prices or refrain from buying them.
This happened to A.H.B., who is wanted by the al-Assad regime, the information from the Syrian transport authority revealed that there is a warrant to confiscate his car, all his moveable and immovable money. Based on this information, he is only able to sell his car in liberated areas and as a used European car. Due to this, he sold his car for less than a third of its genuine price. A Syrian merchant in Gaziantep bought it from him and pledged to get it out of the country via a regular border crossing point within seven days,” explained lawyer Issa Mohammad.
-Regime Areas-
Cars that are free of commitments or reserves set by the al-Assad regime can be sold at a higher price if they are regular. The price may increase up to half their value. The cars are transported to Syria by brokers in Turkey and via intermediaries to the regime controlled areas where they are sold as regular cars.
In this case, owners must make a recording in which they acknowledge that they are the car owner and they must name the person they are selling it to giving that person’s three-part name even if that person is unknown to the seller. Car owners must show their identity cards in the video, introduce themselves and show the car registration papers. The video is relied on by official Syrian directorates as proof of sale and transfer of ownership even in the judicial courts or the transport authorisations.