Part of the process of buying a car now involves obtaining a Police certificate stating that the car being transferred is not stolen. This Police certificate must be presented in order to transfer the matricula (ownership document of the vehicle) and pay the transfer taxes. If a vehicle is under a loan, the matricula will either be in the name of the true owner or the person giving the loan will be holding the matricula.
Also, once you have your new vehicle, NEVER keep the original matricula in your vehicle. Put it in a lockbox, and keep a copy of this document in the vehicle instead.
