In Starfield, buying a ship — or building your own — isn’t the only way to get a new ride. You can also board and steal ships you encounter in space. (We’re just going to call it just “take over” here, but you could also use words like commandeer or steal depending on your particular shade of morality.) Once you have control of your new ship, though, you’ll have to register it to modify, rename, or sell it.
Our Starfield guide will teach you how to register a ship and show you where to sell ships, plus answer the big question: Can you sell a stolen ship?
How to sell a ship in Starfield
Maybe you’re sick of your ship, or maybe you just happened to acquire a new one by less-than-legal means. When it’s time to sell a ship, you’ll have to head to a Ship Services Technician at a spaceport. Choose the “let me see what ships you have for sale” option, and then hit the Y button to switch to your fleet of ships.
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From there, all you have to do is pick the one to sell. The problem with stolen ships is that they have to be registered first — and, until they’re registered, they’re considered contraband by the UC and Freestar Collective factions. Registering a ship costs about as much as the ship is worth — around 85% as much — so you’re only ever going to make a few thousand credits at a time by stealing enemy ships.
How to register a ship
Before you can sell or modify that stolen ship in the Ship Builder — or even just rename it — you’ll have to register it.
At Ship Services, choose either “I’d like to view and modify my ships” or “let me see what ships you have for sale.”
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In either of those options, you’ll be able to find the stolen ship in your list of ships (in the “ships for sale” menu, you’ll have to hit Y first to switch over to your fleet). When you have it pulled up, you’ll see the option to register it.
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Registering a ship costs a lot of money — about 85% of the ship’s value. Once it’s registered, though, the ship is safe to fly wherever you want. You’ll also have the option to sell it, modify it in the Ship Builder, or rename it.