Private plate - best way to keep it when selling a car?

[NobleLord]

I've got a buyer for my car and I now need to take my private plate off and put it on retention before I formally do the deal with the buyer. The problem is, I gather this takes 2-3 weeks to get the new V5 back with the original number plate on it. Neither I nor the buyer really want to wait 3 weeks, so I'm wondering if there's either a way to speed up the process or a way of selling him the car with the private plate on and getting some sort of agreement that he doesn't own the plate and will do whatever's required to get it on retention for me so that I can put it on a new car.

I've spoken with 1 person who did this, but I'm not sure whether it's advisable/legal. I'd also need a good solid agreement for the buyer to sign that prevents them from being able to lay claim to owning the plate.

Any advice?

Thanks,
NL

[LuS1fer]

Doubtless trust is involved but I sold a car with a plate on it and the contract soecifiacally said the plate and the right to the plate were specifically excluded. Worked fine for me. you could even include a £5000 penalty clause in the contract of sale if for any reason the buyer doesn't return it.

I can't even recall what I did back in 2004 but think I filled in and sent off the plate retention forms at the time of sale and told the buyer he had to re-register the car.

[imacatlol]

I bought a car that had a private plate. I didn't exactly want the private plate but it was written into the contract hat the original owner was to sort out the paper work to get it transferred ( that included any charges for this ).

Once that had been completed they gave me the old plates and they took the private ones.

Bit of trust is needed but that wasn't too much of an issue since they lived quite nearby.

[XitUp]

Just use a screwdriver.

[NobleLord]

imacatlol said:

I bought a car that had a private plate. I didn't exactly want the private plate but it was written into the contract hat the original owner was to sort out the paper work to get it transferred ( that included any charges for this ).

Once that had been completed they gave me the old plates and they took the private ones.

Bit of trust is needed but that wasn't too much of an issue since they lived quite nearby.

I guess I'm trying to get my head round the process if I do what you did. Surely, when I sell the car I'll need to fill out the relevant section of the V5 and therefore give ownership of the car to the new owner, complete with the private plate. Would it not be down to them to then fill out the required paperwork to get the private plate put on retention? I'm happy to swallow the costs, just not sure how I could do that if I no longer own the car???

NL

[Bungleaio]

The best way is:

1. decide you want to sell your car
2. Transfer your plate to retention
3. Advertise car
4. Sell car

The situation you are in now will require a lot of trust on your behalf, as soon as you sign over the V5 you sign over the rights of the plate. If you make the buyer wait until the plate is transferred you risk losing the buyer if you make them wait.

You could go to your local DVLA office and ask them to transfer the plate there and then but there isn't that many offices around.

[NobleLord]

Bungleaio said:

The best way is:

1. decide you want to sell your car
2. Transfer your plate to retention
3. Advertise car
4. Sell car

The situation you are in now will require a lot of trust on your behalf, as soon as you sign over the V5 you sign over the rights of the plate. If you make the buyer wait until the plate is transferred you risk losing the buyer if you make them wait.

You could go to your local DVLA office and ask them to transfer the plate there and then but there isn't that many offices around.

Thanks Bungleaio.... now that's very interesting! I'm planning to drive to my local DVLA office tomorrow to do this, but I didn't know that they could put my private plate on retention there and then. I thought I had to wait a while for that to happen??? So, if they put it on retention while I'm there and I then sell the car with the V5 that lists the private plate, can the new owner lay claim to the plate, even though it's been put on retention?

Thanks,
NL

[Zwoelf]

Bungleaio said:

The best way is:

1. decide you want to sell your car
2. Transfer your plate to retention
3. Advertise car
4. Sell car

I'm always staggered by people who wish to keep their plates who wait until the car is sold to remove it, thus creating a situation that is entirely avoidable.

Bungleaio said:

The situation you are in now will require a lot of trust on your behalf, as soon as you sign over the V5 you sign over the rights of the plate. If you make the buyer wait until the plate is transferred you risk losing the buyer if you make them wait.

You can't change owner on the V5C and retain a number in the old RK's name at the same time. So the buyer has to trust that you will retain the number and as soon as you receive the new V5C in your name, then you send it off (back-dated to the date of handover) in the buyer's name.

If you change the owner first, the only way for you to keep the number is for them to retain it in their name, making you a Grantee on the form V317 to retain the number (this is the only way the new RK can give up the rights to the number). They could also make you a Nominee on the form, however this means that they will retain the rights to the number in future. Or they could ignore you, retain it in their own name and there is nothing you can do.

Bungleaio said:

You could go to your local DVLA office and ask them to transfer the plate there and then but there isn't that many offices around.

They don't do it there and then. They can allocate a number from a Rentention Certificate to a car over the counter - you'll still need to wait 2-3 weeks for the new V5C though, but here we're talking about the opposite way around.

[Baryonyx]

Bungleaio said:

The best way is:

1. decide you want to sell your car
2. Transfer your plate to retention
3. Advertise car
4. Sell car

This is it. The best way is to decide what you want to do beforehand and get the plate retained. Once you've sorted that you can sell at leisure.

[MrReg]

Zwoelf said:

Bungleaio said:

The best way is:

1. decide you want to sell your car
2. Transfer your plate to retention
3. Advertise car
4. Sell car

I'm always staggered by people who wish to keep their plates who wait until the car is sold to remove it, thus creating a situation that is entirely avoidable.

Bungleaio said:

The situation you are in now will require a lot of trust on your behalf, as soon as you sign over the V5 you sign over the rights of the plate. If you make the buyer wait until the plate is transferred you risk losing the buyer if you make them wait.

You can't change owner on the V5C and retain a number in the old RK's name at the same time. So the buyer has to trust that you will retain the number and as soon as you receive the new V5C in your name, then you send it off (back-dated to the date of handover) in the buyer's name.

If you change the owner first, the only way for you to keep the number is for them to retain it in their name, making you a Grantee on the form V317 to retain the number (this is the only way the new RK can give up the rights to the number). They could also make you a Nominee on the form, however this means that they will retain the rights to the number in future. Or they could ignore you, retain it in their own name and there is nothing you can do.

Bungleaio said:

You could go to your local DVLA office and ask them to transfer the plate there and then but there isn't that many offices around.

They don't do it there and then. They can allocate a number from a Rentention Certificate to a car over the counter - you'll still need to wait 2-3 weeks for the new V5C though, but here we're talking about the opposite way around.

[NobleLord]

Thanks all for the feedback. With hindsight, I should've taken the plate off first, but I didn't know if the car would sell so I decided to test the waters first and found a buyer straight away.

As it happens, the buyer's happy to wait, but would prefer to have the car sooner and I'd prefer to move on and get a new car. I guess there is a way of doing this, I just need to get my head round it so as to protect myself as much as possible.

NL

[Mattt]

As above, head down to the local DVLA office with all the paperwork - I got the new plate paperwork through within the week. V5 followed a few days after.

V5 is not title to the car, although most people think it is. You can sell the car, providing buyer is happy, without the V5 - and just fill it in when it arrives back.

Your bill is of sale/contract is the only important document in the transaction really.

[otherman]

If you go to a DVLA you can lift a plate onto a certificate or straight onto another car there and then. At least up to 12 months ago the last time I did it - I happen to live a mile from one so I never post to swansea.

[LuS1fer]

Zwoelf said:

Bungleaio said:

The best way is:

1. decide you want to sell your car
2. Transfer your plate to retention
3. Advertise car
4. Sell car

I'm always staggered by people who wish to keep their plates who wait until the car is sold to remove it, thus creating a situation that is entirely avoidable.

It's the nature of selling cars youy're not really that bothered about selling. Once you remove the, you may not sell the car or it may not get any interest at all and then you have the palaver of putting it back on. I'm more staggered by people who will wait for ages with consummate patience to find the right car and then find it hard to wait a couple of weeks to get the plate off once they find it.

[AndrewW-G]

Photocopy the documents and then go to the DVLA office to kick the transfer process off, explaining to the buyer why the reg doc isn’t with the car and show them the photocopies

I've mentioned this before, but several years ago I gave another trader I know a lift to buy a Lotus Elise that had a plate fitted that looked a bit like the word "player". As the car was being taken away there and then, the owner agreed with the trader that the trader would put the plate on retention for the owner and send it back to him, even knocking the transfer fee off the sale price . . . . The plate was then put onto retention and then sold by the trader to a third party, with bugger all the owner could do

Moral of the story, no matter how nice people may seem, if you want to keep your plate, sort it out yourself before the car gets sold / driven away.

[NobleLord]

LuS1fer said:

Zwoelf said:

Bungleaio said:

The best way is:

1. decide you want to sell your car
2. Transfer your plate to retention
3. Advertise car
4. Sell car

I'm always staggered by people who wish to keep their plates who wait until the car is sold to remove it, thus creating a situation that is entirely avoidable.

It's the nature of selling cars youy're not really that bothered about selling. Once you remove the, you may not sell the car or it may not get any interest at all and then you have the palaver of putting it back on. I'm more staggered by people who will wait for ages with consummate patience to find the right car and then find it hard to wait a couple of weeks to get the plate off once they find it.