seeing v5c reg form when buying a car
seeing v5c reg form when buying a car
Author
Discussion

livewire08

Original Poster:

61 posts

130 months

Thursday 6th August 2015
quotequote all
Hi all,

I have put a deposit down on a used car but the dealer I went to didn't show me the v5c doc. Everywhere I read it says you should always see it before buying a car. The dealer said we will send it off and get you added to it and gave some excuse that it's locked away somewhere..

Should I be concerned that they haven't shown it to me? I have received an email from dvla saying they've been informed that I should be added as the keeper, which the dealer must have initiated but this is without me even seeing the document! All the online car checks I have run haven't flagged up issues with the car or its ownership so do I assume it's all ok? I'm new to car buying!

Thanks for any advice.


Ozzie Osmond

21,189 posts

263 months

Thursday 6th August 2015
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If you're buying from a dealer I can't see that it really matters, unless you've been told there's "one previous owner/keeper" and based your purchase on that when in fact the car's had several. But if that history is important for your purchase you should make sure it's written into the contract anyway.

rallycross

13,605 posts

254 months

Thursday 6th August 2015
quotequote all
It should not matter but if you are fussy about things you do need to check this now as its too late once you own it and it comes back in your name and you are not happy with the previous recorded keeper such as a driving school, mini cab, local authority/NHS, police, or even just a rental/lease AVIS car (this should not be an issue but some people are funny about ex rental cars even though many cars spend their first 12 months on the rental fleets).

What is the car and how old is it and how many owners?

Some cars can be bought much cheaper based on having a previous owner like those above so you should at least have checked this.

If it was say owned by a driving school from new, the dealer may have registered it once in his name to remove the driving school as the previous keeper, and by registering it to you as the 3rd keeper without you seeing the V5 will never know it was a driving school car (eg Fiat 500/Ka).

No big deal but some people worry about these things.



livewire08

Original Poster:

61 posts

130 months

Thursday 6th August 2015
quotequote all
It's only 2 years old so can't imagine it's had many owners but it's true that I don't know who owned before the dealer. They seemed to think there was a confidentiality issue but surely not.a lack of openness just makes me suspicious..its still under manufacturer warranty so that's something if there are issues.

rallycross

13,605 posts

254 months

Thursday 6th August 2015
quotequote all
Ok sounds like they are keeping it hidden, what model car is it? My guess is ex rental or driving school.

wjb

5,100 posts

148 months

Thursday 6th August 2015
quotequote all
Sounds a little bit dodgy to me.

Have you paid in full or just a deposit? Did you not fill the V5 in yourself? Did you get the new keeper supplement?

No valid reason not to show it to you, dealer or not imo.

Rick101

7,095 posts

167 months

Thursday 6th August 2015
quotequote all
Go back and insist on seeing it. They won't have sent it off on just a deposit.


shake n bake

2,221 posts

224 months

Thursday 6th August 2015
quotequote all
It's very rare we are asked to show a v5, happily do it on request but I honestly can't remember the last time someone actually asked.
Just trying to give an insight to all the worst case scenario people out there.
2 years is way to old to be an ex rental, probably ex lease or private owned.

livewire08

Original Poster:

61 posts

130 months

Thursday 6th August 2015
quotequote all
Maybe certain dealers just have a policy of not showing it. I think the cars had two owners so maybe they think that would put someone off if the car isn't very old. The dealer was apparently the most recent keeper so they obviously got the v5 changed perhaps to protect or hide who had it before

Roo

11,503 posts

224 months

Thursday 6th August 2015
quotequote all
livewire08 said:
Maybe certain dealers just have a policy of not showing it. I think the cars had two owners so maybe they think that would put someone off if the car isn't very old. The dealer was apparently the most recent keeper so they obviously got the v5 changed perhaps to protect or hide who had it before
Dealers very rarely register cars to themselves as it unnecessarily adds another owner. It doesn't hide much as the previous registered keeper is also shown.

How many keepers showed up on the hpi?

Rick101

7,095 posts

167 months

Friday 7th August 2015
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It also shows if car has been written off.

shake n bake

2,221 posts

224 months

Saturday 8th August 2015
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Rick101 said:
It also shows if car has been written off.
Not always, certainly don't take this as gospel.
If a cars recently been written off and the owner then decided to move it on, there's about a 6 week window where it won't show on hpi.

In this case if the dealers the current owner and it's a recent owner change, the chances are they bought it from an auction with no v5.

eliot

11,936 posts

271 months

Saturday 8th August 2015
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you cant tax the car without the v5c slip - dont buy it without seeing it.
also get a proper hpi done, which of course requires the v5c serial number.

was a similar thread on this a couple of weeks back

JimmyConwayNW

3,281 posts

142 months

Saturday 8th August 2015
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If you have received an email from dvla about logbook then you will have your own in the next 5 days as sounds like the dealer has done it online.

Genuinely wouldn't bother. Most customers that buy cars from me don't actually look at the V5 and i would say less than 50% even check the history book and MOT.

andy43

11,862 posts

271 months

Saturday 8th August 2015
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JimmyConwayNW said:
. Most customers that buy cars from me don't actually look at the V5 and i would say less than 50% even check the history book and MOT.
I'm amazed by that - but I suppose it depends on the type of car and the type of customer? No offence to your customers meant! How can people buy something for thousands of pounds without knowing what exactly it is that they're getting?
Crazy.

GC8

19,910 posts

207 months

Saturday 8th August 2015
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Rick101 said:
It also shows if car has been written off.
My concern would be that the car was used previously as a hackney carriage.

eliot

11,936 posts

271 months

Sunday 9th August 2015
quotequote all
JimmyConwayNW said:
If you have received an email from dvla about logbook then you will have your own in the next 5 days as sounds like the dealer has done it online.

Genuinely wouldn't bother. Most customers that buy cars from me don't actually look at the V5 and i would say less than 50% even check the history book and MOT.
How is the car tax done?