Previous owners

[theflyingpig]

Hi, many apologies if this is covered elsewhere, I couldn't see it in any FAQ or sticky threads etc.

I have been idly browsing through a few of those c2 yr old, single previous owner, low to middling mileage, high end used types that new car dealers will often keep a few of if they're made by the same manufacturer that they specialise in.

At that age, i'd assume that the previous owner was pretty much never an owner-driver, & that most would be ex fleet or hire car, less commonly ex company or lease?

Anyway, if i wanted to check who the previous owner was, is this something that a dealer legally has to tell you/that [s]he's allowed to tell you? do the bits of the V5C that you'd see before buying or whatever tell you? would you be able to check a service history to look for clues, e.g. was it done at the Hertz service centre or whatever.

I wouldn't totally dismiss the idea of buying an ex hire car if it looked & felt good and the price was right, but it's something i'd obviously want to know, maybe it's information that'd make me look for different things when i was buying.

Thanks in advance.

Edited by theflyingpig on Thursday 12th November 17:23

[Bungleaio]

Depends of the dealer, gdpr rules mean that the previous owner details are not shown on the v5 any more but the dealer may tell you who owned it.

[andburg]

If the dealer is aware of a car being ex hire/lease/fleet they should declare it when questioned but not sure there is anything strictly legal that says they should actual look to find out.