Be gentle....!
Discussion
Hi! So, I went to test drive a car today.
It was SORN, so the owner and I thought the most sensible thing to do was for me to tax it using the new keeper slip reference. I also got 24 hour insurance.
I had every intention of purchasing the car as it drove like a dream. However, as we were about to do the deal, my other half tested the windows and the drivers side failed miserably. It went half way down and made an awful crunch, then wouldn’t go back up. Owner said it had been repaired not but a few weeks ago.
Anyway, didn’t buy the car because of this. It is still showing online as SORN but neither of us now know what to do re my tax application for it-any ideas? Obviously I don’t want to pay tax on a car I don’t own. I opted for direct debit. The owner won’t be sending the logbook in of course, but is there anything I can do to cancel the tax? I have the confirmation and thought it might be showing online by now? I taxed it 24 hours ago..
Thanks for any advice (I won’t be so stupid again!!)
It was SORN, so the owner and I thought the most sensible thing to do was for me to tax it using the new keeper slip reference. I also got 24 hour insurance.
I had every intention of purchasing the car as it drove like a dream. However, as we were about to do the deal, my other half tested the windows and the drivers side failed miserably. It went half way down and made an awful crunch, then wouldn’t go back up. Owner said it had been repaired not but a few weeks ago.
Anyway, didn’t buy the car because of this. It is still showing online as SORN but neither of us now know what to do re my tax application for it-any ideas? Obviously I don’t want to pay tax on a car I don’t own. I opted for direct debit. The owner won’t be sending the logbook in of course, but is there anything I can do to cancel the tax? I have the confirmation and thought it might be showing online by now? I taxed it 24 hours ago..
Thanks for any advice (I won’t be so stupid again!!)
Seems a shame to abandon a purchase based on a sticking window.
A worn/perished/damaged window seal can cause windows to jam. A bit of lube works as a temporary fix, or to confirm that's the problem.
Several years ago my wife's Zafira had a window seal replaced (door panel had to come off etc) due to window not operating properly and although I can't remember the exact price it was only a couple of hundred quid at most including labour.
A worn/perished/damaged window seal can cause windows to jam. A bit of lube works as a temporary fix, or to confirm that's the problem.
Several years ago my wife's Zafira had a window seal replaced (door panel had to come off etc) due to window not operating properly and although I can't remember the exact price it was only a couple of hundred quid at most including labour.
Edited by RVB on Sunday 7th March 21:18
What car is it?
if it crunched it will be the window regulator, probably a piece of the plastic has snapped and the cable has caught itself up in there.
You can buy new ones from amazon/ebay etc. for £50-100 and they take around and hour to fit, easy enough to do on the drive even if you are not technically minded. A local garage would probably charge £100 tops to do it.
if it crunched it will be the window regulator, probably a piece of the plastic has snapped and the cable has caught itself up in there.
You can buy new ones from amazon/ebay etc. for £50-100 and they take around and hour to fit, easy enough to do on the drive even if you are not technically minded. A local garage would probably charge £100 tops to do it.
Thanks everyone.
Yeah the seller said they’d had the regulator repaired. The fact it’s gone again means my partner has veto’d the sale, unfortunately. It drove like a dream and was very tidy, but he didn’t take to the seller (and the seller didn’t mention the repair before we drove up to view). I’d be happy to let the seller get it repaired and go get it, but my other half has said no and I can’t face the argument!
I will contact the DVLA tomorrow. Happy to have to pay the month of needs be.. silly mistake to make!
Yeah the seller said they’d had the regulator repaired. The fact it’s gone again means my partner has veto’d the sale, unfortunately. It drove like a dream and was very tidy, but he didn’t take to the seller (and the seller didn’t mention the repair before we drove up to view). I’d be happy to let the seller get it repaired and go get it, but my other half has said no and I can’t face the argument!
I will contact the DVLA tomorrow. Happy to have to pay the month of needs be.. silly mistake to make!
OxFord said:
Thanks everyone.
Yeah the seller said they’d had the regulator repaired. The fact it’s gone again means my partner has veto’d the sale, unfortunately. It drove like a dream and was very tidy, but he didn’t take to the seller (and the seller didn’t mention the repair before we drove up to view). I’d be happy to let the seller get it repaired and go get it, but my other half has said no and I can’t face the argument!
I will contact the DVLA tomorrow. Happy to have to pay the month of needs be.. silly mistake to make!
I think the silly mistake was letting your partner veto it just because of a window problem - I'd have just tried to get a better deal from the seller if everything else about it was right. Yeah the seller said they’d had the regulator repaired. The fact it’s gone again means my partner has veto’d the sale, unfortunately. It drove like a dream and was very tidy, but he didn’t take to the seller (and the seller didn’t mention the repair before we drove up to view). I’d be happy to let the seller get it repaired and go get it, but my other half has said no and I can’t face the argument!
I will contact the DVLA tomorrow. Happy to have to pay the month of needs be.. silly mistake to make!
OxFord said:
Thanks everyone.
Yeah the seller said they’d had the regulator repaired. The fact it’s gone again means my partner has veto’d the sale, unfortunately. It drove like a dream and was very tidy, but he didn’t take to the seller (and the seller didn’t mention the repair before we drove up to view). I’d be happy to let the seller get it repaired and go get it, but my other half has said no and I can’t face the argument!
I wouldn't say to let the seller get it repaired (as that clearly hasn't worked once already), but a bit of negotiation down to allow for the fix and then having it done would be sensible.Yeah the seller said they’d had the regulator repaired. The fact it’s gone again means my partner has veto’d the sale, unfortunately. It drove like a dream and was very tidy, but he didn’t take to the seller (and the seller didn’t mention the repair before we drove up to view). I’d be happy to let the seller get it repaired and go get it, but my other half has said no and I can’t face the argument!
Your partner sounds like hard work.
I know.. but you have to pick your battles I guess..
It was a 90 minute drive to get there and the price was already low (about £800 cheaper than equivalents). Anyway, sadly that’s neither here nor there anymore!
I taxed it 12 hours before I insured it, too.. not sure how that worked.. I was unaware you shouldn’t be able to tax it if it’s uninsured. Perhaps the DVLA will just say no and cancel it?
It was a 90 minute drive to get there and the price was already low (about £800 cheaper than equivalents). Anyway, sadly that’s neither here nor there anymore!
I taxed it 12 hours before I insured it, too.. not sure how that worked.. I was unaware you shouldn’t be able to tax it if it’s uninsured. Perhaps the DVLA will just say no and cancel it?
Many window regulators can be repaired, the cable jumps off the spindle, you can sometimes put it back on, however the reason it comes off is the cable has stretched a bit, so when you put it back it can be fine for years or it can go after a few more uses.
I would guess most owners have no idea what has happened, and when they take it to a garage who asks "Do you want us to try repair it for half an hours labour or we can replace it for an hours labour and and a new regulator, so £100-150?" I would guess most people will say "If you can repair it for £50 do that."
I have done 3 on BMWs over the last 12 months or so and just done one on a Porsche.
If the rest of the car drove great it seems silly to walk away from the purchase.
The fact is you will have paid for a months tax, just cancel the direct debit, the next owner should still be able to tax it using the same green slip.
I would guess most owners have no idea what has happened, and when they take it to a garage who asks "Do you want us to try repair it for half an hours labour or we can replace it for an hours labour and and a new regulator, so £100-150?" I would guess most people will say "If you can repair it for £50 do that."
I have done 3 on BMWs over the last 12 months or so and just done one on a Porsche.
If the rest of the car drove great it seems silly to walk away from the purchase.
The fact is you will have paid for a months tax, just cancel the direct debit, the next owner should still be able to tax it using the same green slip.
Thank you all for your replies.
The car was SRON, no insurance, but it has an MOT. I taxed it online using a photo of the new keeper slip, and got 24 hour insurance.
DVLA have asked me to write to them to explain the situation, so I will do that, and cancel the direct debit once the first payment has gone out.
It is being repaired next week, but we're still not going back for it. The owner understands, and I am sure will be able to get the price they want for it very easily! My loss is someone else's gain!
I have decided though I won't be test driving any other SORN cars..! I'm not going through this again ,and if the seller wants to sell it, they will have to do all of the taxing etc.! Happy to get additional insurance (my policy will only cover me third party on a vehicle insured in another name), so for the sake of a few £s I'm fine with that..!
The car was SRON, no insurance, but it has an MOT. I taxed it online using a photo of the new keeper slip, and got 24 hour insurance.
DVLA have asked me to write to them to explain the situation, so I will do that, and cancel the direct debit once the first payment has gone out.
It is being repaired next week, but we're still not going back for it. The owner understands, and I am sure will be able to get the price they want for it very easily! My loss is someone else's gain!
I have decided though I won't be test driving any other SORN cars..! I'm not going through this again ,and if the seller wants to sell it, they will have to do all of the taxing etc.! Happy to get additional insurance (my policy will only cover me third party on a vehicle insured in another name), so for the sake of a few £s I'm fine with that..!
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