"Number of previous keepers"

[TTmonkey]

Why does this make any difference to the value/history of a car these days? I'm not convinced its something that should be included on the V5 anymore.

A car should be judge on its merits. It's mileage, condition, history etc. the fact that 2 people or 8 people may have previously owned it wouldn't change it's condition etc when presented. You can have scruffy badly looked after cars with one owner, and mint condition collectors spec cars with 8 previous owners. Very high spec high cost cars often have multiple owners, many are speculators/investors that keep the car pristine a d rarely use it.


So I'd suggest, number of previous owners is an outdated and unneeded detail on the V5 these days......


Thoughts?

[Ray Luxury-Yacht]

Nope, I disagree. When buying a used car, this is one part of many bits of the car's history that can be used to base a buying decision upon.

It is said that, in a high-end, expensive car, that many owners is apparently 'not a problem' because people with money sometimes buy an expensive car on a whim, run it until they get bored, and then move it on. Fair enough.

However to me, many different owners of a normal mainstream car CAN indicate a bit of a wrongun, no?

[dig123]

Hi kind of agree with you but if there is a car which is frequently changing hands say four times in one year it could raise the question if there is a problem with the car that only becomes apparent once used but can't be fixed

[DJP]

In theory you're correct.

However, too many owners in too short a time hints at issues that may not be immediately apparent.

[anonymous-user]

Ray Luxury-Yacht said:

Nope, I disagree. When buying a used car, this is one part of many bits of the car's history that can be used to base a buying decision upon.

It is said that, in a high-end, expensive car, that many owners is apparently 'not a problem' because people with money sometimes buy an expensive car on a whim, run it until they get bored, and then move it on. Fair enough.

However to me, many different owners of a normal mainstream car CAN indicate a bit of a wrongun, no?

It's true. Certainly on cars like a 911 its common to have a lot of owners as people want to tick that box and say they've owned one before moving onwards. However on a normal car it's more likely to be a lemon.

[MissChief]

It can be a problem. if the number of keepers is high there's always the suspicion it's a Lemon and has been owned and put up with and then eventually pissed off the owner with continual costs and repairs and eventually moved onto the next owner who's done the same. Other large costs such as cambelts and major services can mean cars are moved on before they're due. You only need to look at how many RX-7's come up for sale a few thousand miles before the inevitable rebuild is due to see that major upcoming costs focus the mind slightly and cars are often moved on. There always the 'Didn't do my research' crowd though that thinks an Impreza is 'wikkid' and doesn't realise their £20 a week they used to put in their Corsa SRI every week will only get them to work and back twice instead and then sell it on to the next 'bruv' foolish enough to jump in without looking.

[anonymous-user]

Couldn't disagree more. Fair enough it does not tell the whole story but it is a very valuable piece of information when trying to get a really good idea about what you are buying. Some one owner from new cars are dogs that is true, but seeing a car has had loads of owners in a short space of time often indicates a problem. If absolutely nothing else it puts you on alert for missed services.

More to the point, why NOT leave it on the V5. OK you do not feel it is important so by all means ignore it, but why suggest it is removed completely?

[TTmonkey]

How does the number of previous owners stop you checking the service record properly? Or the condition/history of the car? If a car is missing a cam belt change wether it says 2 or 7 in this box isnt going to tell you that.


Agreed though most people are happy to read something good/bad into number of owners so it should stay.