Please help - buying a car privately - potential anomaly
Discussion
Hi,
I've never bought a car privately before and have found one up for sale that ticks the boxes. I've arranged to go see it this weekend so did an HPI check, etc. All seems to be going well, been getting on well with the owner over 30-odd emails over the last week, but I've found two concerns;
When I did the HPI it came back as a manual but this car has an auto. The same thing happens when you type the reg into CompareTheMarket and other insurance sites. The car in question is a US import (It's a Corvette, has been in the UK since 2008) so perhaps that's a factor in why things aren't lining up? Everything else seems to check out in terms of what has come back on the HPI report and whatever other forms of due diligence I can think of.
Second is a query about tax. The car is a 2002, officially showing as registered as Jan 1st 2002 (Again, import, not surprised of the date). I believe that should put it in the band where it's tax as per "Cars registered between 1 March 2001 and 31 March 2017" but during conversation after I mentioned it being approx. £600 a year total it, he said he thought it was less and send back a screenshot about a day later showing "£295" from a payment request screen on the gov.uk website. Just checking, but I am correct in thinking the bands haven't changed and that a price of £295 would apply for cars registered before 1st March 2001, correct?
I'm wanting this to be OK and there to be explanations for both of these... I know I'm a paranoid person and I'm maybe looking for faults that aren't really there... But I'm also now sufficiently concerned that I wanted to get advice from people more experienced than myself. It's a rare car so there aren't many available; if it was 10 a penny it'd be easier to think that *any* cause for concern is an easy reason to walk away 'cos there's plenty more like it to choose from.
There are loads of photos of the car, including internal shots that show an auto 'box that have clearly been taken at the same venue as some exterior shots that show the car on the number plates in question. He has given me his full postal address as the location to go see the car.
If it's legit, I wouldn't want to let this slip through my fingers. What can I do to protect myself and find out whether I'm right to have concerns?
Many, many thanks in advance.
I've never bought a car privately before and have found one up for sale that ticks the boxes. I've arranged to go see it this weekend so did an HPI check, etc. All seems to be going well, been getting on well with the owner over 30-odd emails over the last week, but I've found two concerns;
When I did the HPI it came back as a manual but this car has an auto. The same thing happens when you type the reg into CompareTheMarket and other insurance sites. The car in question is a US import (It's a Corvette, has been in the UK since 2008) so perhaps that's a factor in why things aren't lining up? Everything else seems to check out in terms of what has come back on the HPI report and whatever other forms of due diligence I can think of.
Second is a query about tax. The car is a 2002, officially showing as registered as Jan 1st 2002 (Again, import, not surprised of the date). I believe that should put it in the band where it's tax as per "Cars registered between 1 March 2001 and 31 March 2017" but during conversation after I mentioned it being approx. £600 a year total it, he said he thought it was less and send back a screenshot about a day later showing "£295" from a payment request screen on the gov.uk website. Just checking, but I am correct in thinking the bands haven't changed and that a price of £295 would apply for cars registered before 1st March 2001, correct?
I'm wanting this to be OK and there to be explanations for both of these... I know I'm a paranoid person and I'm maybe looking for faults that aren't really there... But I'm also now sufficiently concerned that I wanted to get advice from people more experienced than myself. It's a rare car so there aren't many available; if it was 10 a penny it'd be easier to think that *any* cause for concern is an easy reason to walk away 'cos there's plenty more like it to choose from.
There are loads of photos of the car, including internal shots that show an auto 'box that have clearly been taken at the same venue as some exterior shots that show the car on the number plates in question. He has given me his full postal address as the location to go see the car.
If it's legit, I wouldn't want to let this slip through my fingers. What can I do to protect myself and find out whether I'm right to have concerns?
Many, many thanks in advance.
If you’ve built up a good relationship with the vendor why don’t you just ask him about the discrepancies? If he’s genuine then surely he’ll be happy to help. I was in the process of buying a Boxster a few years ago and had built up a good rapport with the guy selling it. I noticed a discrepancy with the mileage when checking it online. I discussed it with him and it transpired that one of the MOT stations had recorded with mileage incorrectly. He was happy to help.
S100HP said:
It certainly won't be in the £600+ a year bracket as pre 2006.
OK, yes, valid point; just checked and there's a sub-note that says anything pre '06 would be in the up to 225g/km band... but that would still make it an annual figure of £360. The only £295 band I can see is the one titled "Cars and light goods vehicles registered before 1 March 2001".Thank you for the replies so far.
The tax would be correct as it’s an import car. I can’t remember the exact details why but if there was no equivalent Uk car at the time they go in a lower tax bracket. My Camaro is the same, it’s normal for import cars. So don’t worry about that.
With regards the gearbox, have you got a car fax report for it as well as a Hpi? Car fax is the USA version of a Hpi but much more detailed. It might explain the gearbox on there, possibly? If you haven’t asked the owner about if it’s been converted, I’d do that too. It could of course just be an admin error on the v5? No idea if that’s a common thing or not. Check if everything else lines up (car fax, receipts at purchase if he has them, import receipts etc) and if they all say it’s an auto, it likely points to that. Perhaps a call to dvla to see if this type of admin error can be corrected.
Hope that helps!
Edit to add: this is the rate of car tax that would pay for import:
https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-tax-rate-tables/rates-f...
With regards the gearbox, have you got a car fax report for it as well as a Hpi? Car fax is the USA version of a Hpi but much more detailed. It might explain the gearbox on there, possibly? If you haven’t asked the owner about if it’s been converted, I’d do that too. It could of course just be an admin error on the v5? No idea if that’s a common thing or not. Check if everything else lines up (car fax, receipts at purchase if he has them, import receipts etc) and if they all say it’s an auto, it likely points to that. Perhaps a call to dvla to see if this type of admin error can be corrected.
Hope that helps!
Edit to add: this is the rate of car tax that would pay for import:
https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-tax-rate-tables/rates-f...
Edited by Cloudy147 on Thursday 12th May 07:19
Edited by Cloudy147 on Thursday 12th May 07:25
Thank you, Cloudy, that certainly is helpful.
I haven't yet asked the seller (Only became aware very recently and then started going into a spiral of doubt!) but will do so.
For CarFax you need a VIN. Do you think an owner would be likely to share that or would that be a no-no from a seller point of view because you open yourself up to people trying to clone your car or something?!
I haven't yet asked the seller (Only became aware very recently and then started going into a spiral of doubt!) but will do so.
For CarFax you need a VIN. Do you think an owner would be likely to share that or would that be a no-no from a seller point of view because you open yourself up to people trying to clone your car or something?!
sayerbloke said:
Thank you, Cloudy, that certainly is helpful.
I haven't yet asked the seller (Only became aware very recently and then started going into a spiral of doubt!) but will do so.
For CarFax you need a VIN. Do you think an owner would be likely to share that or would that be a no-no from a seller point of view because you open yourself up to people trying to clone your car or something?!
I would ask. Tell him you’re very serious but need to do all the necessary checks beforehand. If you’ve built up a good relationship with him I can’t see it being a problem. It’s usually in the windscreen of a car anyway so it’s pretty visible for anyone to see. I haven't yet asked the seller (Only became aware very recently and then started going into a spiral of doubt!) but will do so.
For CarFax you need a VIN. Do you think an owner would be likely to share that or would that be a no-no from a seller point of view because you open yourself up to people trying to clone your car or something?!
I personal imported a car in 2007. I got the V55 paper form from the DVLA, filled it in myself as best I could, and sent it back to them. They then sent me the V5 etc with the details I'd filled in.
They did not come and see the car and inspect the colour, transmission, engine capacity, etc, just registered what I'd sent them.
So in terms of the car's registration details with the DVLA, it's just whatever some random person scribbled on a piece of paper with a biro, and whatever some underpaid clerk at the local office thought their handwriting said. If the V5 has got "Chevrolet" and "Corvette" spelt correctly, you're doing well!
So basically don't worry about these anomalies on an imported car.
They did not come and see the car and inspect the colour, transmission, engine capacity, etc, just registered what I'd sent them.
So in terms of the car's registration details with the DVLA, it's just whatever some random person scribbled on a piece of paper with a biro, and whatever some underpaid clerk at the local office thought their handwriting said. If the V5 has got "Chevrolet" and "Corvette" spelt correctly, you're doing well!
So basically don't worry about these anomalies on an imported car.
Cloudy147 said:
With regards the gearbox, have you got a car fax report for it as well as a Hpi? Car fax is the USA version of a Hpi but much more detailed. It might explain the gearbox on there, possibly?
That's a good idea if you are concerned, I think you should be able to use the VIN to get a CarFax report which will cover the car's original spec and life in the US.sayerbloke said:
Thank you, Cloudy, that certainly is helpful.
I haven't yet asked the seller (Only became aware very recently and then started going into a spiral of doubt!) but will do so.
For CarFax you need a VIN. Do you think an owner would be likely to share that or would that be a no-no from a seller point of view because you open yourself up to people trying to clone your car or something?!
For HPI to be any use you need a vin too.I haven't yet asked the seller (Only became aware very recently and then started going into a spiral of doubt!) but will do so.
For CarFax you need a VIN. Do you think an owner would be likely to share that or would that be a no-no from a seller point of view because you open yourself up to people trying to clone your car or something?!
I suspect the manual/auto discrepancy is down to the DVLA cocking up. Ask the owner for the VIN and do a Carfax check, that's what I did before buying my Firebird.
https://www.carfax.eu/
You can also decode the VIN, but unfortunately it doesn't show whether auto or manual.
https://www.corvsport.com/2002-corvette-vin/
https://www.carfax.eu/
You can also decode the VIN, but unfortunately it doesn't show whether auto or manual.
https://www.corvsport.com/2002-corvette-vin/
Edited by LeighW on Thursday 12th May 09:27
As others have said. Grey imports are not taxed on Co2. They are a flat rate. It is on the Gov site somewhere. Essentially I think it is similar to the pre 2001 over 1.6 litre rate.
As for the auto vs manual. I wouldn’t worry. If the car is what you want. What would this matter? Just make sure when you insure it is correct. My Camaro is a 6 speed manual and an official U.K. car sold by GM at Vauxhall dealers. But the DVLA still have it as an auto.
As for the auto vs manual. I wouldn’t worry. If the car is what you want. What would this matter? Just make sure when you insure it is correct. My Camaro is a 6 speed manual and an official U.K. car sold by GM at Vauxhall dealers. But the DVLA still have it as an auto.
As above, I wouldn't panic too much about the DVLA situation.
I'd had my car about a year before I spotted that, if I checked its MOT using the DVLA MOT History page, it came up correctly as petrol engined. However, if i checked it using the MOT Status page, it came up as a diesel.
Quick email to the DVLA and they corrected it in a couple of weeks.
I'd had my car about a year before I spotted that, if I checked its MOT using the DVLA MOT History page, it came up correctly as petrol engined. However, if i checked it using the MOT Status page, it came up as a diesel.
Quick email to the DVLA and they corrected it in a couple of weeks.
Yes, to confirm, I drive an imported Nissan Elgrand 3.5 V6 Auto which struggles to give 20mpg and it's CO output is most accurately measured in kg/km, not grams and I (rightly or wrongly) pay the same tax as a 4 cylinder Ford Focus 1.6....
Certainly worth raising the manual/auto discrepancy with the vendor - he's probably more than aware of it.
Certainly worth raising the manual/auto discrepancy with the vendor - he's probably more than aware of it.
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