Tracking Down First Car

[MichelleK]

Hi all. My husband has a big birthday coming up, and I’d love to track down and buy him his first car which he’s always had a soft spot for. I’ve tried tracking it down, and it’s not been taxed or MOT’d for a while, but it’s not been scrapped either. Also, the DVLA doesn’t give out personal info on the current holder. Does anyone have any advice on how I can locate the car?

[Limpet]

Depending on what the make / model of the car is, it might be worth registering on some owners forums or groups on Facebook and the like and reaching out that way. Someone might either know where it is, or may have owned it in the past and be able to tell you who they sold it on to, or perhaps contact them on your behalf.

Due to GDPR, no company or organisation is able to share anyone's personal information without their consent. However, GDPR does not apply to private individuals, hence why I think your best bet is via a specialist forum or similar.

[georgeyboy12345]

Basically you won’t be able to do it, so I’d give up on this idea if I were you.

[soad]

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

[SteveR1979]

georgeyboy12345 said:

Basically you won’t be able to do it, so I’d give up on this idea if I were you.

Positive thoughts!!!

[georgeyboy12345]

SteveR1979 said:

georgeyboy12345 said:

Basically you won’t be able to do it, so I’d give up on this idea if I were you.

Positive thoughts!!!

I’m just being helpful! I’m preventing this person wasting a load of time on a wild goose chase.

[milfordkong]

georgeyboy12345 said:

I’m just being helpful! I’m preventing this person wasting a load of time on a wild goose chase.

Surely it really depends on what it is? If it's a relatively rare enthusiasts car with a community around it then it could be (could being the key word) pretty simple to find it using the aforementioned forums and clubs etc. If there were millions of them built then could be a needle in a haystack, but still possible!

[Riley Blue]

milfordkong said:

georgeyboy12345 said:

I’m just being helpful! I’m preventing this person wasting a load of time on a wild goose chase.

Surely it really depends on what it is? If it's a relatively rare enthusiasts car with a community around it then it could be (could being the key word) pretty simple to find it using the aforementioned forums and clubs etc. If there were millions of them built then could be a needle in a haystack, but still possible!

Agreed, I know of a few Rileys that have found their way back to former owners.

[MichelleK]

Thanks for everyone’s comments and suggestions, I’ve joined a few social media groups. The car was a Nova SR - will it be a needle in a haystack?

[pills]

I wonder if it's been used as track car?

[South tdf]

If it’s run of the mill it’s more than likely scraped. From experience not many people fill the V5 in correctly to scrap a car when it’s easier to transfer to trade online which marks it untaxed even if it’s been crushed.

[AlexRS2782]

Just because it's not showing as scrapped on DVLA records doesn't mean that it wasn't OP. Loads of cars of that era will have been broken for parts on someone's drive / yard and never declared / registered as such. Even more likely given it's a Nova SR of that age that's not been taxed / MOT'd for a long period of time

Best case scenario it's in storage in need of restoration, or as suggested earlier being used as a track car that doesn't need to be road legal (although if that was the case it would likely have been declared SORN rather than risking a fine). Worst case scenario it was more than likely broken for spares / scrapped years ago and only exists as a VIN plate for V5 / ID purposes.

Edited by AlexRS2782 on Friday 27th May 21:06