10 Month Old Car Listed as SORN

[Greyhound21]

I ve seen a car that ticks all my boxes but there s a couple of things that rings alarm bells.

The car is only 10 months old, has had 2 owners ( not unusual ), still has a private plate on and is listed on the history check sites as SORN.

It s at what appears to be a reputable dealer with 95% Trustpilot ratings. Anything to be getting unduly worried about?

Edit: Just to muddy things further, an MOT has been carried out today despite the car being registered on 31/12/24.🤔

Edited by Greyhound21 on Thursday 30th October 16:59

[georgeyboy12345]

Are you sure the private plate hasn't been transferred to another car?

[sixor8]

If it's 'in the trade,' it should be untaxed, not SORN. It can take a day or two for the database to update, longer if the trader posted off the appropriate yellow section. Or, they're selling it on behalf of the owner.

Edited by sixor8 on Thursday 30th October 21:25

[Gulf7]

I'd have thought it was a bit unusual for a 10 month old car to already have 2 owners TBH.

[Tymb]

Why would you mot a 10 month old vehicle.

[Greyhound21]

georgeyboy12345 said:

Are you sure the private plate hasn't been transferred to another car?

Nope, this is the plate number in the photos and the listing on 5e website.

[Greyhound21]

Tymb said:

Why would you mot a 10 month old vehicle.

That s what I can t understand.

Edit: actually the listing on Autotrader says it’s a 2024 (22 plate). The private plate is **22 so have they thought it was 3 years old?

Edited by Greyhound21 on Thursday 30th October 20:16

[Greyhound21]

Gulf7 said:

I'd have thought it was a bit unusual for a 10 month old car to already have 2 owners TBH.

There was a plate change 30 days after registration then a change of ownership on 28/8. Why it was SORN after changing owners is anyone’s guess.

Hopefully a chat with the dealer tomorrow will clear things up.

[Drive Blind]

have you vchecked it ?

[Drive Blind]

Tymb said:

Why would you mot a 10 month old vehicle.

Taxi?

[Greyhound21]

Drive Blind said:

have you vchecked it ?

I did a check via CarWow and it’s clear.

[Pica-Pica]

Gulf7 said:

I'd have thought it was a bit unusual for a 10 month old car to already have 2 owners TBH.

The first owner could have been a pre-registration at a dealer, far from unusual.

[Greyhound21]

Pica-Pica said:

The first owner could have been a pre-registration at a dealer, far from unusual.

That was my thought but there’s not been an owner change till August, the first owner changed the plates after a month of ownership,

[Drive Blind]

post the car / reg here and let the PH sleuths do their work ...

[Greyhound21]

Drive Blind said:

post the car / reg here and let the PH sleuths do their work ...

It’s a Hyundai Kona (don’t laugh!!). Reg DJ22 LFC

[paul_c123]

Red flags for me:

• 2 owners in 10 months. Fair enough, if its a pre-reg, but why didn't the second owner keep it longer? Problem car?
• SORN. If its at a dealer it should be in trade, and that would show up as "not taxed" on a DVLA check, instead of SORN'd.
• MoT at 10 months.

Personally I'd just move on to another vehicle. Points 1 and 3 will always be negative marks on that car's history. Just find another ~1 year old but with 1 owner and no MoT yet.

[Greyhound21]

Someone has bought it already it seems. It was too much of a risk for me.

[georgeyboy12345]

Drive Blind said:

Tymb said:

Why would you mot a 10 month old vehicle.

Taxi?

I bet this is it. Given that it is a car private hire drivers like to use. This is a risk buying such cars that are deemed to be reliable, like Toyota Corollas, Skoda Octavias, Hyundai Ioniqs, etc. Many of them end up being used as taxis, leading a hard life. Some have mileage blockers installed or are clocked back too.

The SORN thing is interesting though. Still wondering why they did that.

[paul_c123]

georgeyboy12345 said:

The SORN thing is interesting though. Still wondering why they did that.

Sometimes what happens is the previous owner SORNs it anyway (maybe they are trading it in a few days after the end of the month, or they've bought another car beforehand so do it anyway), then the dealer forgets to complete the registration and put it into trade (and the owner also assumes they'll do it, and do nothing further themselves).

[twing]

Drive Blind said:

Taxi?

Not a very busy one @ 2000 miles