Does this sound dodgy or OK?

[v_i_c]

I have agreed to purchase a car privately. I put down a cash deposit of £250 and carried out HPI checks on the car (all OK). The seller has got a cherished number on the car and wants to take it off and put it on retention. So he has sent off the V5 to get it updated. The seller is worried it may take 3-4 weeks to get the V5 back. In the mean time, he wants us to pay for the car and take it away, as he says he wants to purchase his next car and he'll forward the V5 when he gets it and write a "legal" (?) document to say we are the registered owner/keeper.

Does this sound legitamite? Will a cover note to say we are the owners good enough? Anyone had an experience with transfering registration plates?

[old_andrew2007]

Originally Posted by v_i_c

I have agreed to purchase a car privately. I put down a cash deposit of £250 and carried out HPI checks on the car (all OK). The seller has got a cherished number on the car and wants to take it off and put it on retention. So he has sent off the V5 to get it updated. The seller is worried it may take 3-4 weeks to get the V5 back. In the mean time, he wants us to pay for the car and take it away, as he says he wants to purchase his next car and he'll forward the V5 when he gets it and write a "legal" (?) document to say we are the registered owner/keeper.

Does this sound legitamite? Will a cover note to say we are the owners good enough? Anyone had an experience with transfering registration plates?

Yes I agree it could take sometime, however I feel you should tell him to visit a taxidermist on his own behalf, please note I am no expert, I would argue that he would remain the registered keeper.

Andy

[Conniff]

I would not purchase any car, even from my granny, without the V5.

There is no reason that a car is sold without the documents, if they can't find them then they should apply for duplicates before putting it up for sale.

It's a question of trust, especially with someone you don't know.

[v_i_c]

Thanks for your views.

We have contacted the DVLA, the insurers and the police. The DVLA will issue a new MOT and tax disc witht the new reg. The V5 will be with the DVLA to get the plate update (which may take upto 4 weeks). We know where the seller lives and works. We are going to write a legal contract between the seller and us, to show we are the registered keeper.

All this over a plate!!

[patdavies]

I have always sold my vehicles without the V5 as I need to put my plate on retention/transfer. The transfer rules mean that you cannot change the RK name at the same time as you are not supposed to dispose of the vehicle until the transfer is complete.

You get the amended MoT back within a couple of days, together with the VRM authority (it used to be done over the counter, but the DVLA has stopped this). These, together with a photocopy of the old V5, have always been enough.

The V5 only list the registered keeper; this is completely irrelevant to ownership. It makes no difference if you are not shown as the RK for 3 - 4 weeks,as long as you have paperwork proving ownership.

[patdavies]

Originally Posted by v_i_c

The V5 will be with the DVLA to get the plate update (which may take upto 4 weeks).

The VRM change will take 24 hours and V998s issued to authorise new plates. The V5 will follow on in about 4 weeks. ANPR that uses the DVLA database will reflect the new VRM rather than the retained one after the first 24 hours.

We are going to write a legal contract between the seller and us, to show we are the registered keeper.

There is no way that you can write a contract for this. The RK is, and can only be in law, the person registered with the DVLA. You can write such a contract to clearly show who is the owner.

You seem to be falling into the common trap of thinking that owner and registered keeper are interchangeable terms. They are not, they are quite separate legal entities, even if they are the same physical person. The DVLA is not in the least bit interested in the owner of a vehicle and even make it clear on the V5 that the RK is not necessarily the owner.

[gwc1000]

Hi, v i c. Your question is "Does this sound dodgy or ok?" It sounds ok to me. I buy many prestigious vehicles that are undergoing a plate change that have no V5. There should be no problem.