Insurance and Reg keeper question

[tony3x]

My sister ws looking to buy a car. Its a Cat D that has been repaired. She is ok with that as her current car is the same and shes had it for 10 years without a problem.

 

Short story - see a car, had test drive, all good. Paid deposit. On the day she was due to collect was contacted to say that the car had been hit by another vehicle in a hit and run and was sent photos of the damage. Owner said that it would cost around £100 to repair but he would knock £150 off the price. Sister says now not interested and asked for refund of deposit. I passed the photos around some friends in the trade to get an idea of the cost of repair and got quotes from £350 (smart repair) to £1300 (main dealer). Owners son phoned to say we had agreed deal and he would get it repaired and then all ok. Sister says no, wants deposit back as the new damage, even though repaired, is not the car she wanted to but. Owner now playing up about returning the deposit.

 

My question is this - the current owner bought the car and had it repaired from from the original Cat D accident. He has owned it since January, it is taxed, MOT'd and insured But - the V5 still shows the original owners details meaning he has never changed the registered keepers details.

 

Just need a bit of ammunition to try to get the deposit back with the least amount of fuss so assuming insurance companies ask if you are the registered keeper, how much more information would they need if you were to say no. I am guessing that the owner has said that he is the registered keeper.

[unclebulgaria67]

My sister ws looking to buy a car. Its a Cat D that has been repaired. She is ok with that as her current car is the same and shes had it for 10 years without a problem.

 

Short story - see a car, had test drive, all good. Paid deposit. On the day she was due to collect was contacted to say that the car had been hit by another vehicle in a hit and run and was sent photos of the damage. Owner said that it would cost around £100 to repair but he would knock £150 off the price. Sister says now not interested and asked for refund of deposit. I passed the photos around some friends in the trade to get an idea of the cost of repair and got quotes from £350 (smart repair) to £1300 (main dealer). Owners son phoned to say we had agreed deal and he would get it repaired and then all ok. Sister says no, wants deposit back as the new damage, even though repaired, is not the car she wanted to but. Owner now playing up about returning the deposit.

 

My question is this - the current owner bought the car and had it repaired from from the original Cat D accident. He has owned it since January, it is taxed, MOT'd and insured But - the V5 still shows the original owners details meaning he has never changed the registered keepers details.

 

Just need a bit of ammunition to try to get the deposit back with the least amount of fuss so assuming insurance companies ask if you are the registered keeper, how much more information would they need if you were to say no. I am guessing that the owner has said that he is the registered keeper.

 

Sounds like a dodgy side of the road dealer, where they are dealing as a business, but when you have a problem they are a private seller.

 

As the car is not what it was, when the contract for sale was agreed, then they should refund the deposit. But these type of traders can be a shady bunch and even getting a CCJ against thrm might not acheive getting money back.

 

You can only speculate about whether their Insurance is valid. Depends on the type of policy. For a standard car policy, you should be registered keeper, as Insurers want to know who has the car. It could be a traders insurance, where Insurers are aware if cars being bought and sold.

 

In these situations, suggest a written letter asking for deposit back or a claim will be issued in the county court and report made to Trading Standards. If they are conducting a business from a private property, you could also threaten reporting to the local council.

[tony3x]

Thanks UB.

I have checked on AskMid and it confirms that it is insured. I am assuming that it is in the 'owners' name as I was under the impression that traders ins would not normally have the cars listed.

 

The guy is a driving instructor and has another vehicle all stickered up. We also have his bank account details as the deposit was by bank transfer. Its only £100 so not a large amount but more principle.

[unclebulgaria67]

If he is trading cars from a private address, then presumably the local council would be interested. I think i would ask for the £100 or they face a sh*t storm, with reports being made to various about their trading activities.

 

On Askmid you can obtain Insurers details and give the Insurers a call. I wonder whether the seller would want you contacting their Insurers ? I bet they would not !

[tony3x]

I agree. Its quite funny that when his son was on the phone he kept stating that we had made a contract that was binding and he was recording the call. The shame is that whilst I know that the car is insured I do not know the ins company as a little phone call would do the trick.

The latest is that he has had it repaired and wants us to look at it and if we don't like it he will refund the deposit in cash. not keen on this as they may try to pass off dodgy notes.

A couple of rather large friends have already said that they will go and knock on the door to ask for the refund and my sister has said that she would get more damage done to his cars than the £100 value but not really roads we should be going down. I would rather report him to the relevant authorities as suggested.