Pros & Cons of pre-registered car

[movilogo]

I'm in the market looking for a new car for £8k. What I should check for buying pre-registered car?
I understand that since they have been already registered (in dealer's name?) their price should be lower than the brand new one.

Is there any drawback of buying pre-registered. I think officially I shall be 2nd owner but that should worry me much if I get substantial discount from brand new.

Is the warranty anyway affected?

Any thought?

[david29dpo]

the warranty would have started from the date of registration, so is ticking away as we speak. pre-reg cars can be a good buy at the right price, make sure you get it at the right price so bargain hard! when you sell it, most buyers will not worry about it having 2 previous owners because it will be obvious you where the first, so to speak.

[MrSmartprice]

Both of our cars were pre-registered. Mine was an ex-demonstrator which I bought with 1k on the clock. The dealer agreed to add on the four months to the warranty that they had used the car. MrsS had a pre-registered car with no miles on the clock. She also got the full warranty.

Both of our cars were bought with large discounts over the already-discounted new price. The fact that they have the seller as the first owner makes little odds if a car has a full service history when you come to sell it.

Go for it, and bargain hard! Chances are they need space for new stock anyway.

[30111987]

I got a 6 month old grande punto with 3.3K on the clock (ex courtesy car)
got more than £1200 of the new price

you should also get the balance of any breakdown cover (RAC/AA/etc)

[bunking_off]

Agree that ex-demo cars in particular can be stunning value (this is slightly different to straight pre-registered - these should have delivery mileage versus ex-demos tend to have 3 or 4k on).

Before now, I've bought a Mondeo for £6k less than list, and a Jag for (wait for it) £17k less than list. Both 6 months old, approx 3k miles. Obviously I could have bartered on the list, but the savings are still approx £4k/£10k better than anything I could have got for a brand new car at the time.

[DealDrivers company representative]

There's a permanent page on our website called 'buying tips' which goes through the things you need to weigh up, and in July's edition of What Car there was a major 2 page article on pages 148-149 about the pro's and con's.

Key issues include asking WHEN it was registered and why. It's warranty started ticking from that date, and if it was the dealers own' decision to register it then he shouldn't be reselling it until he's run it as a demo for 3-6mths- so will withold the logbook from you for that period to prevent you alerting the DVLA. If this is the case, don't touch it..as per our comments on this site for over a year and the recent article in What Car, there are legal implications and insurance cover implications.

If it was the manufacturer's decison and they supported the dealer financially to do it, then the dealer is free to sell it on straight away and transfer the log book to your name as 2nd owner.

No-one pre-registers cars which are 'in demand', they'll only pre register cars they are stuck with or which are hard to re-sell. So weigh up whether it is an obsolete model, old shape, bad engine, terrible colour or trim, loaded with unwanted extras etc or not before deciding.

[alanrowell]

No-one pre-registers cars which are 'in demand', they'll only pre register cars they are stuck with or which are hard to re-sell. So weigh up whether it is an obsolete model, old shape, bad engine, terrible colour or trim, loaded with unwanted extras etc or not before deciding.
Dealers preregister for many reasons - notably to qualify for manufacturer's bonuses for registrations in a given (generally slack) month

[dnc1781]

See:
http://www.whatcar.com/news-special-report.aspx?NA=225709

[zappahey]

Dealers preregister for many reasons - notably to qualify for manufacturer's bonuses for registrations in a given (generally slack) month

Indeed, and I suspect Dealdrivers would agree, but logic suggests that, if a dealer needs to pre-register (and therefore discount) a number of vehicles, he'll discount the ones that aren't moving rather than those that he can easily sell at full price.

If there's a reason they won't sell when new then there may well be a subsequent hit on the residual value when the owner tries to sell later.

[alanrowell]

I wouldn't assume that because the dealer is discounting that it means that the car is a "bad 'un".

It could be coming to the reg changeover and so they need to shift stock, it may be a car that's unpopular in a particular area but is acceptable elsewhere

Last pre-reg I bought was standard spec and came in silver grey. OK I wanted green but the £4000 saving on a 3 month old £11000 car made me feel a lot better

[DealDrivers company representative]

Exactly Zappahey...it is commercial suicide (or a thick dealer!) to preregister cars they can easily sell at closer to list price. They pick the more problematic cars as that is least loss, and least risk.

If all they can get hold of in time is a more saleable car then they will only register it as they are ttoally desperate for that sale and concede the financial hit. I come from a long line of franchised car dealers!

They already take a risk as they are bound by their franchise contracts to run them as demo's for 3-6mths (period depends on their brand contract) before re-selling, if they've done it just to hit their target.

If a buyer takes a car where they can't register themselves on the V5 as the owner for some weeks or months they must run that past their insurers first....but as per What Car's recent article and our own campaign for nearly 3yrs, they should be demanding the V5 immediately.

[MORPH3US]

I got a 6 month old grande punto with 3.3K on the clock (ex courtesy car)
got more than £1200 of the new price

you should also get the balance of any breakdown cover (RAC/AA/etc)

Would you mind telling me more about this deal? I like the Grande Punto and wouldn't mind knowing a bit more:

1. How long have you had the car and how have you found it / any problems etc?

2. Would you mind saying what model you got and what you actually paid.

3. Was it £1200 saving off the "list price" or of the "best available price (including internet dealers)?

M

[mjr600]

I got a 6 month old grande punto with 3.3K on the clock (ex courtesy car)
got more than £1200 of the new price

you should also get the balance of any breakdown cover (RAC/AA/etc)

(ex courtesy car) the fastest cars on the planet, the least economical and will go places 4x4 will never go.

Never buy an ex courtesy car, they have been thrashed within an inch of their lives.

[MORPH3US]

(ex courtesy car) the fastest cars on the planet, the least economical and will go places 4x4 will never go.

:confused: :confused: :confused:

Not sure what you are getting at there, can you expand?

[louidog]

Never buy an ex courtesy car, they have been thrashed within an inch of their lives.

I have an ex courtesy car, fully loaded and about £2,000 off list price, 3,000 mlies on the clock. Wish I had done that when I got my previous one and ended up paying stupid amounts to get every extra I wanted!

Ex demo or courtesy cars are great bargains and backed up with full warranty etc!

[zappahey]

I wouldn't assume that because the dealer is discounting that it means that the car is a "bad 'un".


Nor would I but the point is to do your homework.

[30111987]

Would you mind telling me more about this deal? I like the Grande Punto and wouldn't mind knowing a bit more:

1. How long have you had the car and how have you found it / any problems etc?

2. Would you mind saying what model you got and what you actually paid.

3. Was it £1200 saving off the "list price" or of the "best available price (including internet dealers)?

M

Had it for just over a month, paid just under £7000, got some road tax mats etc after haggling.
It's a 1.2 active with metallic paint. Only problem with the car so far is a leaking windscreen wash bottle which is being replaced tomorrow and a few issues with the dealer (not the car though).

[MarkyMarkD]

Whilst it may not bother most people, you do lose an insurance benefit by buying pre-registered.

Most insurers will replace a car which has damage amounting to over (something like) 60% of list price, if it's less than 12 months old and you are the first registered keeper.

If you are not the first registered keeper, they'll just pay you their value for the car, which may be a lot less than what you can then replace the car for.

[lic]

Why buy a nearly new car, ex demonstrator, or one the dealer wants to get shut of, when you can buy brand new for less.
I have just bought a brand new C3 from www.Broadspeed.com for less than I could have bought a second hand one for.
I couldn't beleive my luck, but that is what this site is about.
I researched on here and found out about the on line way to buy a car.
I did a search and saved over £1500 off my local Citroen dealer. What's really surprising is the car was supplied to me by Citroen Birmingham, via Broadspeed. Although my local dealer could not match the price.
Apparantly companies like Broadspeed do deals with various dealerships in the Country and obtain major discounts.
I will always buy my cars this way in the future.
I can throughly recommend Broadspeed, thee service was excellecnt.

[dnc1781]

Fiat Grande Punto

New from £6430:
http://www.broadspeed.com/fiat/grande-punto-1-2-active-white-3-door-13771.shtml
or
"used" 0656 109 or 133 miles £5995:
http://atsearch.autotrader.co.uk/www/cars_search.jsp?searchform=&modelexact=1&lid=search_used_cars_full&photo=1&state=none&sort=3&hassearched=Y&make=FIAT&min_pr=75&source=0&model=GRANDE+PUNTO&max_pr=&miles=1500&agerange=6&mileage=1&postcode=w12+7rp&variant=&bodyid=0&trim=&fuelid=0&colour=&transmissionid=0&keywords=&ukcarsearch_full.x=29&ukcarsearch_full.y=4&ukcarsearch_full=SEARCH

[Inactive]

Pre Reg, and Ex Demo are 2 different entities.

Pre Reg = Virtually no miles, as Brand New.

Demo means probably a courtesy car that any Tom / Dick or Harriet has driven before.

[MORPH3US]

I have just bought a brand new C3 from www.Broadspeed.com for less than I could have bought a second hand one for.

I hope you checked Drive The Deal first!

Just had a quick look (so it may well vary) but Broadspeed seems expensive compared to DTD.

@ dnc1781, to be fair, they prob don't include metalic paint like 30111987 got, but on DTD, they have the same car as 30111987 got WITH metalic paint for about £200 more than he paid, but "got some road tax.... after haggling" versus a full 12 months tax, 3.3k miles on the clock versus 0 miles on the clock, 6 months lost warranty and "the unknown factor" of has it been ragged etc...

Means going with DTD, paying the extra £200 would have IMHO been a much better option.

M

[bunking_off]

Why buy a nearly new car, ex demonstrator, or one the dealer wants to get shut of, when you can buy brand new for less.
I have just bought a brand new C3 from www.Broadspeed.com for less than I could have bought a second hand one for.


Going through Broadspeed/DrivetheDeal etc is certainly worth looking at (so long as you ensure it's a UK sourced car rather than import). If nothing else, it's worth getting a price from them and waving in front of your local dealer as their pricing can miraculously drop when presented with it.

There is one possible caveat, however. With Peugeot (so I'm guessing also with Citreon), the warranty tends to be 2 year manufacturer, 1 year dealer. I'm assuming - possibly incorrectly - that if something goes wrong in year 3 it's the supplying dealer who's responsible, which would be less than ideal if they weren't local. As a concrete example related to this, I had our Peugeot in for a 2 year service recently, and the locking wheel nut key was missing (probably never been there, we haven't had a need for it). Immediate question from dealer was "did we supply the car new?"...because the answer was yes they picked up the cost of busting them off and fitting new lockers. I used the "leverage dealer with Broadspeed pricing" approach when I bought the car - dealer couldn't match but could get down to within £200 - I figured it was worth it to have the one-stop-shop.

[dnc1781]

Going through Broadspeed/DrivetheDeal etc is certainly worth looking at (so long as you ensure it's a UK sourced car rather than import).

Imports? - none here:
http://www.broadspeed.com/
http://www.drivethedeal.com/faqs.asp

[dnc1781]

I hope you checked Drive The Deal first!

Just had a quick look (so it may well vary) but Broadspeed seems expensive compared to DTD.


- This beats both!:
http://www.perrys.co.uk/special-offer/8241/1323//atnew

[MORPH3US]

There is one possible caveat, however.

You are of course correct that people should be very careful of buying cars online and do their homework... as they should when buying from a dealer also...

Stories I have heard about Drive The Deal are all very good... most people report that they end up picking their cars up from their local dealers anyway so shouldn't cause any warranty problems at all.

Esentially, I see DTD and possibly the others mentioned as doing a job like Quidco, they just referr you to the dealer but get you a better deal because they cut down on their comission!

M

[zappahey]

...if it was the dealers own' decision to register it then he shouldn't be reselling it until he's run it as a demo for 3-6mths- so will withold the logbook from you for that period to prevent you alerting the DVLA.


Just interested but is that a legal requirement or is it more to do with the dealer's contractual arrangements with the manufacturer? If the latter then why would DVLA care?


If it was the manufacturer's decison and they supported the dealer financially to do it, then the dealer is free to sell it on straight away and transfer the log book to your name as 2nd owner.



This makes me think it's contractual rather than a legal requirement but I'd be interested to know the reasoning behind it.

[DealDrivers company representative]

Manufacturers can trigger pre-registration when they need to move some stock quickly into the marketplace ( a glut of unsold models, over production, facelift due out etc), in these cases they support the dealer financially to take the hit on a batch of cars being registered to help figures along a bit, and the dealer can onward sell the units immediately (meaning no logbook retention..these are the only deals we touch other than normal brand new 1st owner).

However, if a dealer takes the decision to pre-register himself, without the manuf'r feeling there is a need to, then under the bounds of his franchise contract to represent that manufacturer as a franchised dealership, he is expected to run the car as a demo' for 3-6 months (the no' months depends on the brand -they have different minimum periods). It is these cars that find their way onto many online reseller/broker sites where - once you ask the right questions - you find you'll have the logbook witheld from you for some months...as this is the only way the dealer and broker can stop you changing paperwork ownership at the DVLA too early i.e. before the minimum period is up that the dealer was supposed to adhere to before re-sale.

The 'What Car?' article in July's edition is key to understanding this and the implications for you as a buyer, not least your insurer (if you've ticked the box to say you're the registered owner/keeper on your insurance application..but you're not for some months). Their 2-page article explains clearly the hazards and why the OFT should be looking at dealers and brokers who do this.

As our own website says...if a seller doesn't shout from the rooftops that you are first and only registered owner on a deal, don't assume you will be (don't fall for the 'brand new' straplines...ask what the conditions of sale are!)..and don't assume you'll get your name on the V5 document for some time.

The long term effect is something all buyers should consider, in terms of the people running these schemes actually being negative for the consumer over time...buyers all herald the the 'too good to be true' car prices as being wonderful but then complain when their used car value is lower than hoped for.

Manufacturers have the 3-6months wait rule with their dealers there for a reason...to stop cars hitting the market too cheap too soon...and therefore driving used ('residual') prices down on that brand/model at the same proportionate rate. Once this happens, no-one's happy with their used car value!

One good rule of thumb is sually this: if you have to ahnd money to a thrid party (i.e. the broekr) it usually means you're buying an already-registered car, if you only ever hand money to a normal main dealer but get the broker to arrange the price for you, then you've got a standard safe deal and you're 1st owner and still dealing direct with a main franchised dealer...so the best of both worlds!

[DealDrivers company representative]

sorry for the typo's in that final paragraph..not had my coffee yet this morning!