Buying a pre-reg car

jamie304

I am going to buy a pre-reg car in the next couple of weeks. As this is only the 2nd time I have bought a car I have a couple of questions.

As the new 58 reg comes out at the begining of September, is it better to buy a pre-reg 08 car in the last week of August or the first week of September? Will they even have any left in September?

I was thinking of buying the car in the 29th, the day before I go on holiday for a week. Would the dealership be happy to keep the car for that long, and I can then get the insurance company to send them the details so they can get it taxed while I am away?

Inactive

They will tax it on their own insurance, as the car will be registered to them anyway.

When you buy it really doesn't make much difference I suspect.

harveybobbles

You will get more off the pre reg'd 08 ones as they will want them gone so they can fill their yards with 58 plate stuff.

I'd rather wait til the end of September perhaps and get a pre reg 58 one.

In September 2000 I bought my first ever brand new car - I was young, free, single and had money lol. The car was ready for me from around the end of July, but I waited til September 1st to collect it so I had an X reg, not a W...

DealDrivers_company_representative

First of all check whether you are buying a pre reg car which has been registered legitimately...or not. The vast majority are registered without the manufacturer's authorisation (i.e. the dealer's own decision) and therefore should be run as demo' for 3-6mths before being sold on again...or you may be buying a car registered to a company name - usually a rental type name acting as a 'front' to obtain fleet terms for manufacturers by deception (i,e pretending to run a rental company which would qualify for big discounts, but they are actually just ordering them to sell on again without ever hiring them out. They try to prevent the manuf'rs finding out that they've just re-sold the cars immediately by keeping the logbooks of cars they've sold in their own name and address for 3-6 mths...a complete scam that can have legal implications for you as a buyer)

A pre-registration internet-based firm went into administration this year and many of the customers could not understand why a rental company owned the vehicles they thought they'd already paid for, as they had simply not understood the type of deal they got themselves into.

If you really want pre registered car (done the wrong way) rather than one of the current new deals with mega bucks already discounted, then find a deal where you only hand your money to the supplying dealer, not to a third party. That way you know the logbook issue should not exist...if the dealer is acting correctly.

The question you need to ask is 'when will I get the logbook in my name?'. If the answer is anything other than 'immediately' then you are buying a car registered the wrong way! No-one has the right to withold a logbook from a buyer, keeping it in someone else's name. It must change hands with the vehicle. By witholding it they are preventing notification to the DVLA of a change of owner.

If a website doesn't shout out 'first registered owner' then assume you won't be...if they can really offer that status to a buyer they'll be shouting it from the rooftops. The lack of that phrase means they are avoiding the issue completely and hoping you won't think to ask. There's a lot of people making a lot of money out of buyers who don't ask the question.

Anyone telling you it is being 'witheld' for audit reasons etc are simply giving you the story to ensure they are not picked up for having sold the car on before they are permitted to.

Also, if you still go ahead and pay an unauthorised reseller (anyone other than a main dealer) check with your insurers first, around 50% will not validate an insurance claim if you are not the registered owner of the vehicle according to the DVLA's records.

Hope that helps...