used car: no. of previous owners

dada44

2005 Mk5 Golf 1.6 - considering buying from independent dealer.

It's had 3 owners since its registration. Average keepage is for about a year. Is this normal?

It passed HPI and everything else. The last owner was Black Horse (finance company) but they have had the car for a year.

xycom1

What condition is it in? Service history? Drives OK? Any hint of previous damage? Comes with full documents and both keys?

newfoundglory

I'm a bit funny when it comes to cars with lots of owners in a short period.

I think that when most people buy a car, they keep it for a few years at least before selling it (not always the case, but usually).

Probably not a reason to not buy it, but it should make you more aware of why that might be.

flyingscotno1

dada44 wrote: »

2005 Mk5 Golf 1.6 - considering buying from independent dealer.

It's had 3 owners since its registration. Average keepage is for about a year. Is this normal?

It passed HPI and everything else. The last owner was Black Horse (finance company) but they have had the car for a year.

Can be completely innocent but it is something to be careful of.

It is possible that 1st owner was say a dealer doing a pre-reg, 2nd was A. Punter who flogged it after a 3 years worked into a used dealer which someone bought using Black Horse Finance where it is being sold after a year?

LandyAndy

dada44 wrote: »

2005 Mk5 Golf 1.6 - considering buying from independent dealer.

It's had 3 owners since its registration. Average keepage is for about a year. Is this normal?

It passed HPI and everything else. The last owner was Black Horse (finance company) but they have had the car for a year.

Five years old. Three owners. Not outrageous particularly if the first is a dealer pre reg.

dada44

what's a dealer pre-reg?

this is what the AA report i paid for online tells me:

registered: 8/05

Number of previous keepers3Most recent keeper change/02/2009 Dates of other changes06/2008
07/2006

I'll be looking at the car tomorrow, but apparently its had a full vw service history. Am still slightly wary because I know how annoying vw's can be when they go wrong!

Alternatively there is another car for sale, 10,000 miles less and same price, but not serviced by main vw dealers (but still has a service history). Not sure how much this matters.

Inactive

dada44 wrote: »

what's a dealer pre-reg?

It is a vehicle that has been registered from new by the main dealer, usually in order to meet targets set by the maker, and thus to give a bigger discount from the maker to the dealer.

They are usually then offered for sale at a discounted price.

Nothing to worry about.

harveybobbles

BlackHorse were the last keeper? That means that they repo'd it from the previous keeper and had to register it themselfs to get a V5. And if it's been repo'd then I doubt it'd been looked after.

If Blackhorse were the 1st owner then it would have been a lease car and nothing to worry about.

andygb

Have a look at the service book to confirm the service history. Then have a check done by the RAC/AA if you are still interested. I had a check carried out years ago on a five series beemer, and the result allowed me to re-negotiate the price in my favour, nearly enough to pay for the inspection.
If you are at all unsure, then leave it and move on, because there are plenty more cars out there.

dada44

thanks for your help.

continualdiamond

I am in the same situation with mine. Reg 8.1.04 and im the 3rd owner, however the 1st owner was the main dealer, the car was purchased in the 2nd half of 2004 and that person had it until the end of 2009.

Just because the cars last owner is a finance company doesn't mean its been reposessed. My previous car is now registered to the finance company, but because i chose to voluntarily end the agreement after having paid 50% off, nothing was wrong with it, in fact it had to be in good condition otherwise it couldn't of gone to them.