Can you get the contact details of the previous owner of a car ?

property.advert

Say you see a car you are interested in and you'd like to speak to the previous owner. Now perhaps the garage would give you their details but I doubt they would want you to know how little they paid for the car but is there another way ?

I seem to remember someone saying that such records were publicly available but I am not sure how accurate that statement was.

Can you really find out who owned it before and get their address ?

msmyth18

I dont see what this would achieve? By knowing how much they sold it to the garage for isn't going to make any difference to the price you pay.

The only thing you can see is the MOT records online on the direct gov site. This doesn't really tell you much though!

property.advert

msmyth18 wrote: »

I dont see what this would achieve? By knowing how much they sold it to the garage for isn't going to make any difference to the price you pay.

The only thing you can see is the MOT records online on the direct gov site. This doesn't really tell you much though!

Sorry, perhaps I was not clear enough, but that is not my point. My point was to perhaps find out about the history of the vehicle which the garage may well wish to not offer.

If they have smashed it up then I may well expect the garage to know that and they may have received a low trade in. The garage is under no obligation to offer those details unless specifically asked.

My feeling is that Mr Smith, who had a couple of minor prangs, repaired on insurance, is not going to mind telling you that he reversed into the garden wall 18 months ago and the damage was knocked out and is now hidden behind the new rear bumper. The garage will let you find out for yourself, or not.

masterlumps

im guessing data protection would prevent the garage from giving out details, and tbh, if i had moved on with my cars i would be a little peeved if someone got my contact details and came asking questions - i think it would be fair to say that a car is a car and when buying one, as with everything else, we take our chances

Rolandtheroadie

No matter where you buy, or what you buy, you run the risk of buying a squib. If you want to have some sort of comeback, buy from a dealer.

verybigchris

masterlumps wrote: »

im guessing data protection would prevent the garage from giving out details...

+1

Unless the previous owner specifically signed something along the lines of "I give my permission for Dodgy Cars Ltd to share my personal details with anyone who shows an interest in the car", that info would have to be kept confidential.

GabbaGabbaHey

property.advert wrote: »

I seem to remember someone saying that such records were publicly available but I am not sure how accurate that statement was.

Easiest way is to ask to see the V5 so that you can verify the car's details. The previous owner's name and address will usually be on it.

(Once you have purchased the car - which I realise is too late for your needs - you can get a complete list of previous owners and their addresses from DVLA for something like a £5 fee).

harveybobbles

Erm, just look on the V5... That will tell you who the last reg'd keeper was... Look them up on 192.com and give them a polite call.

You can send a chq to DVLA for a fiver to request all keeper details, but it takes a week or so and no dealer will want to keep a car off sale while you persue the keeper details...

Jakg

msmyth18 wrote: »

I dont see what this would achieve? By knowing how much they sold it to the garage for isn't going to make any difference to the price you pay.

Not neccesarily - I was looking at a car, and the seller showed me the V5 - I took a photo (I was going alone looking for a car for the first time so I took a photo of *everything* as I have a rubbish memory). On the front it shows the previous owners details... I gave him a call.

I asked him about the "FSH" the dealer assured me the car had (no stamps, all with xxxx MG Rover main dealer who I could contact if I want - as it happened they'd gone bust so I couldn't) which turned out to be "my mate changed the oil filter once in my 35k mile ownership". He also said he hadn't really cared for the car, explained all the little problems I hadn't noticed and was intrigued to know where the car ended up. It was also nice to know the dealer I was dealing with was a bit of a liar (with the cars history) and was a bit tight (took the tax and cashed it in...)

He could be 100% honest because it doesn't matter what he says.

Another example - first ZT I saw, called the previous owner - he was an old guy, basically paid whatever the dealer said doing, loved the car, and only sold to get something newer - a few minor issues but besides that it was fine.

I always call the previous owner if it's a dealer...

property.advert

Jakg wrote: »

Not neccesarily - I was looking at a car, and the seller showed me the V5 - I took a photo (I was going alone looking for a car for the first time so I took a photo of *everything* as I have a rubbish memory). On the front it shows the previous owners details... I gave him a call.

I asked him about the "FSH" the dealer assured me the car had (no stamps, all with xxxx MG Rover main dealer who I could contact if I want - as it happened they'd gone bust so I couldn't) which turned out to be "my mate changed the oil filter once in my 35k mile ownership". He also said he hadn't really cared for the car, explained all the little problems I hadn't noticed and was intrigued to know where the car ended up. It was also nice to know the dealer I was dealing with was a bit of a liar (with the cars history) and was a bit tight (took the tax and cashed it in...)

He could be 100% honest because it doesn't matter what he says.

Another example - first ZT I saw, called the previous owner - he was an old guy, basically paid whatever the dealer said doing, loved the car, and only sold to get something newer - a few minor issues but besides that it was fine.

I always call the previous owner if it's a dealer...

Thank you very much. This is exactly the sort of thing which I think a little bit of time and effort can throw up.

property.advert

harveybobbles wrote: »

Erm, just look on the V5... That will tell you who the last reg'd keeper was... Look them up on 192.com and give them a polite call.

You can send a chq to DVLA for a fiver to request all keeper details, but it takes a week or so and no dealer will want to keep a car off sale while you persue the keeper details...

Thanks to you and the others who suggested this. It appears I was not totally mistaken then.

Do you know if this information is available online ?