Insurance companies cannot find used car's registration details

cromer2013

Good afternoon all,

I am looking to buy a used car and spotted something I like on AutoTrader. Its a 2003 Ford Explorer, left hand drive.

I am thinking about going and seeing the car tomorrow. Before I do that, I wanted to check what the insurance would be like. So, I visited plenty of insurance comparison sites (and also went directly to quite a few other Insurers) to get a quote, but none of them were about to find any details of the car when I put the registration number in. Also, when I tried to manually select the car/model, a 2003 Ford Explorer is not listed. The DVLA site, however, successfully found the car details (it doesn't mention the make and model though). I purchased an HPI check and the report says that the car has been registered in the UK since 2003, however, it had a private number plate at some point.

Has anyone been in a similar position and is able to provide some advise please?

Thank you.

spacey2012

Imported vehicles can attract huge insurance premiums for some reason and certainly if it is left hand drive.

InsideInsurance

spacey2012 wrote: »

Imported vehicles can attract huge insurance premiums for some reason and certainly if it is left hand drive.

Both are because the parts arent in stock as standard in the UK which can push up the cost of the parts and/ or delay the repairs and thus incur more costs for alternative transport.

I'd consider a LHD for a fun vehicle but nothing I'd use regularly, far too much of a pain with barrier, ticket machines, toll booths etc

rs65

cromer2013 wrote: »

I purchased an HPI check and the report says that the car has been registered in the UK since 2003, however, it had a private number plate at some point.

Its got a private plate now - included in sale.

There's 4 on autotrader just now and the one you are looking at is the only one that the kwik fit tyre search can't find.

I would ask the seller what the previous number was and see if it checks out.

dacouch

rs65 wrote: »

Its got a private plate now - included in sale.

There's 4 on autotrader just now and the one you are looking at is the only one that the kwik fit tyre search can't find.

I would ask the seller what the previous number was and see if it checks out.

Last time I looked into this with an Insurer, they purchase details of registrations and model details on a monthly basis in order for them to fill in the vehicle details for quotes etc. So if the plate has changed recently and the Insurers have not received the updated details from the DVLA it could explain the problem

vaio

dacouch wrote: »

Last time I looked into this with an Insurer, they purchase details of registrations and model details on a monthly basis in order for them to fill in the vehicle details for quotes etc. So if the plate has changed recently and the Insurers have not received the updated details from the DVLA it could explain the problem

Obvious when someone explains it

forgotmyname

Or possibly the person that registered it didnt fill the forms in correctly.

A mate bought an LandRover some time back. All it said on the log book was Land Rover type vehicle. Nothing listed for the engine or actual model.

dacouch

vaio wrote: »

Obvious when someone explains it

Similar thing happens with Post Codes from the Post Office.

I've heard some companies would save money by only updating infrequently

InsideInsurance

dacouch wrote: »

Similar thing happens with Post Codes from the Post Office.

I've heard some companies would save money by only updating infrequently

The Royal Mail PAF files there is no choice but to purchase the files and these are only ever updated monthly, though as you correctly say, some update less frequently than this.

I have never heard of the DVLA being done as anything other than a live feed though and with the 3 new cars I've bought in the last 12 months (bit of a story) all of them have been recognised by insurers within 2 days of me being given the registration by the dealers which would suggest it isnt common practice.

Nebulous2

There is something about cars being reregistered that the databases don't pick up on. I have a vehicle which was used in Germany and is ex-MOD. It is right hand drive. Despite the fact it has been in private hands in this country with the same reg for at least 5 years it is still missing from databases. I go through a broker to insure it anyway as it has a limited amount of companies that will take it on and I have no problem with a manual quote.

cromer2013

Thank you everyone for kindly taking time to answer my question.

Dear Nebulosu2: You mentioned ..

Nebulous2 wrote: »

I go through a broker to insure it anyway as it has a limited amount of companies that will take it on and I have no problem with a manual quote.

Could you recommend any brokers please?

Thank you.