Main dealer /wrong owner registered

realfruit

Last month I bought my wife a used car from a main dealer.
I paid a 25% deposit and took the remaining finance over 12 months in my name. Happy with car and the deal.
The car was to be registered in my wifes name, clearly stated at time of sale and she signed paperwork to that effect which I witnessed.
Now the V5 just arrived after being submitted by dealer with me as the registered keeper.
My wife has already obtained insurance and been driving stating she is the owner with me as a named driver. So I would think this insurance is actually invalid?
The car only had 1 previous owner. Contacted manager of dealership and while they put their hands up to the error they don't want to know. He says just change the car into my wifes name at DVLA and everything will be fine!!
However two things spring to mind:
1. There's finance on the car so terms of loan say it can't be sold on or traded till loan is paid, standard conditions.
2. Even if I could change to my wifes ownership it's an extra owner on the docs so would show 3 owners in 3 years, not ideal when selling on in future.
So I seem to have registered myself a car which I never agreed to own, I can't do anything about it till loan is paid, and opened up a jar of worms with insurance, what we needed was my wife to be both owner and insurer so she can start accruing no claims discount. I already have my own car so not sure if I'd get any no claims discount on this second car which I now have.
Surely the dealer who sold the car has to do something to help here? At the end of the day they registered it to the wrong person with no signature from myself agreeing to my ownership.

BeenThroughItAll

The keeper on the V5 makes no difference to ownership. That's even written ON THE FRONT of the V5.


And 3 keepers vs. 2 where the 'previous keeper' has someone of the same surname (assumed since you said wife) at the same address? Hardly a big issue.


Either submit the V5 for a change, or don't bother and just tell the insurance company that your name's on the V5, it's unlikely they will care.

unforeseen

Just to be clear, as the deposit and loan are in your name then YOU are the owner, you purchased it.
You wanted the wife to be the registered keeper (not the same as owner) but the dealers got it wrong that can be changed, the owner can't

First thing to do is get the wife to speak to her insurance company because she was never going to be the owner with you paying and presumably your name on the invoice.

If you wanted the wife to be the owner then the wife would need to buy it with a loan in her name and not yours

realfruit

Unfortunately V5 can't be changed until any finance is settled.

marlot

realfruit wrote: »

My wife has already obtained insurance and been driving stating she is the owner with me as a named driver. So I would think this insurance is actually invalid?
...

Ask them - I doubt they are bothered between spouses.

PS. You can write to DVLA with the correction - as long as you do it promptly after reciept of the V5.
Section 1 of the attached. Note that you don't tick the 'new keeper' box.

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/167212/response/411848/attach/4/INS160.pdf

dannyrst

What would you like the outcome of this to be? The garage screwed up, which they acknowledge, and you yourself say you can't change the V5. The only thing you can do is change the insurance so it isn't her that is the registered keeper (although you stated that she told the insurance that she is the "owner", which she isn't and never was intended to be...).

I doubt any insurance premium would go up because of this and besides, if the insurance ask for the owner not the registered keeper, then you should be paying the increased amount anyway.

Seems like an easy fix.

BeenThroughItAll

realfruit wrote: »

Unfortunately V5 can't be changed until any finance is settled.

Why not? Have you asked the finance company?


And if they really do say it can't be changed (which it can, actually, it's an irrelevance to the finance arrangement - they just don't want it changed) then just leave it as it is. As I say, V5 does not in any way imply ownership.

bod1467

unforeseen wrote: »

Just to be clear, as the deposit and loan are in your name then YOU are the owner, you purchased it.

Are you sure? OP simply paid for it, that doesn't necessarily mean he's the owner. The owner is whoever is identified on (or who retains) the receipt for the transaction. Otherwise why woulf there ever be gift receipts, for example? (Generally though, you're right, but it's not quite that simple).

As said though, Keeper is entirely different to Owner.

AdrianC

Your choices are...

1. Write to DVLA and try to persuade them to change the keeper name without adding an additional keeper. Likely to be a bureaucratic nightmare...

2. Change the keeper, and get the garage to note in writing that it was their error, then keep that with the V5C for when you come to sell it.

3. Ask the insurer to note that you're the RK, not your wife. If there's a change fee, ask the garage to pay it.

4. Ignore it all, because it's really not going to make the slightest difference to anything, ever.

2 and 3 are the lowest-hassle routes. 4 is absolutely zero hassle, depending on your temperament. 1 is probably going to turn into 2 anyway, but may actually prove to be Kafka-esque in complexity.

maddogb

doesn't the car come under joint property anyway? meaning just leave it as it is.

lewishardwick

Is the finance definitely secured on the car? I took out finance on a motorcycle once, but after reading the small print it wasn't actually a secured loan...