Online New Car Buying - ? Pre-Registered Car Con

tiya1990

I am not sure if I am being conned and would appreciate some advice. 

I put a £1000 deposit on a New Toyota Rav4 in early July with UK Car Discount - an Altrincham based online car broker with pretty good reviews on Trust Pilot ( 4.9 )  . I was told delivery will take 4-6 months. I was contacted 3 weeks later to say that they had the same spec car with a different colour already on a ship from Japan and would be here at the end of Sept and would I like this car - I agreed to compromise on the colour. 

I have today been emailed - with an unusual story . The car will be in the UK next week ahead of schedule . But it appears that one of their clients boasted at a Toyota Dealership about the savings he received  by buying online ( around 4-4.5K in my case )  - the Dealership complained to Toyota - and now Toyota have specified that all new cars from online brokers have to be pre-registered with the broker for one day and I will be the Second Owner. 

I phoned them and asked to see the circular from Toyota with this information - they declined saying it is sensitive information. 

My question is :
1) Is there that big a downside with Pre-Registered cars ? - I have no problem with it but OH feels that this is the tip of the iceberg and we will run into more problems if we go ahead.  
2) Does anyone else have any similiar experience with other online brokers and / or manufacturers - surely this will be universal not just Toyota or this particular online broker ??
( The broker has agreed to refund me the deposit if I don't wish to go ahead but is putting me under a lot of pressure to agree within 24 hours ) 

The_Rainmaker

Back to your 4-6 months wait then, if you don't take it and I suspect they would prefer you not to as they probably have a few buyers. 

There is a bit of pent up demand for new cars at the moment (won't last beyond October when those who are already unemployed actually find out they are unemployed).

Your choice, personally I would hold off until the new year.

daveyjp

The cynic in me thinks the car is already in the UK!  Almost new reg date so its a sale in the bag for the bonus.

For insurance purposes the car is used so if your insurance provides a brand new car in the event of a write off in the first 12-24 months it won't apply.

If its pre reg is it cheaper than pre reg on Toyota website which in theory you could have in a week?

Mercdriver

sweetsand said:

Hi
If true then it's new rulings.
We always buy our brand new cars online well my OH does. Our understanding of pre-reg is or was that a pre-reg car cannot be legally sold for about 3 months as we looked into this as we either wanted a brand new car ie us the first owners or a hefty discount for pre-reg and MB told us pre-rg had to be so for 3 months and same a Land Rover.

There is no criminality in selling a car registered the hour before.  No law that states there has to be 3 months.  There are contractual negotiations and those might normally preclude selling a car that the dealership has bought in order to get bonuses for hitting a sales target.  

Again, I have to suggest that the most important thing about knowledge is understanding what you do not yet know.  

Mercdriver

There is no criminal law involved.  You will need to show the appropriate Act of Parliament or Department of Transport instrument to be convincing.  Manufacturers prefer dealers not to undercut them so will make it a condition that the cars are held back for a few months, so they get used as company cars, demonstrators or courtesy cars for a few months.  

DoaM

I tend to agree that there is no such law ... merely contractual agreements between dealerships and manufacturers. That's not to say the dealership didn't bend the truth and imply to you that it was a legal requirement.  

sweetsand

DoaM said:

I tend to agree that there is no such law ... merely contractual agreements between dealerships and manufacturers. That's not to say the dealership didn't bend the truth and imply to you that it was a legal requirement.  

you are just as wrong as the other poster. Please see my link in response to the other poster that said I was wrong but I have posted a link to them showing that again I was right and that poster and you are wrong. We buy enough cars to know what is pre rules and what are not unless they have recently changed. ie since we bought our previous new car.
Thnaks

Herzlos

sweetsand said:

Mercdriver said:

sweetsand said:

Hi
If true then it's new rulings.
We always buy our brand new cars online well my OH does. Our understanding of pre-reg is or was that a pre-reg car cannot be legally sold for about 3 months as we looked into this as we either wanted a brand new car ie us the first owners or a hefty discount for pre-reg and MB told us pre-rg had to be so for 3 months and same a Land Rover.

There is no criminality in selling a car registered the hour before.  No law that states there has to be 3 months.  There are contractual negotiations and those might normally preclude selling a car that the dealership has bought in order to get bonuses for hitting a sales target.  

Again, I have to suggest that the most important thing about knowledge is understanding what you do not yet know.  

It was when we bought our latest new car. Let me look it up and see if you are completely wrong or the law has changed.
As expected, you are wrong again. Read the link below from a broker that is a trsuted broker and around for a good 20 years plus.
https://www.drivethedeal.com/Pre-Registered-Cars.aspx

So you are wrong again

There may be a contractual element to having car registered to the dealer for 3 months, so that they count as 'ex demo' and the dealer gets the discount, but it's not a law. There's nothing in UK law preventing a dealer registering a car to themselves and then selling it to a customer immediately.

OP - The main thing with the pre-registered car is the value - when you get rid of it it'll have had 2 previous owners rather than 1. It definitely sounds like the broker is trying to play a bit fast with someone/everyone, so I'd be inclined to wait and get the one you want in the correct colour with your as the first registration unless you're getting it much cheaper.

sweetsand

OP
Other than what I have posted about pre-reg see my link to that above from a car broker - other downsides as you put it are - you will be the second owner so will get a little less - the car withb have a little less warranty -  the car will not be made to the exact spec you want but can get good, standard specs - upside, you should save your self quiet a bit depending on what you buy - be sure you get the paperwork -  we always get our car delivered or pick up from a main dealer put 10% down via cc as it protects us and bank transfer the outstanding 90% when we are at the dealers to pick up the car at a pre arrange appt, I can see not reason why that can't be applied to a pre reg car as ours are brand new but we are considering this but often get a good deal via broker on a brand new car like you should have
ATB
x

DoaM

Please note that you edited your previous post after I had already posted. Don't try and denigrate me by using surreptitious acts and false claims.

Also, I believe you're misreading what that article says - it would be illegal IF the car was not registered to you at the time it was delivered to you; that's the only potential for illegality. The fact that a manufacturer may have a contractual term with a dealer doesn't stop the dealer from registering prior to the 3 months, so as long as the consumer is the RK at the time of delivery (or immediately thereafter) then no law has been broken.

sweetsand

DoaM said:

Please note that you edited your previous post after I had already posted. Don't try and denigrate me by using surreptitious acts and false claims.

Also, I believe you're misreading what that article says - it would be illegal IF the car was not registered to you at the time it was delivered to you; that's the only potential for illegality. The fact that a manufacturer may have a contractual term with a dealer doesn't stop the dealer from registering prior to the 3 months, so as long as the consumer is the RK at the time of delivery (or immediately thereafter) then no law has been broken.

I added the link to the post hence the edit.. So what do you have to say about you being wrong having read my intial statement in this thread to which I was falsely accused of being wrong so I added a link to it to prove I was right and the other poster and your were wrong.
Are you saying the link is false?
Edited
added link again to see if the poster thinks it a fake, The site has been around for years and mentioned in the media so I am assuming it is a good link but DYOR

here is the link again for your benefit the one I added to the post you refer to
https://www.drivethedeal.com/Pre-Registered-Cars.aspx