Car registration / Finance

SteveABZ_2

Hi all, looking for advice and opinions.
In June, I bought a 4 year old car on Finance. It came with 6 months MOT. When I put the car in for it's test the other day, the garage phoned me up and said they couldn't do it because the car is registered as a different model. It's a TT but registered as an A4.
I phoned the selling dealer, not our fault they say. So I phoned the DVLA, they say it's up to me to prove the model of the car. This means a letter from Audi UK, who also say they registered the car correctly when new. It will take a minimum of 8 weeks.
So, I now have a car that I can't use or MOT until February, on what is currently illegal registration paperwork.
The Finance company sounded very concerned and said they would speak to the dealer, but no word back yet.
Do I have reasonable grounds for handing the car back and the finance being cancelled?
It's a good car but this registration issue makes me nervous. If it sits in my driveway for 2 months over winter it may get damaged.

Herzlos

It would have had an MOT last year, so that worked fine?
What does the MOT history, HPI and your V5 say?

molerat

What does the V5 show, what do the .gov sites show for what the car is ?  The dealer can't really be held responsible if the DVLA database has somehow got corrupted since you bought it.

SteveABZ_2

V5 says it's an A4. DVLA website says A4. Need to check MOT history and HPI.

Car_54

The MOT manual lists the reasons for which a test can be refused. The OP's doesn't seem to be one of them. See https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mot-inspection-manual-for-private-passenger-and-light-commercial-vehicles/introduction

SteveABZ_2

HPI has come back as an A4

SteveABZ_2

Car_54 said:

The MOT manual lists the reasons for which a test can be refused. The OP's doesn't seem to be one of them. See https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mot-inspection-manual-for-private-passenger-and-light-commercial-vehicles/introduction

I phoned 2 other garages, they both said they wouldn't touch it if V5 / DVLA records are incorrect.

Herzlos

Is it the correct registration number and always had the same one? Does the V5 match the VIN (most visible from the dashboard from the outside).
Have you spoken to the dealership? They may be able to prove that it was registered as a TT when they bought/sold it and that it's gone wrong since, or try and figure out what happened.

If it's not explictly excluded, try taking it to another MOT place and see if they comment on it. Can the selling dealership do the MOT?

AdrianC

Did you get the car new? If not, how long have you had it?

You've never once noticed that the V5C had the wrong model on it?

Is the VIN on the V5C the same as the one on the car?
Audi VINs have the model code in the VIN - does it have 8S (TT) or 8K/8W (A4) as the seventh and eighth digits?

There's three options...
If the VIN matches the car and is 8S, then the model field is simply wrong, due to an error in registration.
If the VIN doesn't match the car, you have the wrong car for the V5C...
If the VIN matches the car, but is an A4 VIN, then it's hooky as anything.

SteveABZ_2

I bought the car used in June, the V5 arrived a few weeks later and I must admit I put it in the file and didn't notice it said A4 and not TT. I'll need to go look at the VIN etc and try to work out where things have gone awry.
Everyone involved that I speak to is shrugging their shoulders and I'm left with an illegal car.
The Finance company seem to be the most concerned so I'll see what they come back with.
P s. it's the dealer I bought it from who refused the MOT.

Iceweasel

How do you know it's really a TT - lots of folks stick on real TT badges on lesser cars.
For example loads of BMWs have 'M' badges - but not all are M cars or even M-Sport ones.