Buying a used car, does this sound dodgy?

Lizmoretti

We’ve seen a car at an independent dealer which I’ll call X Cars Sales ltd.  I’ve driven past them many times, they’ve been there for years.

Inside their showroom I saw a notice saying they were actually Y Car Sales ltd.  I looked them up and they started trading in 2021. They said this particular car was actually being sold on behalf of a friend of the owner.

I’ve seen the V5 which says it’s currently owned by Z Car Sales ltd. I looked them up and they also started trading in 2021.

X and Y companies are coincidentally owned by two people with the same name, but according to companies house, their date of birth is 12 years apart. 

Z company (on the V5) is owned by someone else.

Done an HPI check and it’s all clear so should I care about the blatant shenanigans going on?

user1977

Lizmoretti said:

We’ve seen a car at an independent dealer which I’ll call X Cars Sales ltd.  I’ve driven past them many times, they’ve been there for years.

Inside their showroom I saw a notice saying they were actually Y Car Sales ltd.

Are they actually trading as "X Car Sales Ltd" though? Or just "X Car Sales"? 

Lizmoretti

user1977 said:

Lizmoretti said:

We’ve seen a car at an independent dealer which I’ll call X Cars Sales ltd.  I’ve driven past them many times, they’ve been there for years.

Inside their showroom I saw a notice saying they were actually Y Car Sales ltd.

Are they actually trading as "X Car Sales Ltd" though? Or just "X Car Sales"? 

Yes, all ltd companies.
The premises is X Car Sales Limited, which according to companies house is owned by 50yr old Mr A.
The notice I saw within the premises says they’re Y Car Sales Limited, which according to CH is owned by  38yr old Mr A.
The V5 says the car is owned by Z Car sales Limited, which is owned by Mr B.

Car_54

Lizmoretti said:

user1977 said:

Lizmoretti said:

We’ve seen a car at an independent dealer which I’ll call X Cars Sales ltd.  I’ve driven past them many times, they’ve been there for years.

Inside their showroom I saw a notice saying they were actually Y Car Sales ltd.

Are they actually trading as "X Car Sales Ltd" though? Or just "X Car Sales"? 

The V5 says the car is owned by Z Car sales Limited, which is owned by Mr B.

No, it doesn't say that.

What the V5C actually says, in large block capitals in a red banner, is "This document is not proof of ownership".

So you really have no idea who actually owns the car!

However, when a car sales company buys a car, it is normally notified to the DVLA as 'in trade', and the V5C remains in the previous keeper's name. The fact that it's in Z Cars' name suggests that this car was not bought by Z  Cars for resale, but as a personal car, or maybe a courtesy car or staff runabout.

Lizmoretti

Good pointCar_54 said:

Lizmoretti said:

user1977 said:

Lizmoretti said:

We’ve seen a car at an independent dealer which I’ll call X Cars Sales ltd.  I’ve driven past them many times, they’ve been there for years.

Inside their showroom I saw a notice saying they were actually Y Car Sales ltd.

Are they actually trading as "X Car Sales Ltd" though? Or just "X Car Sales"? 

The V5 says the car is owned by Z Car sales Limited, which is owned by Mr B.

No, it doesn't say that.

What the V5C actually says, in large block capitals in a red banner, is "This document is not proof of ownership".

So you really have no idea who actually owns the car!

However, when a car sales company buys a car, it is normally notified to the DVLA as 'in trade', and the V5C remains in the previous keeper's name. The fact that it's in Z Cars' name suggests that this car was not bought by Z  Cars for resale, but as a personal car, or maybe a courtesy car or staff runabout.

Good point, of course. So the V5 current says it had one previous owner.  That means we’ll be owner no 2 rather than no 3?

DanDare999

Lizmoretti said:

Good pointCar_54 said:

Lizmoretti said:

user1977 said:

Lizmoretti said:

We’ve seen a car at an independent dealer which I’ll call X Cars Sales ltd.  I’ve driven past them many times, they’ve been there for years.

Inside their showroom I saw a notice saying they were actually Y Car Sales ltd.

Are they actually trading as "X Car Sales Ltd" though? Or just "X Car Sales"? 

The V5 says the car is owned by Z Car sales Limited, which is owned by Mr B.

No, it doesn't say that.

What the V5C actually says, in large block capitals in a red banner, is "This document is not proof of ownership".

So you really have no idea who actually owns the car!

However, when a car sales company buys a car, it is normally notified to the DVLA as 'in trade', and the V5C remains in the previous keeper's name. The fact that it's in Z Cars' name suggests that this car was not bought by Z  Cars for resale, but as a personal car, or maybe a courtesy car or staff runabout.

Good point, of course. So the V5 current says it had one previous owner.  That means we’ll be owner no 2 rather than no 3?

You'll be registered keeper number 3.

Lizmoretti

DanDare999 said:

Lizmoretti said:

Good pointCar_54 said:

Lizmoretti said:

user1977 said:

Lizmoretti said:

We’ve seen a car at an independent dealer which I’ll call X Cars Sales ltd.  I’ve driven past them many times, they’ve been there for years.

Inside their showroom I saw a notice saying they were actually Y Car Sales ltd.

Are they actually trading as "X Car Sales Ltd" though? Or just "X Car Sales"? 

The V5 says the car is owned by Z Car sales Limited, which is owned by Mr B.

No, it doesn't say that.

What the V5C actually says, in large block capitals in a red banner, is "This document is not proof of ownership".

So you really have no idea who actually owns the car!

However, when a car sales company buys a car, it is normally notified to the DVLA as 'in trade', and the V5C remains in the previous keeper's name. The fact that it's in Z Cars' name suggests that this car was not bought by Z  Cars for resale, but as a personal car, or maybe a courtesy car or staff runabout.

Good point, of course. So the V5 current says it had one previous owner.  That means we’ll be owner no 2 rather than no 3?

You'll be registered keeper number 3.

I see. The garage says it has one previous owner. Normally that means the buyer is owner no 2. But in this case it appears we’ll be owner no. 3.

DanDare999

Lizmoretti said:

DanDare999 said:

Lizmoretti said:

Good pointCar_54 said:

Lizmoretti said:

user1977 said:

Lizmoretti said:

We’ve seen a car at an independent dealer which I’ll call X Cars Sales ltd.  I’ve driven past them many times, they’ve been there for years.

Inside their showroom I saw a notice saying they were actually Y Car Sales ltd.

Are they actually trading as "X Car Sales Ltd" though? Or just "X Car Sales"? 

The V5 says the car is owned by Z Car sales Limited, which is owned by Mr B.

No, it doesn't say that.

What the V5C actually says, in large block capitals in a red banner, is "This document is not proof of ownership".

So you really have no idea who actually owns the car!

However, when a car sales company buys a car, it is normally notified to the DVLA as 'in trade', and the V5C remains in the previous keeper's name. The fact that it's in Z Cars' name suggests that this car was not bought by Z  Cars for resale, but as a personal car, or maybe a courtesy car or staff runabout.

Good point, of course. So the V5 current says it had one previous owner.  That means we’ll be owner no 2 rather than no 3?

You'll be registered keeper number 3.

I see. The garage says it has one previous owner. Normally that means the buyer is owner no 2. But in this case it appears we’ll be owner no. 3.

If there's a previous keeper, a current keeper then you, you'll be number 3.

Stop using the word owner, technically if you bought a new car you'd be the first keeper and probably the third owner. There is no record of owners 

Grumpy_chap

Lizmoretti said:

We’ve seen a car at an independent dealer which I’ll call X Cars Sales ltd.  I’ve driven past them many times, they’ve been there for years.

Inside their showroom I saw a notice saying they were actually Y Car Sales ltd.  I looked them up and they started trading in 2021. They said this particular car was actually being sold on behalf of a friend of the owner.

I’ve seen the V5 which says it’s currently owned by Z Car Sales ltd. I looked them up and they also started trading in 2021.

X and Y companies are coincidentally owned by two people with the same name, but according to companies house, their date of birth is 12 years apart. 

Z company (on the V5) is owned by someone else.

Done an HPI check and it’s all clear so should I care about the blatant shenanigans going on?

If you have doubts about this car or this seller, why not simply buy another car from another seller?

Lizmoretti

Grumpy_chap said:

Lizmoretti said:

We’ve seen a car at an independent dealer which I’ll call X Cars Sales ltd.  I’ve driven past them many times, they’ve been there for years.

Inside their showroom I saw a notice saying they were actually Y Car Sales ltd.  I looked them up and they started trading in 2021. They said this particular car was actually being sold on behalf of a friend of the owner.

I’ve seen the V5 which says it’s currently owned by Z Car Sales ltd. I looked them up and they also started trading in 2021.

X and Y companies are coincidentally owned by two people with the same name, but according to companies house, their date of birth is 12 years apart. 

Z company (on the V5) is owned by someone else.

Done an HPI check and it’s all clear so should I care about the blatant shenanigans going on?

If you have doubts about this car or this seller, why not simply buy another car from another seller?

That will largely depend on the responses I get to my question about whether this sounds dodgy.

Herzlos

A dealer trying to sell a car in a private transaction always sounds dodgy. 

Who are you paying and who's giving you the invoice?

Is anyone providing any warranty?

Does it look like the sort of car the dealership owner would own? 

Who owned the business before? If it's the same people, then it's likely they've phoenixed to get out of paying something. 

Unless it's a unique car I'd walk away. If it's suspiciously cheap then there's a reason.