Selling car but keeping private plate

[Deleted User]

Understand you can retain the plate online for £80.

If I sell the car though how does it work? Will the new V5 be sent to the garage?

Is this likely to cause them hassle? i.e. can they sell the car in the meantime?

born_again

Put plate on retention before selling, so you have the new V5 & assigned number plate on car already.
Only take a few days to get new V5 when doing online.

Frozen_up_north

I have done this several times. If you are trading the car in, let the dealer advise you, and/or let them handle it as larger dealers are doing this several times a week.

Be careful with insurance, you will have to let them know of the change and that can be awkward at times, the change at DVLA is almost “instant”, but details of a new car take a couple of days to reach the insurance database. Aviva tried telling me they couldn’t change my insurance as my new car wasn’t showing on their system, even though I could see the new vehicle details by entering my personal plate on the DVLA website 😡

Main dealers often offer a free short term insurance policy to avoid the hassle I had with Aviva.

vacheron

Agree with the above. 

If you are trading in for a new car from the same garage, let them deal with it. It's bread and butter to them. (This is what I usually do.)  

The only time I have had any hassle, was back in 1998 when the garage forgot to do the transfer and sent my old car to auction which was then bought by another dealer. The dealer who bought it was happy to transfer it back, but they had SORN'ed it, and apparently you can only transfer a plate off a car which is taxed.... so they had to un-sorn the car, and tax it, but they couldn't tax it without and MOT, so they had to MOT it and then tax it! A right mare, but they came good for me in the end! 

IIRC the £80 retention fee includes the fee to transfer the plate to a new car, as long as you do it within the 12 months that the retention fee applies to. 

Mildly_Miffed

Transfer the plate to retention.
Wait for the new V5C with the replacement reg.

THEN AND ONLY THEN trade it in.

Anything else risks you losing the reg you want to keep.

400ixl

If you are buying brand new then letting the main dealer deal with it is an option.

But, if you want to be risk free, then do it yourself for several reasons.
1. You put the plate on retention before handing the car over so there is no risk of the plate being lost.
2. Many dealers won't take in a trade in without the new V5 having been received. 

Iceweasel

The retention certificate is good for 10 years - so no rush to put it on your new car.😄

facade

Speak to the dealer to confirm, but-

I believe that you can put the plate on retention while standing in the dealers having driven your car there. (So no problem with insurance changes) Take the private 'plates off and bring them home with you.

Your new car will be issued with a new registration prior to collection (you can usually choose from a list at the dealer to try and spell a rude word or match your initials), and you just collect it and drive it normally on it's own registration.

When the new car V5 comes through, and you are happy that the new car isn't a lemon and getting rejected (so wait 30 days) you can transfer the private number onto the new car, then simply change the 'plates over (and keep the ones you take off under the boot carpet or somewhere where you can find them) inform the insurance and keep driving.

Advantages:

You have control and it doesn't go wrong and lose your private registration!

There is no problem with insurance on the old car.

Assuming it is a brand new car, the neighbours get to see the brand new registration for a month to make sure that they are suitably humbled by your affluence realise it is a brand new car, not some old one disguised with a private plate!

Disadvantages

You will have to pay an insurance admin fee for the plate change

It may be difficult to get the 'plates off as they use sticky pads now that make them easier to steal without tools look cleaner, and you need a new set of sticky pads (you need the proper 3M ones that are designed not to just drop off when you are going along) rather than just tighten up some screws. 

Frozen_up_north

Facade, the dealer can register a new car with your personal plate, no need to use a temporary one. Because the insurance database is a couple of days behind the DVLA one, the dealer can offer a free short term insurance on the new car with your personal plate, once the insurance DB catches up, you can update your details with your insurer for the admin fee. Did that a month ago with a Seat car from a main dealer.

400ixl

facade said:

Speak to the dealer to confirm, but-

I believe that you can put the plate on retention while standing in the dealers having driven your car there. (So no problem with insurance changes) Take the private 'plates off and bring them home with you.

You could, but now you have no valid V5C for the car you are trading in and some dealers will not complete the transaction without a valid V5C for the trade in.

Some will be fine with it as they will keep the car on site for a week before shipping it off for auction. You will also have to send the new V5C when you receive it to the dealers.

You can't transfer the ownership into the dealers name and then immediately put the plate on retention as you need the new V5C number to do the retention.

So, unless the dealer is willing to wait for the new V5C after the trade has happened, putting it on retention before the deal and then receiving the new V5C is the most risk free way of doing it.

[Deleted User]

ok so its a bit complicated. Part of the problem is the car is with son and hes away in college (with current plates on).

I guess when I do the retention its a case of
1. putting old plates on and telling insurance.
2. When new car is bought telling insurance
3. When retained plate is put onto new car telling insurance.

3x admin fees to insurer :-(