Number plate shenanigans - should I be worried?

mark55man

Hi my OH and I bought a used car from a remote dealer (national brand) and had it delivered 

The advert from the dealer had Number plate AX nn xyz clearly and that is what is on the V5

However when the car was delivered it had plates AK nn xyz which we didn't notice straight away on account of the similarities between K and X.  But checking on the MOT check site the AK car is a different make model from the AX one.

So why on earth would the dealer change the plates like that the original wasnt a likely cherished plate - our suspicion is that maybe another car of dodgy heritage was replated but in the process a plating error was made. 

I Would be very grateful if someone wiser to the ways of the trade could explain.  I will check the VIN when I am back home from a trip at the end of the week - we won't be driving the car until it is resolved as I am worried about  insurance or police checks if the car is on wrong plates!!

Any advice on what to do welcomed - options seem to be contact the dealer, or the police as it all feels dodgy.  If it makes a difference car 4 years old value £15K

jimjames

Are the plates the same front and back? My parents had a car from new and only realised after 12 months that the front and rear plates didn't match (1 digit out) so it could be a genuine error. Are both cars from the same brand?

daveyjp

Occams razor points to nothing sinister and a genuine error - mistakes happen.

Larger dealers change plates to have a backplate with their info.

It will likely be down to an error by either whoever wrote the instruction for new plates, or whoever prepared the plates.  Someone read X as K and prepared the plates accordingly.

Many years ago my grandfather drove a brand new car for months, when he received a letter from DVLA that his reg had been duplicated.

sheramber

Is the AX plate the correct model on the MOT  check site?

mark55man

OK thats reassuring  The AX is correct on the MOT site - the AK Must be a mistake, but good to know there is a likely business reason as I really couldn't think of one.  The plates are the same front and back

Herzlos

Does the AK plate have the dealers details on it?

It's almost certain that they've told the guy doing the prep work to put branded plates on it and they've misread the old plate. 

As long as you have a car with plate and VIN that match the V5 you're good. The dealer should be paying for you to get a new set of plates ASAP too. You can always give the dealer a call to confirm what plate they think it should have. 

fatbelly

It's surprising how many dyslexic people are involved with number plates. I recall Matt from High Peak Autos talking about it on his youtube channel.

The plate maker should sort it 

RunsFromRobots

fatbelly said:

It's surprising how many dyslexic people are involved with number plates. I recall Matt from High Peak Autos talking about it on his youtube channel.

The plate maker should sort it 

Have you got a link to that video, please? I'm a regular visitor to that channel but I don't recall seeing this.

Car_54

fatbelly said:

It's surprising how many dyslexic people are involved with number plates. I recall Matt from High Peak Autos talking about it on his youtube channel.

The plate maker should sort it 

It's the dealer's responsibility to sort it out., regardless of who made the mistake.

Mr.Generous

At least you won't be getting any parking invoices or speeding fines !! 

Get onto the dealer and send them a pic.

mark55man

Hi all - sorry been at work.

The dealer's new plates (AK) were blank apart from the reg but the originals AX  had a competitor name on.  I am getting new ones printed by my garage as I live a fair distance from the dealer - I understand I should push the dealer but for a small amount of money I just want it sorted ASAP. 

I do hope I haven't caused the genuine AK plate owner any trouble.  I normally am pretty moderate in my driving.  The garage has confirmed the VIN so that put my mind at rest