Can I find previous owners details?

SnowWhiterThanWhite

Hi,

I purchased a used EV from local dealership just over 6 months ago. 
The car has had charging issues for the last few months, I attribuated this to my home charger. Never really got to the bottom of it as it was a random fault that normally fixed itself on the 2nd or 3rd charging attempt. 
After a lot of testing,  a lot of googling, I believe the issue is with the OBC which is over 3k to get fixed.
Of course,  my local dealership don't want to know, regardless that I've only driven 2k since purchasing. 
I think that if I can prove the car had this intermittent fault when I initially purchased it, I would have some recourse, especially as I have read that this is a common issue with my particular EV
I hoped to be able to contact the previous owner but details are no longer on the V5
The official form V888 from DVLA only states...

Use this form if you want to apply for information about:

• your vehicle
• a vehicle previously registered to you
• the registered keeper of a vehicle which is registered to someone else

So, I don't think this will help me. Is there another way of getting the information?

MyRealNameToo

Legitimately? Not from the DVLA

Obviously you could put something on community boards on Facebook etc to see if anyone comes forward as to being the prior owner but it may not have been sourced locally so its a bit of a shot in the dark. Plus if the former owner failed to mention it when trading it in they may not be willing to admit to it now

jimjames

Any service records or paperwork with the car? Mine had stuff in glovebox with previous owners details on

Mildly_Miffed

No.

It would be illegal under GDPR for DVLA to give the previous keeper's personally identifying information (name, address, etc) to you without their express permission. Nor will they forward a letter on...

That's why the previous keeper's name and address were removed from newly issued V5Cs a few years back.

DrEskimo

What EV is it?

If it’s a Zoe you can reach out to a chap called Gary who is very good at fixing them. 

For all other EVs would give Cleverly a call and see what they will charge.

paul_c123

The previous recorded keeper having a fault with the car doesn't prove the garage didn't fix it and that fault is no longer present. If they don't want anything to do with it now (rightfully, since its outside 6 months) and you can't prove it wasn't present at purchase, I don't see a way forwards.

Owning and running cars costs money, things go wrong etc. This is why a secondhand car costs less than a new car. That electric cars have fewer components is generally good for reliability, but the problem is those few components can cost a lot to fix.

You can't lean on a dealer/seller indefinitely to fix a car. Is the manufacturer's warranty still valid (I am guessing not, I am going to guess it was 3 years and the car is older). Could you have purchased an independent warranty?

Keep_pedalling

Intermittent faults are often cable issues. Have you tried an alternative cable or charge point? Which EV is this? 

MyRealNameToo

Mildly_Miffed said:

No.

It would be illegal under GDPR for DVLA to give the previous keeper's personally identifying information (name, address, etc) to you without their express permission. Nor will they forward a letter on...

That's why the previous keeper's name and address were removed from newly issued V5Cs a few years back.

There are some scenarios where someone can obtain the details from the DVLA without the persons consent as per https://www.gov.uk/request-information-from-dvla/request-information-about-another-vehicle-registered-keeper using the V888 form.

Clearly none of them are covered by the given scenario but then some people are willing to make false declarations to get what they want. 

SnowWhiterThanWhite

jimjames said:

Any service records or paperwork with the car? Mine had stuff in glovebox with previous owners details on

Unfortunately not, thanks anyway 

SnowWhiterThanWhite

DrEskimo said:

What EV is it?

If it’s a Zoe you can reach out to a chap called Gary who is very good at fixing them. 

For all other EVs would give Cleverly a call and see what they will charge.

Its a Vauxhall Mokka E

SnowWhiterThanWhite

Keep_pedalling said:

Intermittent faults are often cable issues. Have you tried an alternative cable or charge point? Which EV is this? 

I can charge on a public DC fast charger but not my home AC ohme. I took the car to a friend who has the same ohme charger and they tried to charge my car but same issue