Date when car entered 'trade' or was part-exchanged

Date when car entered 'trade' or was part-exchanged

Author
Discussion

PistonHeadDJ

Original Poster:

3 posts

8 months

Friday 8th March
quotequote all
Hello

I would like to find out the date when my car was part-exchanged / handed over to the dealer. I have just bought it but I want to know how long it was on a dealers books. I think DVLA should provide this information, because it can affect buying decisions for a used car. For example, if the car was part-exchanged 2 years ago, but has been passed around various dealers, auction, used as a company and during all this time not maintained very well.

In my case I have just bought a car but it has manifested some problems. The V5C reg doc says it had one (1) previous lady owner, but no way could she have put that level of mileage on the car.

I have the current V5C with my name on, can I use that to find out more info? Thanks for your help!

Bemmer

1,145 posts

209 months

Friday 8th March
quotequote all
Maybe the first owner have put the mileage on it. ? Could have been a hire car ?

OutInTheShed

9,293 posts

33 months

Friday 8th March
quotequote all
If you look at the tax and mot status .gov website, it will tell you when the last V5 was issued and when it was last taxed.
May be too late if you've already taxed it.

You can also see mileage at each MOT.

If it's a newer car, there may be electronic servicing info which can be accessed?
The first owner rpobably used dealer servicing, so there should be some records.
You might get more info from DVLA if you pay them?

ingenieur

4,216 posts

188 months

Friday 8th March
quotequote all
You may be able to uncover the information you are looking for by paying for a 3rd party vehicle history check from the likes of Car Vertical.

HOWEVER...

You mentioned that you are looking for this information because your car has developed some issues.

Some more info is required to be able to say for sure but it looks to me like you might be about to waste a lot of your time trying to prove something which will have no effect on your likelihood of getting a free repair from the dealer.

bennno

12,699 posts

276 months

Friday 8th March
quotequote all
PistonHeadDJ said:
Hello

I would like to find out the date when my car was part-exchanged / handed over to the dealer. I have just bought it but I want to know how long it was on a dealers books. I think DVLA should provide this information, because it can affect buying decisions for a used car. For example, if the car was part-exchanged 2 years ago, but has been passed around various dealers, auction, used as a company and during all this time not maintained very well.

In my case I have just bought a car but it has manifested some problems. The V5C reg doc says it had one (1) previous lady owner, but no way could she have put that level of mileage on the car.

I have the current V5C with my name on, can I use that to find out more info? Thanks for your help!
Its cant be taxed whilst in trade hands, so any mileage would have been done with trade plates rattling about in the windows.

123DWA

1,379 posts

110 months

Friday 8th March
quotequote all
bennno said:
Its cant be taxed whilst in trade hands, so any mileage would have been done with trade plates rattling about in the windows.
It can be taxed whilst in trade. If I have a stock car im using and its free or £30 road tax ill tax it to save using trade plates & then when I sell it the buyer will tax it again.

bennno

12,699 posts

276 months

Friday 8th March
quotequote all
123DWA said:
bennno said:
Its cant be taxed whilst in trade hands, so any mileage would have been done with trade plates rattling about in the windows.
It can be taxed whilst in trade. If I have a stock car im using and its free or £30 road tax ill tax it to save using trade plates & then when I sell it the buyer will tax it again.
Wow, I never knew that, perhaps explains why I can see a former car I sold to trade about 5 years ago is still generating speeding tickets that are coming to me

Dingu

4,339 posts

37 months

Friday 8th March
quotequote all
The DVLA aren’t there to aid weird car purchase logic.

Auto810graphy

1,523 posts

99 months

Friday 8th March
quotequote all
PistonHeadDJ said:
Hello

I would like to find out the date when my car was part-exchanged / handed over to the dealer. I have just bought it but I want to know how long it was on a dealers books. I think DVLA should provide this information, because it can affect buying decisions for a used car. For example, if the car was part-exchanged 2 years ago, but has been passed around various dealers, auction, used as a company and during all this time not maintained very well.

In my case I have just bought a car but it has manifested some problems. The V5C reg doc says it had one (1) previous lady owner, but no way could she have put that level of mileage on the car.

I have the current V5C with my name on, can I use that to find out more info? Thanks for your help!
Unless You bought the car several years ago you would not know the details of the previous owner so either you have been passed a V5 in the trade or long enough has passed not to worry.

bearman68

4,794 posts

139 months

Friday 8th March
quotequote all
Dingu said:
The DVLA aren’t there to aid car purchase or to do anything except sitting around moaning about covid, terms and conditions, and rude customers.
Edited for accuracy.

PistonHeadDJ

Original Poster:

3 posts

8 months

Sunday 10th March
quotequote all
sunnyb13 said:
pm the reg
Sorry, what do you mean "pm the reg"?

Since car was in the trade (with a dealer) last V5 issue doesnt apply - DVLA will not register car to a dealership

PistonHeadDJ

Original Poster:

3 posts

8 months

Sunday 10th March
quotequote all
ingenieur said:
You may be able to uncover the information you are looking for by paying for a 3rd party vehicle history check from the likes of Car Vertical.

HOWEVER...

You mentioned that you are looking for this information because your car has developed some issues.

Some more info is required to be able to say for sure but it looks to me like you might be about to waste a lot of your time trying to prove something which will have no effect on your likelihood of getting a free repair from the dealer.
Since its less than 31 days since I bought the car, I am returning it for a full refund under the Consumer Rights Act. And at this stage I would not trust any free repair from the dealer - they sold it knowing it had a problem which they didnt reveal to me but was discovered by an independent mechanic just doing a full service - something that the dealer should have done.

BertBert

19,677 posts

218 months

Sunday 10th March
quotequote all
PistonHeadDJ said:
sunnyb13 said:
pm the reg
Sorry, what do you mean "pm the reg"?

Since car was in the trade (with a dealer) last V5 issue doesnt apply - DVLA will not register car to a dealership
I think he meant send the VRM to him via the medium known as personal messages or pm and he'll investigate in some way for you rolleyes

OutInTheShed

9,293 posts

33 months

Sunday 10th March
quotequote all
I don't understand the logic that a lady owner cannot put lots of miles on a car.

If there's a substantial fault with the car, then reject it, or get the vendor to fix it.
But it's best to stick to relevant, solid facts.

A car having 'one former keeper' can be a good thing, but in reality, it's no guarantee that the 'lady owner' isn't a hooligan or lending the car to random family members, or whatever.
MOT history may show whether the pattern of use has changed, for instance if a couple years ago, the yearly mileage doubled or something.
But what does that prove? Maybe a couple reduced to one car, or she changed jobs or something.
I assume we're talking about something old enoug to be out of warranty, otherwise the dealers and service history would have been important when buying it

Is there anything seriously wrong with the car? An actual tangible fault? Iis it a fault you wouldn't expect on a car of that age and price?
Can you prove that the vendor was not truthful in describing the car?

If you've just discovered that your secondhand car is not perfect, that's life, they are nearly all like that.

OutInTheShed

9,293 posts

33 months

Sunday 10th March
quotequote all
PistonHeadDJ said:
Since its less than 31 days since I bought the car, I am returning it for a full refund under the Consumer Rights Act. And at this stage I would not trust any free repair from the dealer - they sold it knowing it had a problem which they didnt reveal to me but was discovered by an independent mechanic just doing a full service - something that the dealer should have done.
A dealer is not required to 'do a full service'.
It's up to you to decide whether to buy a car, taking into consideration its service history if you like.
A dealer is required to sell you a car that is 'of suitable quality' and 'fit for purpose'.
Also he is not allowed to sell you a car which is not roadworthy.

That does not mean he has to change the oil or the cambelt if it's due next month.

There are a lot of grey areas about what 'faults' make a car 'not of suitable quality'.
The less you are paying and the older the car, the less you should expect. At my price point, I expect safe, self propelled and not about to fail imminently. If you've paid tens of thousands for a nearly new car, you should expect better.

I think you may need to discuss the specific faults with someone more knowledgeable than me.
I've read a fair amount on the subject helping a friend and the more I read, the more grey areas and conflicting opinions about the boundaires I found.
CAB is often the first port of call.
Faults which are only revealed by a mechanic working on a car may be a difficult area, because they don't seem to affect you driving the car? Are they faults which make it unsafe? Or just show its an old car? Are they items which normally wear?
Faults which show the car has been bodged might be different from something that's just a bit more worn than normal.


If you paid any of the price by credit card, it may be worth discussing with your card provider.

ingenieur

4,216 posts

188 months

Monday 11th March
quotequote all
It's funny because people often cite sourcing from a dealer as a sensible move for the aftersales support you get. I don't happen to believe it so I'm not fussy about where I get my secondhand cars. I accept you must have your wits about you and it's always a bit of a gamble, depending how much you're spending.

It is a difficult area to research as the lines between what one dealer will do v.s. what another will and where the law applies are extremely fuzzy.

I thought typically with consumer rights the vendor has to be given some opportunity to put things right before you can return but maybe that only applies to general consumer goods and the law on cars is different.