Buying a car with a private plate?

[rirhill]

Please could I ask how do I buy a car with a private reg that the owner wants to keep? Should I wait until they have put it on retention or transferred it and how long does it take?

Thanks
Ian

 

[popuptoaster]

its up to the current owner to sort it out, if they want the plate off the dvla will have to asign it a reg number, can take months or weeks depending on how lucky you are.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

My advice would be to only do it when the seller has the full V5 in their hand, which means:

1. They transfer the registration and get the new V5 back showing the registration number that will be on the car when you buy it.

2. They sell you the car with the registration number to be transferred shown on the V5, and they trust you to transfer it to them after the sale.

Option 1 is easiest and best for both buyer and seller, but can be slow if you agree a deal before transferring.

 

[rirhill]

My advice would be to only do it when the seller has the full V5 in their hand, which means:

1. They transfer the registration and get the new V5 back showing the registration number that will be on the car when you buy it.

2. They sell you the car with the registration number to be transferred shown on the V5, and they trust you to transfer it to them after the sale.

Option 1 is easiest and best for both buyer and seller, but can be slow if you agree a deal before transferring.

Bobby Here is my other problem. I am buying the car from Northern Ireland. So I have to change the reg when I get it back to England?

Thanks

 

[JumboBeef]

I transfered a plate last week. Went into the DVLA office on Tuesday and got the V5 back on Friday!

 

[popuptoaster]

I transfered a plate last week. Went into the DVLA office on Tuesday and got the V5 back on Friday!

when i did our old mk1 escort they did it same day and the V5 came back about a week later, every other time i've done it it seems to have taken a minimum of three weeks and up to 3 months.

 

[johnsco]

We recently scrapped my wife's tired old 380 SE.
We applied by post to put the number on retention.
The DVLA allocated the car its original registration (from when it was first-registered).
Process only took a couple of weeks.
It can sometimes take longer.
We now have the "cherished" number on retention for as long as we keep renewing the retention, or until we sell it or re-assign it to another vehicle.

Johnsco

 

[A210AMG]

If they are selling the car they should have really thought about that sooner, get the old plate put back on ready for sale.

This will hold everything up, and as mentioned can take days, weeks or longer depending how lucky or not you are.

 

[philiggy]

This happend with mine, I left a deposit and then it was up to them to sort it, it was less than 2 weeks and I had no problems

Phil

 

[davidpavey]

I took my private plate off my motorbike 2 weeks ago. Popped into the local DVLA office and got the new V5 with change all done 3 days later

 

[crockers]

Bobby Here is my other problem. I am buying the car from Northern Ireland. So I have to change the reg when I get it back to England?

Thanks

I thought that Northern Irish Plates were legal in Great Britain....can anyone advise? If not how comes people buy them as "private plates"?

 

[gina2201]

Can be done on the day if you go into a DVLA office (I think? memory loss-my mum took hers off her ML as she had a buyer waiting so went to Exeter office?). But can be done fairly quickly.

 

[Beetnik]

Took doc's into DVLA local office for a plate change a couple of weeks ago. Everything sorted and new doc's arrived in following days post.

 

[alanuk400]

I thought that Northern Irish Plates were legal in Great Britain....can anyone advise? If not how comes people buy them as "private plates"?

They are legal.

You will find is that in Northern Ireland the tax office is in Coleraine, so if you buy a car in NI to take to GB or visa versa, you keep the main part of the tax book and give the seller part 11 (Notification of permanent export), you can opt to keep the plates or change to local numbers.

Alan

 

[rirhill]

They are legal.

You will find is that in Northern Ireland the tax office is in Coleraine, so if you buy a car in NI to take to GB or visa versa, you keep the main part of the tax book and give the seller part 11 (Notification of permanent export), you can opt to keep the plates or change to local numbers.

Alan

Hi Alan
The problem is he has a private number plate that he wants to transfer onto a different car. He needs them to issue a new NI reg as he bought the car new. I need to wait for him to transfer the plates then I can do as you noted? Is the office in Coleraine very quick at turnround? I also have the problem that I understand in NI MOT only due on the 4th birthday and not the 3rd like England? Is that correct? So if the plates issue goes on I am stuck as the car will run out of MOT so when I get off the ferry I will need to find the nearest MOT centre? Thanks in advance for any advice?

Ian

 

[alanuk400]

Hi Alan
The problem is he has a private number plate that he wants to transfer onto a different car. He needs them to issue a new NI reg as he bought the car new. I need to wait for him to transfer the plates then I can do as you noted? Is the office in Coleraine very quick at turnround? I also have the problem that I understand in NI MOT only due on the 4th birthday and not the 3rd like England? Is that correct? So if the plates issue goes on I am stuck as the car will run out of MOT so when I get off the ferry I will need to find the nearest MOT centre? Thanks in advance for any advice?

Ian

Hi Ian

Coleraine takes a few weeks if I can recall, I sold my car and wanted to keep my plate, It did take a bit of trust on the buyers part.

I gave him a photocopy of the tax book and disc, as I hadn't got my S-Class yet (Coleraine don't let you put it back on a retention certificate once the number has been issued)

Once I got my car from GB, I had to re reg it in NI, at the same time fill the form for the private no to be transferred from the BMW to the Merc.

Had to wait for a couple of weeks for the tax books and discs of both cars to come back in my name, then send the BMW tax book back to say that I had sold it, (I called up to the guy I had sold the BMW to and fitted the new plates etc for him)

Once the car is registered in GB it doesn't matter what plate is on it, if it is over three years old it will need a MOT.

I hope this explains everything, if not check my website and call me.

Alan

 

[kevsmith060]

my car had a p plate, the owner bought me a new one to speed it all up