Buying a UK imported car from a garage

youtube!

UPDATE ,

Service history found, mileage and MOT checks out! I am quite happy to proceed now that I have this info, thanks for all the replies.





Hi I am considering getting a car from a reputable garage which is a UK import.

The car is immaculate but has really low mileage for the year. The dealer said on the ad that there was one owner and a full service history, however when I test drove the car today and asked to see the service history the salesman said he had lost it and that he would show me a motorcheck report to confirm the car is legit.

I would like to know about the MOT history but in order to reveal this I would apparently need the VC5 number from the UK log book.

I only found this out a few minutes ago and now the garage will be shut, my question is this, will the dealer be able to supply me with the UK log book?

The VRT has been paid and a fresh NCT applied but all the same in the absence of the service history the mileage recoded from the annual MOT would at least confirm the mileage of the car year on year. Thank you.

challengemaster

If the car has been VRT'd then the V5C was sent off to shannon, and they can't send you a copy due to data protection (previous owners details).

Your only hope is if the garage made a photocopy for their own records.

Marcusm

He will have surrendered the V5C when he VRT'd it but if he has not kept a copy I would walk away on principle. I doubt that he ever had the service history and why on earth would he have paid the VRT before selling it? The point about dealers having a TAN number is that they get to keep un VRT'd imports until they sell them. Suspicious or incompetent, you choose.

youtube!

I very much doubt that they would have done that considering the lost the service history but I will ask, to be honest I am not sure what to do, I did a motorcheck also and everything checks out but I cannot be certain

Marcusm

An Irish motorcheck or a UK histoory check (such as HPI). Frankly, the dealer should have obtained a UK history check before buying the car and, if he was good, would be putting that front and centre in his Irish sale to give you comfort. In 5 UK secondhand car purchases I've never had a dealer not volunteer up a HPI check for free.

youtube!

Marcusm wrote: »

An Irish motorcheck or a UK histoory check (such as HPI). Frankly, the dealer should have obtained a UK history check before buying the car and, if he was good, would be putting that front and centre in his Irish sale to give you comfort. In 5 UK secondhand car purchases I've never had a dealer not volunteer up a HPI check for free.

In fairness he did do a Motorcheck right in front of me which showed there was no outstanding finance and it had never been reported stolen etc etc, but it is really the mileage I need to verify and it seems the only way to do that either with HPI or any Irish site is with this V5C number, on principle as you say I am going to leave it unless he can provide me with this information.

mgbgt1978

Simple. He finds the 'missing' service history....you make an offer on the car.
What make of car is it ?
Is it the only one available in the country ?
If it's a fairly common model then walk away.....Dealers do not lose paperwork, they only advertise that they have it when trying to sell a car.

ps. as already mentioned dealers do not VRT a UK car until they have sold it. They would normally pay the VRT and the buyer would be registered as the owner. The fact that the dealer who imported it has paid the VRT is very unusual.

liam7831

I know a similar story, its not a garage in Kerry is it?

colm_mcm

How do you lose a service history?

mickdw

colm_mcm wrote: »

How do you lose a service history?

You see that it doesn't correspond very well with the mileage as shown on the dash so you accidently deposit it in the nearest rubbish bin.

MidlandsM

Just walk away OP .......not worth the hassle. I never lose a SH, an integral part of a car.

colm_mcm

A bit odd that vrt has been paid, I wonder did someone pull out of a deal or return the car after it was registered?

youtube!

yes it's very odd, the fact that the car was vrt and now has a registration too, does this mean that i would not be the first owner on the car since it came into this country?

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

mickdw

colm_mcm wrote: »

A bit odd that vrt has been paid, I wonder did someone pull out of a deal or return the car after it was registered?

Nail on head Id say.

youtube!

I would really like a definitive answer to the question of registration if anyone can give it, I mean there is now an Irish reg plate on the car ,does this mean that there has to have been an owner associated with that number or can the dealer assign it to the buyer. At this stage I am more curious than anything else because I will very likely not buy it.

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

youtube!

Fred Swanson wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

No it is not taxed.

Atlantic Dawn

For a garage to lose the history on a UK car they are selling they are either very stupid or they think that you are.

youtube!

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

For a garage to lose the history on a UK car they are selling they are either very stupid or they think that you are.

Absolutely agree! His excuse was that they as a policy leave the service histories of all their vehicles in the actual cars, because they are such a huge company with over 400 cars at any one time it just makes sense to do it this way! (obviously never heard of filing cabinets!) Anyway when I asked about the history he went out to the car and searched for it and couldn't find it and said that someone else had taken it because that's "just what some people do",in his words.

youtube!

I must say the car itself does check out but I cannot confirm the mileage, he is offering a 3 month bumper to bumper warranty also and it drives as I think it should but all things considered I am not going to go for it.

Marcusm

youtube! wrote: »

I must say the car itself does check out but I cannot confirm the mileage, he is offering a 3 month bumper to bumper warranty also and it drives as I think it should but all things considered I am not going to go for it.

You're being played; did the motorcheck he brought up cover the UK as well? With so many cars he'd have to keep a good file for each with ownership documents, VRT stuff etc. I would expect to see the UK stuff (incl SH if he's competent) there too. A 3 month warranty is probably less than Sale of Goods Act protection.

Why are you still considering it?

bazz26

UK car, low mileage, service history happens to be missing!

Run Forrest, Run....

That and the fact that the car has already been VRT'd and registered could suggest the previous buyer found something that didn't add up with the car's history, rejected the car and now the dealer is trying to sell it on minus the service history?

Preset No.3

A bit of simple investigation is needed. Check the V5 form for previous owners address. Any garage identifying features on the car such as sticker on back window, reg plate etc. get some details and ring garages near there.

What's the car, year and mileage?

youtube!

Marcusm wrote: »

You're being played; did the motorcheck he brought up cover the UK as well? With so many cars he'd have to keep a good file for each with ownership documents, VRT stuff etc. I would expect to see the UK stuff (incl SH if he's competent) there too. A 3 month warranty is probably less than Sale of Goods Act protection.

Why are you still considering it?

No you are right I am not considering it anymore...time to look elsewhere, I just can't believe such a large reputable company could be so inefficient or dodgy but I am out.

youtube!

Took a trip to cancel the sale this morning and happily for me the dealer had located the service history and the V5C number along with MOT mileage check, everything checks out with Motorcheck also so on this basis I will go ahead with the sale but many thanks for all the replies.

MidlandsM

Grand!


Enjoy

colm_mcm

I'd be verifying the service history tbh

Maybe I'm over cautious but it still seems a bit odd.