V5 document

[daveallgood]

The seller of a car I was interested in buying has just mentioned on the phone (before I set off on a two hour drive thankfully) that when he tried to tax the car yesterday(not a Morris) he was unable to do so because the registration document isn't in his name. He bought the car from a friend of his a year ago and didn't bother to send off the V5 (aged 60 I'm surprise he didn't know better). Does this mean that legally he doesn't own the car and can't legally sell it ? I assume that the only basis on which I should proceed is to insist on the seller sending off the V5 to have his name put on it?
Any advice would be much appreciated.
Dave.

[LouiseM]

The advice from the Police and the DVLA is never to buy a vehicle without a V5c. Just walk away. Aside from the fact that the vehicle may be stolen you will be unable to check the chassis number etc so the car could also be a ringer.

The V5 shows the registered keeper, not necessarily the legal owner of the vehicle. It seems that in this case both your seller and his friend 'forgot' to notify the DVLA of the sale If the seller is genuine he will not object to delaying the sale for a week or two whilst he gets a V5c in his name and as the previous owner is his friend he shouldn't have any problems in getting the necessary paperwork completed.

[mike.perry]

Meanwhile the registered keeper collects all the parking fines etc.

[autolycus]

If the seller has a V5C, but not in his name, does it really matter? Especially if the previous owner hadn't dated it, just fill in the your (the buyer's) details, date it with the present date, squiggle a seller's signature if necessary, and then make sure you, the buyer, post it, since the seller clearly isn't all that reliable. If there's anything suspicious, ask the seller for the document number and date on the V5C and do an online Vehicle Enquiry through DVLA, which will tell you whether a later V5C has been issued.

You'll be able to tax it with the Section 10 of the V5C that you don't post off to DVLA.

I'd be more worried about outstanding finance - I might even do an HPI check if the seller wasn't very convincing and the car was fairly valuable. You could ask to see the seller's insurance certificate for the car, too - it doesn't prove he owns it, but helps to build up a picture.

LouiseM is quite right about a V5C not proving ownership, but a trifle optimistic, I think, in suggesting that a new V5C might only take a week or two.

Kevin

[LouiseM]

If the seller has a V5C, but not in his name, does it really matter?

Well it's not clear from the original post whether the seller actually has a V5c. If he did he would have been able to tax the car himself - it wouldn't have mattered whether it was in his name or not.

a trifle optimistic, I think, in suggesting that a new V5C might only take a week or two

Mine only took two weeks to come back but perhaps I was just lucky?

[bigjohn]

i bought myrtle with the v5c in the previous owners name the man i got it off forgot to put it in his name,there was no prolem plus there is 1 less owner on the v5

[millerman]

Well said John Why are Minor owners so suspicious?

If the deal's right, go for it

[Peetee]

He bought the car from a friend of his a year ago and didn't bother to send off the V5

Who, the previous owner or the chap you were buying off? The foolproof solution is to get the seller to fill out the V5c in your presence (you have to sign after all) and keep the tear off slip. If the seller doesn't send the rest off then the tear-off strip allows you to claim ownership after a reasonable amount of time.