Finding owner from registration number

[ZeroX]

Hi all, I hope someone might be able to help me with this. I am looking at buying a used Audi and a lot of cars have outstanding finance. I have been doing some HPI checks on them but it doesn't tell you who the owner is; it tells you who the finance is with but not who actually owns the vehicle.

Does anyone know if there is anyway to find this information out? I don't want to buy a car not knowing who the actual owner is if it has outstanding finance.

Thanks!

[enc]

It’s highly unlikely you’ll be able to legally do this…GDPR laws in the UK !

Long gone are the days when you could contact DVLA for a list of previous owners. 

[Steve Q]

You can't get owner details anymore. the only ones who can provide the info is DVLA but as mentioned gdpr regulations have stopped it. 

The easiest thing to do is buy from a dealer for peace of mind 

[Magnet]

Hello Alex, 

Please help us out with more detail of who you are going to buy from, and why you are checking for outstanding finance on vehicles which you haven’t specifically decided to buy? 
Kind regards,

Gareth. 

[ZeroX]

9 hours ago, Magnet said:

Hello Alex, 

Please help us out with more detail of who you are going to buy from, and why you are checking for outstanding finance on vehicles which you haven’t specifically decided to buy? 
Kind regards,

Gareth. 

Well that's the problem, I am not sure who I am buying from if I don't know who owns the vehicle if it has outstanding finance. Whenever I find a vehicle I am interested in I do a HPI check first so I don't waste my time if there is something that doesn't seem legitimate.

[Steve Q]

Doing hpi checks is wise and you're definitely doing the right thing. I'm assuming you're only looking at private sales and not dealerships? 

[Magnet]

Hello again Alex,

So are you going to share with us whether you intend buying from a dealer - where you have the security associated with the purchase - or are you concentrating only on purchases  from private individuals.

The latter wouldn’t make sense since you would see the V5 at the address the vehicle is registered to and you would know who owns it, and you could then spend your money on a HPI check if/when (in caps) you decide to buy it. 
Kind regards,

Gareth.

[ZeroX]

51 minutes ago, Magnet said:

Hello again Alex,

So are you going to share with us whether you intend buying from a dealer - where you have the security associated with the purchase - or are you concentrating only on purchases  from private individuals.

The latter wouldn’t make sense since you would see the V5 at the address the vehicle is registered to and you would know who owns it, and you could then spend your money on a HPI check if/when (in caps) you decide to buy it. 
Kind regards,

Gareth.

Hi Gareth, I am intending on buying from a dealer. Correct me if I am wrong, but I don't believe the V5 document is proof of ownership? That document shows who the registered keeper is.

[Magnet]

Oh blinking heck Alex. 
Have you ever bought a vehicle from a registered car dealer and  been ‘caught’ with that purchase. 
If not, I think you are seriously over-thinking the authenticity of prospective purchases via. this route.

Kind regards,

Gareth. 

[ZeroX]

22 minutes ago, Magnet said:

Oh blinking heck Alex. 
Have you ever bought a vehicle from a registered car dealer and  been ‘caught’ with that purchase. 
If not, I think you are seriously over-thinking the authenticity of prospective purchases via. this route.

Kind regards,

Gareth. 

Hi Gareth, yes a few years ago I bought an E92 M3 from a Sytner dealership. When I did some checks afterwards there were some mileage discrepancies, which were apparently because the vehicle was taken in and out of this country several times over the course of its life.

Forgive my caution but I will not be making the same mistake again.

Edited October 17 by ZeroX

[Magnet]

Thanks Alex, but I still don’t understand the quest for last ownership details, and the need for multiple HPI checks as a first port of call. 
As I see it:- you will - at some point - be seriously interested in a specific vehicle. When you are, you will ask for sight of the current V5 ( on which last owner details will be shown). You will ask the supplying dealer to confirm it has a clear HPI check, and if you still feel it necessary, you can then repeat that check. 
You will of course, have previously requested, and had sight of its service record. You will also have checked its on-line MOT history, and done a DVLA Vehicle check to see when the last (current to you) V5 was issued. This might ( in caps) give you an idea of how long the previous owner has owned it. 
Not sure what more can be done, but It could just be me…..

Kind regards,

Gareth.

 

[ZeroX]

9 hours ago, Magnet said:

Thanks Alex, but I still don’t understand the quest for last ownership details, and the need for multiple HPI checks as a first port of call. 
As I see it:- you will - at some point - be seriously interested in a specific vehicle. When you are, you will ask for sight of the current V5 ( on which last owner details will be shown). You will ask the supplying dealer to confirm it has a clear HPI check, and if you still feel it necessary, you can then repeat that check. 
You will of course, have previously requested, and had sight of its service record. You will also have checked its on-line MOT history, and done a DVLA Vehicle check to see when the last (current to you) V5 was issued. This might ( in caps) give you an idea of how long the previous owner has owned it. 
Not sure what more can be done, but It could just be me…..

Kind regards,

Gareth.

 

I have seen a few that I have been interested in but they always seem to be sold by the time I enquire, even if the adverts are barely a day old. Which makes me wonder a lot of the time if dealers really have these cars "for sale" or if they even exist. Sometimes I think they create fake adverts to generate lines of enquiry, tell you that vehicle is sold then they will try and sell you something that is real but they have had trouble shifting.

I have thought about buying on finance myself but it's just so expensive when compared to leasing a brand new vehicle. It costs me more a month to buy a £25,000 car on finance than it would to lease a brand new £60,000+ car.

I am not sure why GDPR would come into it; if you are purchasing something knowing that the person selling that thing has legal ownership of it would be classed as "relevant" and "adequate" information. Making that information transparent is a matter of legality and preventing unscrupulous people from commiting fraud. I work in data and have done for the past 10 years, so I have a pretty good understanding of GDPR.

[Stevey Y]

48 minutes ago, ZeroX said:

I have seen a few that I have been interested in but they always seem to be sold by the time I enquire, even if the adverts are barely a day old. Which makes me wonder a lot of the time if dealers really have these cars "for sale" or if they even exist. Sometimes I think they create fake adverts to generate lines of enquiry, tell you that vehicle is sold then they will try and sell you something that is real but they have had trouble shifting.

I have thought about buying on finance myself but it's just so expensive when compared to leasing a brand new vehicle. It costs me more a month to buy a £25,000 car on finance than it would to lease a brand new £60,000+ car.

I am not sure why GDPR would come into it; if you are purchasing something knowing that the person selling that thing has legal ownership of it would be classed as "relevant" and "adequate" information. Making that information transparent is a matter of legality and preventing unscrupulous people from commiting fraud. I work in data and have done for the past 10 years, so I have a pretty good understanding of GDPR.

Hi the previous owner details are no longer printed on the V5 just the current one, the V5 is not proof of ownership, most garages HPI check the vehicle before sale and there are multiple sites that for a small fee will check everything for you %100 guaranteed, the reason that PCP is cheaper is because you will never own the vehicle unless you pay the over inflated final payment, if you hand the car back you most definitely will have to find an extra payment for the slightest paint damage or any over milage other than what was in the agreed milage per annum, they state you can hand the car back at anytime but if you do they really dont like it, with finance at least you own the vehicle title after the last payment and unless you have a bad credit rating you can get very favourable terms from your bank.

Steve.

[Magnet]

Thanks for coming back Alex,

Without being dismissive, I personally feel there is little more I can say or recommended, and it’s possible that what has already been said, is about all other forum members might also suggest.
Please excuse my - possibly incorrect- impression, but I find there are so many negatives in your reasons not to buy, that I fear you are going to be in difficulties in making a final decision even if everything stacks up in favour of the vehicle of specific and genuine interest. 
If it were me I would now make my final decision re. buying secondhand or PCP, sticking with that decision, and moving forward positively. 
Based on this, I feel there isn’t much more I can do, but please let the forum know if you think we can indeed be of further help. 
Genuinely - good luck in finding what you want.

Kind regards,

Gareth.