Drive now, own later

I have just ordered a car from a dealer in response to a reverse auction that I placed with autoebid.com. The offer states that the car will be trade registered and that I will appear on the log book as 2nd owner. I am happy with this, but having just read a response from you to a reader's query about buying a car for which the finance company wanted to retain the registration documents for 9 months, I am now worried that this might be an issue for me. How do I confirm that the dealer actually owns the car and is selling it to me with full title? Is it even legal for a dealer to sell a car that it doesn't actually own?

Asked on 7 November 2009 by

Answered by Honest John

Assuming it is registered, run an HPI check on it. Registered keepership and ownership are not the same thing. But I strongly advise against buying anything that remains in someone else's keepership. You insurer won't like it. There could be a question of title if it is used as security for a loan. And you might not get any NIPs or other tickets fast enough to avoid a penalty, because they will go to the keeper first.

Tags: buying auctions

Dear Honest John,

Please help me choose my next car. I would like it to have:

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