All ready to do deal then HPI check stalls

[Uriel]

Had been looking at newer cars but on the off chance checked a private seller's car. W Reg Scoda Octavia, absolutely immaculate condition for age and below average miles. Full test and 6 months tax. Little service history before current owner but no signs of previous clocking etc that I could see.

Two of us gave it a good check over, loads of new parts - well maintained throughout. Current owner had done much of the work himself - clearly private owner selling from own address. All recent paperwork tied up. Arranged my own short term insurance and took for a decent test drive on loads of different types of roads.

The car was so good, it put me off the 57 plate Ford Focuses I've been testing.

Owner selling from home address and completely willing for me to arrange HPI check and confident to have it looked over by a mechanic prior to sale. Bit of negotiation got me a decent amount of advertised price and below Parker's + What Car guides.

Pretty much agreed deal subject to HPI and mechanic's checks. Ran HPI. VIN and registration docs don't match. Double checked with seller. He double checked and confirmed that they don't match. Both VINS are shown to be invalid in searches. The one on the V5 does tie up though.

Thought about it for a while but I've told the seller I'm walking away unless the issue can be sorted (i.e. everthing legit for DVLA and whoever else). He knows all the previous keepers and the garage it originally came from is the local Skoda dealer so he'll try to get it sorted out. Hope it can be done but it seems a tall order.

Fairly gutted TBH. I like the car and it seems brilliant for the money. I'm hoping it's just an admin error but could be worse I suppose. I thought I'd done myself a brilliant bit of bangernomics so very disappointed. Back to the car search I guess...

 

[Uriel]

To clarify on the vs focus comment. They're all turbo-diesel. The turbo kicking in is rather too obvious on the Fords but very smooth on the Octavia. This makes the car much more enjoyable to drive.

Anyway, I'm done with it unless there's a very good explanation and everything is OK with the DVLA. Don't rate the chances of that very highly.

 

[Uriel]

I checked the 2 VIN numbers here: http://www.octinfo.com/index.php?p=vin_en

The one on the car is fine and matches with the vehicle I saw. The one on the v5 seems to be in invalid / gibberish.

 

[Uriel]

So which is it?

If the VIN on the car is fine but the V5 vin is invalid, then thats easily put down to the sheer incompetence of the DVLA. Saying that, what do previous MOTs say?

Car VIN appears legit in itself. I spoke to a main Skoda dealer and that ties in perfectly with the car description. Registration number also ties in with vehicle description.

The VIN number on the V5 is nonsensical though. Most of the codes included are meaningless. The Skoda dealer told me that 'no such vehicle exists'. Looks like it's just the V5 that's wrong. However HPI checks etc want the meaningless, non existant VIN to match the number plate - not the actual VIN on the vehicle. The V5 VIN isn't just a case of a couple of typos though. Most of the number is just plain wrong (although there's no mixing up of where letters and numbers should be).

I strongly suspect a DVLA admin error but I suppose a ringer is a possibility hence am treating this one with extreme caution. The seller is going to contact the local DVLA office. I'm guessing I'll want a corrected V5 and possibly some sort of certificate or direct assurance from the DVLA. I will only accept new documents if I can verify them as genuine directly with the DVLA.

Even if it's just an admin error I don't want a vehicle that could cause me trouble, particularly when it comes to selling on.

Edit: How long does it take HPI to update their records?

 

[Uriel]

Car turns out to be stolen / cloned and is confiscated leaving me with no vehicle or compensation. Possible difficulties getting MOT / insurance etc. Don't fancy that really.

 

[Uriel]

Comparing the 2 VINs more carefully, it looks like a Friday afternoon special on the V5 - a couple of typos with error carried forward. It appears there's a 1 switched for a 3, then a U input as '11'. After that the characters are out of sequence but in the same order with the last one missed off.

The seller is sending stuff off to the DVLA for correction, which I gather could take 2-3 weeks.

Phoned HPI and they have said they normally have their database updated every 2 weeks but can get updates faster for individual cases and would be able to issue a certificate very soon after the DVLA records are sorted.

Seller has agreed to get the car checked over at local VAG specialist independent prior to sale too.

Think I'm going to hang on for this one. A couple of stumbling blocks but it it checks out Ill be satisfied.

As for £800 car - it's an 1.9 TDI SLX (old name for Elegance) with 92K on it so I think worth a little more . Parkers suggests just under £1800 for private in good condition. I'd be paying around £300 less than that. Any thoughts?

Unfortunately VED would be based on engine size not CO2 - hence my other thread.

Meanwhile, I test drove a few more 06 and 07 Fords. The 1.6 TDCI seems better than the 1.8 TDCI but still screams "I'm a diesel" whenever I put my foot down. The Octy is just more fun to drive and I could afford to fix a lot of problems before short term costs would get anywhere near the newer car's depreciation. Obviously hoping there's not much to do though.

Also test drove a Prius but just can't get past the fact that it's an automatic and feels like driving an mpv. Took in my work commute route for the test drive and it did get excellent MPG and was a relaxing drive. No fun on the B roads though and the Octy is much cheaper...

If you hadn't guessed I'm after low running costs for the time being. Quite fancy going bangernomic for a year or two then maybe a new shape Mazda 6 2.2d once they've had time to depreciate a bit more and I've saved some more money.

 

[Uriel]

Well, after a few weeks seller has sorted issues with v5. DVLA vehicle and MOT enquiries match. HPI check now fine after a phone call to get them to update their records. Looks like I'm buying.

In the mean time, the seller agreed to a mechanical check at local VAG specialist, which came through with flying colours. The vehicle was advertised without written history but doing a bit of leg work got all MOTs back to 2006 and the service book covers the time before that. Last cambelt change not documented but would be due next year anyway so getting that done in a few days.

 

[Uriel]

Epilogue...

I expect there may be an "I told you so" or two here.

The low running costs didn't happen. Cambelt and water pump change done soon after buying the car and the aircon compressor packed up and was replaced within a month (I'm convinced a 'free' Kwik fit regas gone awry contributed to its demise). Got a full service plus brake fluid change done too. After a while driving it, I found enthusiastic acceleration on motorway hills brought limp mode. I would say I test drove it thoroughly and had it checked mechanically and the only way this was ever going to be diagnosed was to actually boot it up a long steep hill (short ones would usually be no problem even with foot flat to the floor) on a clear A road or motorway and be familiar enough with the engine to realise that something was amiss or have a code reader to hand. I don't know if the previous owner concealed the problem or just pootled it about and never encountered it. The car was going to need turbo off and reconditioning or replacement as the variable vane mechanism was gunked up with carbon (and maybe rust), causing the requested boost to deviate all over the place. Tax was going to be flipping expensive (pre 2001 taxed on engine size), a wheel bearing, plus all brake discs and pads were coming up and the front ARB was starting to knock. By the end of it I just didn't trust the car to stay right if I paid to fix it hence getting rid, as I just wanted a car that would cause me less worry.

With hindsight there was little more due diligence I could have done, save for getting something post 2001 from a dealer with FSH, recent cambelt and a lot of receipts. That would have cost more though. FSH would have enabled a decent aftermarket warranty though. If I'd have got a FSH car (or even just had this one serviced immediately somewhere VAT registered) and paid the £280 odd that Warranty Direct quoted me to include pretty much everything with a percentage for wear and tear items I'd probably be happily still running the Octavia now.

So... I bought a bit of nail (albeit a very comfotable, pleasant looking one that was a fairly nice place to be and pretty enjoyable to drive when it wasn't limping) and lost a few hundred quid in depreciation plus more in repairs and maintenance but it could have been worse...

Very glad I got that HPI check done (and checked VIN numbers etc as part of the process).

As seen in my other recent thread, I part exchanged the car for a Honda Insight ES recently and it was thankfully worth a few quid (not far off Fox's estimate - and a fair bit over Glass top book) as part exchange. When the dealer checked the details the old VIN with the typo popped up. Thanks to my ensuring the VIN had been sorted prior to buying the car it all checked out when they consulted VAG Group, the DVLA and HPI. As a result I got the PX as valued over the phone for the car and wasn't stuck over 100 miles from home with 2 cars and nobody to help me get them home.

So £20 odd quid that saved me a few hundred quid and a fair bit of inconvenience. I'm happy with that. Shame the car itself didn't really work out.

In terms of the next few months to a year, running the Honda is going to be less of a financial hit than taxing and repairing the Octavia (kind family member gave me long term interest free loan). Longer term maybe the Octavia would have worked out cheaper but I doubt I'd still be running it in a few years.

So far very happy with the change.