Car owners should make more effort to keep a track of their logbook documents as from next February their absence could adversely affect the value of a car on the used market, warns Glass’s Information Services.
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New legislation is coming into force making it mandatory to produce a V5 registration document or a V11 renewal notice when applying for car tax.
Vehicles without the necessary documents could consequently become much harder to sell.
“Very few used car buyers will currently be aware of this new legislation, but in the coming months most of those looking to purchase a used vehicle will check for the V5 first,” said Glass’s managing editor Adrian Rushmore.
At present, many cars in the trade are sold on a ‘documents to follow’ basis and buyers can re-tax the vehicle without the V5. From 1st February 2003 however, only those with a V5 or renewal notice will be able to apply for a tax disc. The DVLA says a replacement V5 could take around six weeks to arrive, during which time an undocumented car will be worth less.
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By GlobalData“At the moment there is little information on exactly how this new legislation is going to work, but it clearly has the potential to cause significant problems for unwary individuals looking to sell a car privately or via part exchange with a dealer,” adds Rushmore. “We heard last week of one dealer group that has introduced a policy of only buying cars with full documentation. This will be more commonplace over the next few months and we could well see the creation of a two-tier pricing structure, with one value for a car with documents and one value for a car without.”
The changes are being implemented by the DVLA and are intended to help combat vehicle crime. By only allowing the legitimate keeper to purchase a tax disc, it is hoped that criminals will find it harder to sell stolen vehicles.
