If the old owner has said they want to keep the plate, then it's theirs.

As you have pointed out, the DVLA guidance has said that if it is taxed as is, then the reg no will stay on the car - and you know you are not entitled to it.

Keeping something you are not entitled to ... their is another word for that. Five letters long, starts with t, and ends in heft. Do you really want to go there ?

Sorry. I wasn't intending to accuse you of that - badly worded by me.

You bought a car off a dealership - your agreement is with them. If they've ballsed things up, then you could ask them to unwind the deal, or to provide you with a (TAXED AND LEGAL) car until the paperwork comes through.

There are two possibilities as I see it.

1. The old owner wanted to keep the plate. The dealers haven't sent the paperwork off before now, as it would have been a pain if they'd then sold the car, as they wouldn't have had a registration to put on it, etc. So they left it until they had a sale, not realising it might take a while.

2. The old owner doesnt want the plate, but a salesman/the dealership reckons the plate is worth a bit. As such, they want it for themselves. Again, it's going to take a while.

The dealer can't tax the car for you - that was ramoved from a virtually all garages a few years ago, too many were taxing cars on their own insurance, for people who didn't have insurance (and taking a backhander for doing it). Technically, a few main agents can do it, but it's incredibly rare.

The MOT will just be re-issued, same expiry date, for the new numberplate on the car.

Thanks for all your advice btw. Will I get new plates to put on the car? Or do I have to do something to get my own plate after he takes back the ones currently on it?

When a car is first registered, it is 'assigned' a registration. That registration will go back onto the car.

When all the paperwork comes through, there will be a letter from DVLA, allowing you to purchase a set of numberplates for that registration. Hopefully, the dealer will sort out that for you (and pay for it!), failing which, you can get it done at any branch of H********, or at a lot of garages (by garages, I mean places that fix cars, not those that sell petrol).

The reason I know this lot : I've got a private plate on my car. So I've had all the wonderful experiences of transferring plates, things taking forever (or coming back in 2-3 days), and the whole list of what can go right or wrong, when taking a plate off a car, or putting it onto another.

It definatly sounds like something I never want to deal with lol Well I phoned the dvla and the told me it has to be kept off road until the forms come back, there is nothing that anyone can do, the car cannot be declared off road or taxed or driven in the mean time. So I phoned the dealership to find out when the forms were sent, as I need this car for work. They will find out from the employee when he sent them and get back to me. But also said multiple times, and I quote. "If the car is ever sent a fine for the tax we will pay that" How do I take that Edit: which I realise is a £40 fine if paid within 28 days.

Type a letter which goes like this :

"I, (person's name), do hereby declare that if (your name) is stopped by police or other authorities, and is fined/prosecuted for failure to have valid car tax (aka road fund licence), in the period up until the new registration has been applied to the car currently bearing the registration (XXXXX), then I will take personal liability for any fine or points to be applied, and will undertake to refund (your name) of any such fine, and to pay the surplus of any insurance premium that they may have to pay as a result of any points thus suffered'.

Print it out, take it into them, and ask them to sign AND DATE it. When they ask why, say it's so that if you do get stopped, then you've got enough to ensure your backside is covered.

I very much doubt you'll get a signature.

Never heard of, nor ever had, an MOT disc. It used to be a bit of paper you kept at home and now, I think, it just a paper record on a computer database.

Edited by Armitage Shanks {p} on 05/02/2015 at 11:35

Never had an MOT disc on the windscreen. We have 3 cars in the household at present with cuuent MOT's and none have a disc.

So why would you expect to see one.

I think the OP is in Northern Ireland where the MoT is a disc which must be shown in the windscreen.

Edited by Bromptonaut on 05/02/2015 at 13:35

Never had an MOT disc on the windscreen. We have 3 cars in the household at present with cuuent MOT's and none have a disc.

So why would you expect to see one.

I think the OP is in Northern Ireland where the MoT is a disc which must be shown in the windscreen.

That sounds seriously sensible, having a disc stuck to the windscreen indicating the validity of the MOT.

Far too sensible to be introduced on mainland UK though.

We used to have disks on the screen showing the car had been taxed. That has now been abolished, its checked electronically.

What would having a disc on the screen showing the car has a current MOT prove when its checked electronically. Anyone with a PC and suitable software could make a tax disc, same would apply to an MOT disc.

Totally pointless.