Number plate insurance glitch - but HPI, DVLA OK

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Wed 11 Jul 2018 09:41
Number plate insurance glitch - but HPI, DVLA OK - bikepete

Hi all, hope you don't mind a newbie coming in asking questions! I will come back with thanks/answers to any follow-ups :-)

After hanging onto my last car for ages I'm now looking to buy a Mazda 3 Sport and have found a tasty looking one for sale at a reputable franchise dealer, with number plate SR11GYS. This checks out on the DVLA vehicle check, MOT history and an HPI check: all match the actual car details as seen in the advert photos etc.

But if you put that reg number into any of the insurance comparison sites, or direct on most insurers' websites, or e.g. on tyre supplier websites, they come up with the wrong model - they seem to think it is a Mazda CX-7 instead. Some of them let you enter the details manually for a quote, but then won't actually supply. I got an email reply from DayInsure saying that because their computer could not match the car plate, they could not insure at all.

However, after a bit more digging I found the plate is recognised correctly by DirectLine, and they gave a decent quote. It also comes up OK with e.g. Green Flag for breakdown and AutoCarParts.

I've informed the selling dealer and asked them if they can do anything - no reply as yet - and also asked various of the sites that it came up wrong on to ask whoever provides their data to correct it in line with the (correct) data the DVLA has. Credit to DayInsure who were the only ones to reply and say they'd make the request, but couldn't guarantee if/when it would get fixed...

Given all of the above, would you go ahead and buy? Car seems basically legit according to DVLA (I phoned them to double check and they could see nothing wrong). But if no insurer recognises it I could be tied into Direct Line...

Anyone know which database is messed up exactly, and who to contact to get it amended? What's the chances of being able to get this error fixed?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Cheers

Pete

EDIT - sorry forgot to mention that the HPI check included a number plate change alert as follows:

  • The current plate was transferred to this vehicle on 07/08/2014

  • K16MRB was registered to this vehicle on 01/03/2011
    • There are no alerts recorded against K16MRB

but the chap at the DVLA said that was so long ago that no way should the change not have reached all relevant databases.

Edited by bikepete on 11/07/2018 at 09:48

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Wed 11 Jul 2018 11:00
Number plate insurance glitch - but HPI, DVLA OK - Andrew-T

I agree that it is odd that so many insurers seem to use a source with discrepancies, but as you are able to get insurance from a reputable outfit, I don't see your real problem unless it isn't sorted before you try to sell on. Go ahead if you like the car.

As regards the change of reg, that will be the first owner transferring his/her 'cherished' number to a new vehicle. The second owner either reverted to the reg originally allocated to the car, or DVLA issued a fresh one appropriate to its year of manufacture.

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Wed 11 Jul 2018 11:18
Number plate insurance glitch - but HPI, DVLA OK - bikepete

Thanks! I'm tending towards going ahead too - and current plan is to keep it for seeral years - but a clear route to getting the glitch fixed would make me a lot happier...

And now, I just realise, I've put the reg number onto the internet where any future purchaser can find it and get concerned. Oops.

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Wed 11 Jul 2018 14:57
Number plate insurance glitch - but HPI, DVLA OK - Andrew-T

Of course when you get the car (even before that) you could contact the previous owner and ask for more info, as he/she may have faced the same problem?

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Wed 11 Jul 2018 15:11
Number plate insurance glitch - but HPI, DVLA OK - bikepete

Good idea - and I did actually try that when I contacted the dealer first off, but they said they can't reveal the details of the previous owner under GDPR. They did say the car was taken as a trade-in for a Nissan Juke.

Mmm, just realised there's another possible slight anomaly. HPI shows only one former keeper, but he/she didn't get the car until 2014 (which is also when the MOT history starts)

Year of manufacture 2011
Current owner/keeper acquired on 12/09/2014
Date of first registration in the UK 01/03/2011
Number of previous owners/keepers 1

It had about 10k miles on it at that point. If it was e.g. on finance for the first three years does this not count as a former keeper?

EDIT of course no MOT for first three years, so ignore that bit! Still curious how it wasn't seemingly registered for the first three years of its life.

EDIT AGAIN You can probably tell I've not been buying cars for a while. Presumably the 'current keeper' is not the dealer, it's still the chap/chapess who sold it to the dealer. So the 'previous keeper' is whoever had it 2011-2014. Current keeper is 2014-2018. Assuming the dealer selling it now doesn't count, then if I buy it, I would be the third keeper.

Edited by bikepete on 11/07/2018 at 15:24

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Wed 11 Jul 2018 16:36
Number plate insurance glitch - but HPI, DVLA OK - catsdad
Isn't your heart ruling your head?
Why buy a relatively common car with this records issue? It won't resolve itself and when you come to sell you risk it putting off buyers.
There may be nothing wrong with the car itself but when you come to sell, who would buy a car that only one insurance company recognises?
I would walk away now and find another one.

Edited by catsdad on 11/07/2018 at 16:36

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Wed 11 Jul 2018 16:46
Number plate insurance glitch - but HPI, DVLA OK - bikepete

Yup heart ruling head is what I'm afraid of.

FWIW, as far as I can tell this car is the only one for sale in the UK right now with such low miles for the spec I'm after (2.0 petrol sport), it seems a fair price and I like the colour too. Was looking for something to keep for maybe 5 years, so the low miles appealed, and it looks in good shape from the pics. It's not especially close to me but it's easy enough to get to the dealer by train.

Don't seem to be able to add links but if you're curious you can google the reg number I quoted above to find it.

Dammit, you're probably right. Fortunately I'm in no mad panic to buy so maybe I should let this one go... waiting for one more local would be better too I guess, just in case something does go wrong.

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Wed 11 Jul 2018 17:51
Number plate insurance glitch - but HPI, DVLA OK - catsdad
Yes I found it. This is a well known multi franchise northern outfit who sell high volumes at keen prices. I've no experience of them myself but it would be worth checking out the various review sites to see how they rate.

I dont think there are issues in itself with its having been re-registered. However you will also risk DL raising your second year premium and not being able to find another insurer.

As for mileage then there are many views in this site, frequently expressed. Most would not see low miles as an advantage. Travelling a distance to buy is also liable to get a sucking of teeth. Any problems that need repair mean the cost of returning the car to their workshop is yours.

Finally my son bought a 2012 1.6 Mazda 3 last year from a Mazda dealer and its been faultless. Mazda approved cars go back quite a few years and down to the price level you are looking at. We found that 2012 cars dont have service books so the details are logged online. So unless you have access to bills it can be tricky to check the service history of non-franchise stock. Not sure if your dealer has a Mazda franchise in its empire?

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Wed 11 Jul 2018 18:12
Number plate insurance glitch - but HPI, DVLA OK - bikepete

Thanks for that! Re the dealer - plenty of complaints about the chain online, but maybe that's not unexpected given large volume. FWIW there is a branch of the same franchise local to me and they have an OK reputation locally. Not so sure about the branch selling that car...

Take the points about insurance, low miles and distance. Together with mixed dealer reviews, all kinda pointing to walk away.

I'll check Mazda approved - never occurred to me!

On the service records, I went to look at another one (locally) last weekend and they had a printout from the digital service record - which is only updated when services are carried out at Mazda approved dealers, if I understand correctly. In this case it looked good, with main dealer servicing every year, but decided against that one for other reasons.

Thanks again, very useful to get another experienced perspective.

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Wed 11 Jul 2018 17:03
Number plate insurance glitch - but HPI, DVLA OK - Andrew-T

It had about 10k miles on it at that point. If it was e.g. on finance for the first three years does this not count as a former keeper?

I think this is simply due to the change of registration. DVLA won't associate previous owners with an earlier registration. I have owned a car which had carried a 'cherished' plate for a number of years, then reverted to its earlier identity. DVLA will have separate records for two cars, each with some keepers. I don't see it as an 'issue' at all.

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Wed 11 Jul 2018 19:37
Number plate insurance glitch - but HPI, DVLA OK - Andrew-T

You will have seen that K16MRB is now a Seat Leon, first registered in August 2014. The SR11 car was MoT'd first in Feb.2014 then again in Sept.2014 when presumably it was sold to its second owner. It all ties together logically.

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Wed 11 Jul 2018 20:13
Number plate insurance glitch - but HPI, DVLA OK - Manatee

Presumably when that V5 was printed it had a registered keeper; it had 1 previous keeper so when you get it it will have had 2 previous keepers? Does that help, or have I misunderstood?

I would infer that it was first registered onto a cherished plate, then when the first owner sold it the current age-related plate was issued by DVLA.

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Thu 12 Jul 2018 08:42
Number plate insurance glitch - but HPI, DVLA OK - bikepete

Many thanks everyone - all is now clear on the plate change/history.

But I've decided to walk away from this one - the problem of the plate not being recognised by insurance websites makes it not worth the risk, along with the dealer not being local.

Also, the suggestion from catsdad to look at approved used Mazdas was a really good one - seems like a safe way to buy and prices not too bad. I'll just try to be patient and wait until one of the approved dealers close to me has the model I want...

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Thu 12 Jul 2018 10:11
Number plate insurance glitch - but HPI, DVLA OK - Andrew-T

Also, the suggestion from catsdad to look at approved used Mazdas was a really good one - seems like a safe way to buy and prices not too bad. I'll just try to be patient and wait until one of the approved dealers close to me has the model I want...

I would have thought that if you are after a particular model, one of your 'close' dealers would look for one in their network and even fetch it for you.

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Thu 12 Jul 2018 11:02
Number plate insurance glitch - but HPI, DVLA OK - bikepete

No harm asking I guess, but I doubt they'll do that for cars in my budget (~£6k).

Not 100% fixed on the Mazda 3, but I do like the design and all the gadgets you get in the Sport 2.0 version...

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Thu 12 Jul 2018 18:00
Number plate insurance glitch - but HPI, DVLA OK - bikepete

Just as a footnote to this I've just had a reply from Experian (who I assumed might be supplying the data to insurers, tyre companies etc.)

They claim their data for the car detailed in my first post matches the (correct) DVLA data.

So another dead end trying to get it changed - confirms the walk away decision.

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