Buying a car with *little* id

[phorbiuz]

And by little I mean it has some. Are we sitting comfortably....

I have the chance to buy an old 1972 Cortina which was a company car and when the chap retired he kept it as a present. Unfortunately the chap died not long afterwards and the car then sat in the family garage until circa 1982 when his young son stripped it down and had it restored, but never got round to building it back up again. It's still in the now ramshackle garage as a painted but stripped shell with just the engine and gearbox, with allegedly all the parts in the loft. Last time he turned the engine over was late 80's apparently, and his elderly mother wants it gone so the garage can come down.

The car doesn't have it's VIN tag on the slam panel nor plates (though they *could* be in one of the many boxes), but it does have the chassis stamp on the inner wing.

Suggestions from those who've been there for the best way not to get burnt please, just in case decades in the dark could be hiding 'legalities'.

Thanks.

[Luxobarge]

I take it you don't have the registration number? Can't find out, from old paperwork or family members? No plates hidden away? No old tax discs?

[phorbiuz]

Afraid not. At this stage it could be no plates, no VIN, no V5, just chassis stamp.

The owner could probbably tell me what the reg is, but I'd rather be cautious in case it's a tall story.

[Luxobarge]

The owner could probbably tell me what the reg is, .

Well, tall story or not I think my approach would be to get this information. Then you can fairly easily look at the various DVLA and other web sites to verify that this is indeed the likely correct registration for the car. Then I think I'd simply send off for a V5 in my name - I've done that before and it's duly arrived in the post, no bother!

Or is there a compelling reason why this is a bad idea?

[phorbiuz]

No, not really. I've just never bought a motor with this level of id missing. V5 maybe, or a VIN tag, but never where everything but the chassis stamp isn't there.

Just being cautious and seeing what other people have done.

[JPB]

At least a car of this age doesn't need a VIN since it predates their introduction and as such, isn't even required to carry a chassis plate.
I recently located a Reliant Rebel (again ) as the basis for a commissioned rebuild in the college. It had been in someone's damp steading for a good twenty years and had no visible ID. On these, the chassis (and engine) numbers were rarely found on the chassis as some weren't stamped and those that were had that stamp at a point where the floor panels were directly on top of the chassis and invariably stuck there by the remains of the original rubber gaskets that they'd been mounted on.
Most only carried the numbers written in the engine bay by hand by the person at Two Gates who signed the car off for dispatch to the dealer and Tamworth's idea of a Magic Marker was variable to say the least so often, no information was available other than with a little detective work. In this case, the engine number was found to be nigh enough right for the alleged age of the car so we simply checked with Reliant who confirmed the chassis number and the identity of the dealer. As that dealer is still in existence, albeit now specialising in general used vehicles, they were happy to be asked to help save the van and gave us a signed copy of the allocation record for it.

Yes, it's a faff, but imagine how much easier it must be when the vehicle in question is a Ford and they're still very much present on the new car sales scene and tended to keep records that existed in forms other than scrawled on beermats.

Good luck with this, I suspect it'll be pretty straightforward especially as you can find the original registration for yours.

[tractorman]

I'd have a serious search for number plates and V5 as, from my experience with tractors, it can be a real pain.

The rules have changed since I sorted my old Fergy's V5 but I think you would need an "approved society" to get registration sorted. You can get a copy of the list of approved societies from the local DVLA. The society I went to needed records from the county that first registered the machine - and I was lucky, I had a part registration number and a friend who lives near the Durham Records Office! They also wanted chassis and engine serial numbers and any further info I could find: eg tax discs, a "verified" photocopy of the entry in the Durham registration book, photo of the reg number on the machine and the build dates that Ferguson and Standard cast on the chassis and engine.

The first DB was a lot easier as it was already "on the computer" at Swansea (I had the reg number for it) and all I had to do was apply for a V5, which was free at the time! I made sure the second DB has a V5!!

There is a "topic" on the DBTC website that may help:

http://www.dbtc.co.uk/index.php?name=PN ... ic&t=11935

I would add that "Broadsword" is a motor trader and knows his stuff!

[mach1rob]

Have you considered speaking to the DVLA direct? They should have all the info on record. I'd say go for it, they are usually quite helpful in your local office (if you get in quick before they close) rather than dealing with Swansea.

Worst case is details can't be found, and you end up buying a V5 and chassis plate off some pikey on evilbay!