Brand new motorhome and the DVLA

SirPooley

SirPooley

Joined
Aug 28, 2021
Posts
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Location
Oxford, UK
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83,787
MH
Auto-Sleeper Kingham
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I'm a newbie
Hi everyone.

Three weeks ago I put a deposit on a new Auto-Sleeper. Two and a half weeks ago I paid the remainder in full.

The dealership is still waiting for the DVLA to register the vehicle and so I am unable to collect it. Last week they had to resubmit the registration with a new reg number after the date turned August 1st. I still have no idea of when I'm actually going to be able to drive away the van I have paid lots of money for.

Is this normal? How long could I be waiting? Is there anything I or the dealership can do to speed up the process? It's all very frustrating.

Thanks.
 
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rb62 said:
Certainly not normal to pay in full in advance of collection 😳 dealer now holds all the cards!
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Really? I've bought new cars in the past and always transfer the full and then collect the car.
Would it be normal for a dealership to let you drive away a vehicle you hadn't paid for? I'm confused.
 
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SirPooley said:
Hi everyone.

Three weeks ago I put a deposit on a new Auto-Sleeper. Two and a half weeks ago I paid the remainder in full.

The dealership is still waiting for the DVLA to register the vehicle and so I am unable to collect it. Last week they had to resubmit the registration with a new reg number after the date turned August 1st. I still have no idea of when I'm actually going to be able to drive away the van I have paid lots of money for.

Is this normal? How long could I be waiting? Is there anything I or the dealership can do to speed up the process? It's all very frustrating.

Thanks.
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I assume you mean Sept 1st (ie now 73 Reg)?

Larger car dealers have online access and do it all online. Similarly, Wildax do a central service and register all their campervans online with DVLA. It sounds as if AS leave it to the dealer. I don't think there is anything you can do.
 
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Tigger-Tim said:
I assume you mean Sept 1st (ie now 73 Reg)?

Larger car dealers have online access and do it all online. Similarly, Wildax do a central service and register all their campervans online with DVLA. It sounds as if AS leave it to the dealer. I don't think there is anything you can do.
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Doh. Sorry, yes I meant Sept 1st. Thanks for your response. If I only knew how long I'll be waiting, that would be one thing. It feels like it go on and on.

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Pay deposit,turn up on agreed collection day,check van over,make sure any agreed extras have been added,and all necessary equipment is included,make sure you have a comprehensive hand over and everything is explained and when you are happy,hand over rest of money.
 
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SirPooley said:
Really? I've bought new cars in the past and always transfer the full and then collect the car.
Would it be normal for a dealership to let you drive away a vehicle you hadn't paid for? I'm confused.
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Motorhomes are much more complex than cars, lots to check, handover etc

You should pay the balance on the day only when you are happy with everything, they’ve now got all your money.
 
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CazPaul said:
Motorhomes are much more complex than cars, lots to check, handover etc

You should pay the balance on the day only when you are happy with everything, they’ve now got all your money.
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And the van.

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We picked our 73 plate up last Friday, they allowed me to choose my reg a couple of days before, all done online. It's instant now online. Something wrong at your dealer
 
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Let's hope your paperwork issue is resolved soon and your van is looked after. while it's not in your care.

I imagine it's not insured right now. That is a lot of liability right there because whatever happens, you own it. Even if you have managed to insure it, what If some clown customer or dealer employee runs into it. (this has happened more than once to Funsters after they have paid in full!

Imagine having to accept a brand new van that has a whole new back end repair, just because you paid in full before you collected. If you hadn't paid, anything that happens to the van before you collect is their problem. Once you've paid in full, it becomes yours.

Meanwhile, I know that every day's wait will feel like a week, but hopefully you'll be driving it out with that big smile soon enough (y)
 
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A few “ifs” the van has been assigned a reg number, all the paperwork including 1st years tax has been received by the DVLA and the van is insured. Why can it not be used whilst waiting for the DVLA to process ?
 
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Adrian140974 said:
We picked our 73 plate up last Friday, they allowed me to choose my reg a couple of days before, all done online. It's instant now online. Something wrong at your dealer
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Not all dealers have access to the online system.

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Doesn’t a new vehicle have to be registered to new owner and plates obtained and fitted before driving away. ?
I don’t think a dealer will do all that without having the money and it usually takes a few days.
Ok, I know these days some very large dealers have registration numbers pre-allocated and can register online quickly but that may not apply to all.
 
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We collected our van back in April dealer not able to register online. They provided us with a registration number so we could get insurance. When we collected we were given the paperwork that was submitted to DVLA it’s like a temporary V5 but I can’t remember the number and proof tax had been paid. About two weeks later we received the V5 and the on-line tax checker confirmed we had tax. Not sure why your having to wait we made final payment after inspection and handover at dealer all very easy
 
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I suspect the dealer is telling porky pies and forgot to submit the first set of registration documents at the right time. It needs to be done several weeks before handover if they do not have access to the online system (and most don’t). I have never heard of them needing to resubmit registration documents with a new number just because the registration numbers have moved on on the 1st September. Has anyone else heard of this being needed?
 
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AndyP12345 said:
We collected our van back in April dealer not able to register online. They provided us with a registration number so we could get insurance. When we collected we were given the paperwork that was submitted to DVLA it’s like a temporary V5 but I can’t remember the number and proof tax had been paid. About two weeks later we received the V5 and the on-line tax checker confirmed we had tax. Not sure why your having to wait we made final payment after inspection and handover at dealer all very easy
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Our process was pretty much identical to this in July although we were asked to pay the invoice in full a couple of days prior to collection. Part of the reason given was to ensure the funds could all be transferred easily as some banks put a limit on the amount transferred each day. Whatever the reason, the process went to plan and on the day of collection we completed the online DVLA stuff to enable us to drive it away and a couple of weeks later we received the V5 in the post from DVLA. It would make sense that they've had to get a new registration due to going past 1st September but I'd be down there now asking for the keys as you've done all that you can do.
 
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Smaller dealers don't have access to the online DVLA system.
They have to apply by post.
Ours took approx. 4 weeks, but that was almost two years ago so current timescales may be different.
You cant use the motorhome on the road until it is registered with DVLA.
Keep checking on line if it is taxed as ours showed as taxed (and therefore registered) about 4 or 5 days before the V5C arrived in the post.

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Picked my new van up 3 weeks ago paid after inspection. They done all the paperwork there and then had handover then drove home. The log book came a week later
 
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From the DVLA website -​


Paper applications​

All our services are operating within normal turnaround times.

Please allow 4 weeks for your new documents to be sent to you if applying by post. Please do not call us within those 4 weeks as your application will be processing and we will not be able to provide further information.
 
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AndyP12345 said:
We collected our van back in April dealer not able to register online. They provided us with a registration number so we could get insurance. When we collected we were given the paperwork that was submitted to DVLA it’s like a temporary V5 but I can’t remember the number and proof tax had been paid. About two weeks later we received the V5 and the on-line tax checker confirmed we had tax. Not sure why your having to wait we made final payment after inspection and handover at dealer all very easy
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This is not allowed, the vehicle must be shown as registered online before you can drive it. There used to be a concession that gave you a couple of weeks grace but this was withdrawn many years ago. One member of this forum was stopped by the Police for driving an unregistered vehicle in similar circumstances. He was sent home and told not to drive it again before it was registered. He had been given bad information by the dealer who said he would be ok but he wasn’t.

Some dealers are either very badly informed or are deliberately telling lies to get your money. They probably get away with it most of the time but they are not the ones breaking the law by driving an unregistered vehicle.

I have twice had to wait for registration before driving off from the dealership. Last time I spent one night in the motorhome on the forecourt before the registration came up online the next day.
 
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Those of you saying it the vehicle must be showing as registered online, I would be grateful if you could show an official reference to this fact.
 
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AndyP12345 said:
We collected our van back in April dealer not able to register online. They provided us with a registration number so we could get insurance. When we collected we were given the paperwork that was submitted to DVLA it’s like a temporary V5 but I can’t remember the number and proof tax had been paid. About two weeks later we received the V5 and the on-line tax checker confirmed we had tax. Not sure why your having to wait we made final payment after inspection and handover at dealer all very easy
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A dealer once pulled that trick on us too.
They said that as all paperwork had been submitted it was ok to drive.
There was a long delay with the V5C as the dealer had attached the wrong payment.
I contacted the DVLA who made it very clear that using an unregistered vehicle on the road was not legal and that it could be impounded.
I had to let it sit on our drive unused for three weeks until the V5C arrived.
I was not a happy camper.

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Our 23 plate van. Dealer gave us a registration number some weeks before collection. They had a block of numbers allocated to them.
We insured it from the collection date.
After nothing from DVLA three weeks after collection I looked online and there was no record of the vehicle.
I queried with the dealer and a very helpful lady assured me that it was all going through and sent me copies of posting the pack to DVLA and their signed receipt. She assured me that it was legal to drive with this proof. DVLA however said illegal to use it. We were away in it!!

Anyway, because the base vehicle is made in Turkey the DVLA needed the CoC so could not process the registration on line.

Three weeks after the posting by the dealer all the stuff arrived from the DVLA and it showed up on the road tax check website.
 
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ontheroadagain said:
A dealer once pulled that trick on us too.
They said that as all paperwork had been submitted it was ok to drive.
There was a long delay with the V5C as the dealer had attached the wrong payment.
I contacted the DVLA who made it very clear that using an unregistered vehicle on the road was not legal and that it could be impounded.
I had to let it sit on our drive unused for three weeks until the V5C arrived.
I was not a happy camper.
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We were given the copies of the documents sent to DVLA and confirmed with DVLA that with this document we were ok to use
 
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AndyP12345 said:
We were given the copies of the documents sent to DVLA and confirmed with DVLA that with this document we were ok to use
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Our situation was about 6 years ago so perhaps things have changed.
At the time I did speak directly to the DVLA on several occasions and they made it very clear that it could not be used until registered and taxed.
 
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