Looking and second hand motors for a friend of mine and we have found a car she really likes. I know the dealer has had the car a few months and I am pretty sure the plate on it now was on it a few months ago.

When we have gone to do a HPI check the plate shows as being for a different vehicle altogether.

It is a private plate (one of them three letter 4 digit jobs), but even so as it has been on the car a while now why is it showing up for a different car? Can there be any legitimate reason?

I have tried calling the dealer and left a message but as yet have received no response so thought I would ask in here while we wait.

It also begs the question how the insurance company might question it or even refuse to insure it.

I know some of you will say walk away and I would, but she likes it and hence we want to be sure we are walking away for the right reason.

Well I don't know about HPI but when I got my plate it was still showing up on the RAC website's quick check facility as being on the previous car for about 2 years after it had been taken off it!

Pretty sure I was asked by insurance companies a few times. Just put them right and they accepted it as some sort of computer error or something.

If the numberplate would increase its value, maybe the dealer is using it on the forecourt to attract more interest? It's not illegal to display any numberplate if its on private property. Then if he sells the car with the numberplate as being included, he re-registers the car it belongs to at present?

That's a bit convoluted though and unlikely, but not impossible. The test would be if he allowed you a test-drive with the "wrong" numberplate, as that would be illegal unless he simply forgot or couldn't be bothered to put on the right numberplate. Odd whichever way you look at it.

OK well that's interesting, begs the question hwo the hell do I HPI check it though?

No he said that is the plate the car is on. Plus he is one of these small dealers who has a unit with about 20 cars so, there is no forecourt as such. Will be interesting to see what he says about it.

That's where my knowledge of the subject ends, I'm afraid!

Delay in processing at DVLA would be my guess then, if it's a reasonably established business.

Having had my personal plate for 18 years it suddenly turned up on www.askmid.com as being on a Ford Focus Diesel of all things.

When checked by Moley my Subaru was on there as well but as F comes before S the Focus appeared first in the list.

Was a cockup with the other parties insurance company data entry.

Took a couple of weeks to sort out.

I stopped a woman who had plates for an X5 on a Q7. Her husband couldn't be bothered to fill in the paperwork and just swapped the plates.

It took her ages to sort it, despite warnings that her car could be seized, and at worst crushed.

Scary. Selling our X5 and the plate(we've taken our private number off), comes up as a manual petrol X5....put one buyer off already.

Yep that's where I am with this one. It maybe OK, but how do you know for 100% sure?

Number could be going through the process of a cherished transfer. Can take months to appear as the correct vehicle at dva as said above. Get taxbook and check vin

Put it through the DVLA vehicle enquiry website and see if it matches up.

Er.. it doesn't hence my post. You enter the reg and the make and it says cannot proceed as make does not match reg.

Thing is, when I first bought the car, I spent an hour on the phone to HPI as there was 1 digit different on the V5 to the chassis number on the vehicle. It was put down to a clerical error when first registering it and never picked up in its 6 years life. When we got the new V5 in the Missus name, we sent it away with a lettering explaining the situation and the DVLA corrected it without hassle, but unfort there was bound to be questions when selling it on, as the old MOTs show the old vin number. Car is 100% legit, but there you go...

The personal reg you describe sounds like a Northern Ireland plate, PM the details if you like.

plate could either be a cherished transfer, or the plate could be on a vehicle permanently exported from NI.

Starting point would be to check the V5 - what reg is printed on the document? Check the tax disc, what VRM is printed on it, does it match either the V5 or the plate? Could it be an error in constucting the plate? I can give you a direct number for the vehicle licencing office in NI if you want to drop them a call.

See the car in the flesh and check everything against everything. VIN needs to match reg documents across the board, plus V5 to be pukka.

There can't be duplicate plates, but there can be almighty **** ups with databases, cherished transfers etc so it needs to be got to the bottom of before any money changes hands for the car.

Don't takle this the wrong way but I know all that and no money will be changing hands before everything is well and truly sorted, although if it were up to me I would just walk away now. Not worth the hassle IMO!

My question is if the reg doesn't match the vehicle even though it has been on there for months is thwre any way this could be legitimate and it seems from the above it is a possibility.

The problem is the dealer has not rung me back with the V5/VIN details wich is ringing alarm bells for me. The dealer is a bit of a trek from here so not wanting to go back if this is a waste of time.

Maybe you've said who it is already, but i'll ask...what HPI check did you use?

http://www.hpicheck.com

or that is the one I would use if I had the details LOL! A reg number that doesn't stack up is all I have right now and the dealer isn't replying to my requests for further info.....

The best way to check the car itself is through the VIN number. Obviously the dealer hasn't given you this yet but it is the only way to check a car properly as I have seen issues with regs in the past.

Well at least it's the right company to use....try phoning them to ask? They may be able to tell you if the reg that's on it at the moment, is actually being used on another vehicle now...

Where's the car at?