trialsrider Posted August 8, 2019 Share Posted August 8, 2019 Hi there. I'm about to buy a motorhome from a UK dealer. I thought the registration was a personal plate but I've just heard back from the DVLA that this might be a northern Ireland registration. This would make sense as it would explain why there was no MOT history until the vehicle was four years old. The registration is FFZ ****. All the * are numbers. Oddly I paid for a check with 'car analytics' who did hpi , plate checks etc and they said it had never been registered in northern Ireland. What I want to know is what implications are there if I buy this vehicle if it has been registered in northern Ireland. Why is it such an issue? Should the dealer have informed me of this? Will it effect resale or insurance? Your opinions would be appreciated as I'm supposed to be picking up the vehicle tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ninian Posted August 8, 2019 Share Posted August 8, 2019 Hi, As I live in N. Ireland the FFZ is a local registration. I would go into the DVLA NI website and check that the vehicle was registered. When you look at the V5 form it should tell you who originally purchased the van. Before buying I would want to check its not stolen and being passed off as a N I. van. My own van is TFZ reg. so I would guess this van to be around a 2007/8 model. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trialsrider Posted August 8, 2019 Author Share Posted August 8, 2019 Thanks for your response. That is interesting. It is being sold as 2011. On the DVLA history site it says first registered in 2011. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trialsrider Posted August 8, 2019 Author Share Posted August 8, 2019 Ninian - 2019-08-08 11:19 AM Hi, As I live in N. Ireland the FFZ is a local registration. I would go into the DVLA NI website and check that the vehicle was registered. When you look at the V5 form it should tell you who originally purchased the van. Before buying I would want to check its not stolen and being passed off as a N I. van. My own van is TFZ reg. so I would guess this van to be around a 2007/8 model. Can't find that info on the DVLA NI site. Could you post a link showing where to check please. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ninian Posted August 8, 2019 Share Posted August 8, 2019 Hi, I'm guessing the year, as the Reg goes F, G. H, I etc with the exception of O & Q so if two alternate letters were used in the year that was my estimate. If three were used in the year then my guess would be out. Go into www.nidirect.gov.uk to the vehicle TAX & Registration part type the REG. and it will display the year. You can also check if the the van is taxed and mot'd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted August 8, 2019 Share Posted August 8, 2019 Do you have the VIN? If so run the VIN through one of the many on-line checkers to find the build date. Here is one I use for Mercedes vehicles https://www.datamb.com/ There are many others available for free! eg https://carinfo.kiev.ua/ Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trialsrider Posted August 8, 2019 Author Share Posted August 8, 2019 Ninian - 2019-08-08 11:42 AM Hi, I'm guessing the year, as the Reg goes F, G. H, I etc with the exception of O & Q so if two alternate letters were used in the year that was my estimate. If three were used in the year then my guess would be out. Go into www.nidirect.gov.uk to the vehicle TAX & Registration part type the REG. and it will display the year. You can also check if the the van is taxed and mot'd. I can't seem to do it. It takes me. To the DVLA UK site when I try and do it. Could you post the link please Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ninian Posted August 8, 2019 Share Posted August 8, 2019 Hi, You should be able to get it from the site I've told you www.nidirect.gov.uk. If you want PM me with the REG and I'll check it and get back to you with the details. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trialsrider Posted August 8, 2019 Author Share Posted August 8, 2019 Ninian - 2019-08-08 12:26 PM Hi, You should be able to get it from the site I've told you www.nidirect.gov.uk. If you want PM me with the REG and I'll check it and get back to you with the details. I have pm'd you. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ninian Posted August 8, 2019 Share Posted August 8, 2019 Reply sent. All the best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trialsrider Posted August 8, 2019 Author Share Posted August 8, 2019 Ninian - 2019-08-08 1:38 PM Reply sent. All the best. Thanks for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alanb Posted August 8, 2019 Share Posted August 8, 2019 Gareth, If its any help our Skoda Fabia has the registration OFZ xxxx. It was first registered on 29/05/13. It was purchased from a Skoda dealer in January 2016, and reregistered in my name on 01/02/16. No problems. Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trialsrider Posted August 8, 2019 Author Share Posted August 8, 2019 Why is there such a fuss about northern Ireland plates? It is almost like it is a negative selling point. Does anybody agree ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alanb Posted August 8, 2019 Share Posted August 8, 2019 Could it be jealousy from those who have paid large fees for personalised number plates to disguise the age of the vehicle? For some reason the Skoda dealer from whom we bought our Fabia, wanted to have the registration number changed to the convential pattern. We were quite happy that the DVLA did not agree to the request. Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billggski Posted August 9, 2019 Share Posted August 9, 2019 I don't have a personal number plate to "disguise the age" of my vehicle. It's a stand out number to be noticed that I bought since a friend had their car "cloned" and she saw the identical model car to hers, with the same number plate. The police or the DVLA weren't interested. So presumably the other car wasn't taxed, MOT'd or insured and any fines would come her way. By having a noticeable registration I assume they wouldn't do this. .....and it spells my wife's name, which I bought on our silver wedding anniversary! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted August 9, 2019 Share Posted August 9, 2019 An “FFZ” Northern Ireland registration number would have been ‘new’ in 2011 and relates to Belfast. https://www.speedyreg.co.uk/blogs/2011/02/ffz-irish-registrations-are-out/ The HPI terms and conditions https://hpicheck.com/legal/termsAndConditions.html mention Northern Ireland and on-line comments suggest that an HPI check of a Northern Ireland-registered vehicle won’t return a valid result. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trialsrider Posted August 9, 2019 Author Share Posted August 9, 2019 Derek Uzzell - 2019-08-09 8:17 AM An “FFZ” Northern Ireland registration number would have been ‘new’ in 2011 and relates to Belfast. https://www.speedyreg.co.uk/blogs/2011/02/ffz-irish-registrations-are-out/ The HPI terms and conditions https://hpicheck.com/legal/termsAndConditions.html mention Northern Ireland and on-line comments suggest that an HPI check of a Northern Ireland-registered vehicle won’t return a valid result. Thanks for the info Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pottypam Posted August 9, 2019 Share Posted August 9, 2019 This article from the Belfast Telegraph might help https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/cars/your-guide-to-safely-buying-a-used-car-in-northern-ireland-36177956.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
machinehead Posted August 14, 2019 Share Posted August 14, 2019 I don't see there being any problems with a N Ireland registration. Many people on mainland UK buy them because they can spell names like CAZ, KAZ, GIL and many more. I would like GIG because I play in a band. :) I bought my current van new in England and got it re-registered to a N Ireland registration at 1 year old when paying the second year tax. I'll be doing the same on a new van I'm buying in England next month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.