Buying secondhand car with no service history, no v5 form and one key? Dodgy?

[Jeany1967]

Hi all,

I'm needing to buy a car soon as I'm currently without one. I'm looking at a 6/7 seater and thought I'd found the perfect one for us. It's over £9k so not cheap, 16 plate with just over 70k miles on the clock. It's a Citroen grand picasso (which I've read from another thread that have very mixed reviews on reliability). It's with a dealer who have excellent reviews and thrive on their great reviews so I really don't know what to think. They've said that it has one key but they also didn't receive any service history or v5 form with it. They've said that they will do a full service before it leaves them and the MOT is valid for another year. They also said I can apply for a replacement v5 form at the post office which costs £20 and they'll take off the cost of the car.

Should alarm bells be ringing here? I know some cars don't have full service history because the owner might not have been able to afford to get them done regularly but to have none at all seems strange?

Should I be avoiding this because of the key and lack of service history and v5 form?

Many thanks

What sort of warranty are they offering?

It's 10 years old so what are the big things that need doing at that age (eg timing belt) and are they being done? If not you'll need to factor those costs in.

How much is a second key? Another cost to factor in.

Dodgy as hell. As a dealer why haven't they sorted the V5 and key? I wouldn't touch it with a bargepole.

Yeah don't buy that OP

I thought cars had to have two keys when sold?

other than the service history I would have expected the garage to sort the rest before selling it.

For a second hand car a lack of service history and second key wouldn’t bother me, but I’ve never had the lack of paperwork issue.

No legal requirement to sell with the two keys, but is perhaps an accepted norm.

I’m surprised you even need to ask this !! Of course you shouldn’t buy it !

Completely dodgy! 100% avoid. You could get a 7 seater Toyota, Kia, Hyundai or Mitsubishi as well for 9k. Which would also be a be a lot more reliable than a citroen I think.

I'm not an expert and have only ever bought 2nd hand cars (not 9k though)

You can look on MOT checker on gov.uk to see current and previous mots. This will tell you if it's passed with no problems or had advisories. I would rely more on that information than service history. Plus the garage having a good rep is a good sign.

I got a great deal on a four year old car without any service history or a second key - and then a few weeks later the dealer called me to say they had been located - result!

Dealer should be sorting that out - second key and getting paperwork sorted. As pp said, you can check the reg online with DVLA and see if there are any red flags there.
But personally, I would walk away.

Regardless of the fact anyone can check any mot on the mot check website, the lack of V5 would absolutely put me off.

Don't go anywhere near it!

my current car only has one key, all the other paper work though

No V5?
Is it stolen?

The dodgy bit is no V5. They can apply for it if they want the sale!

My dads just sold his 9yo C4 Picasso and I've just sold my 12yo C3 Picasso. His was fine but mines had all sorts of issues past 2 years (normal such as starter motor!) but the EPU power steering went and that was £670 to fix and turns out is a common problem with that model so I'd check the C4 isn't affected too before committing!

9k is a lot of money, I’ve always had slightly dodgy cars but I wouldn’t spend 9k on this!

No V5? Could be a write off. Or on finance or not their car to sell. It costs £25 to get a replacement. Why can't the current dealer sort it?

It’s the lack of V5 for me.

No way would I buy it.

Lack of V5 would bother me. Surely should be for last named person as registered keeper to get one and then use this to transfer to you, otherwise we could all go around nicking each other’s cars and paying £25 to get a new V5C in our names? If it hasn’t got one then it’s not registered to the dealer either?

There are cheaper and lower mileage Grand Picassos on Autotrader so I’d be having a look there.

The no V5 is my hard line in the sand, the other bits I've taken chances on and it's been ok.

If it's only £20 for the V5, why aren't they getting one themself? As far as I'm concerned it's a vital part of selling a car. I have private plates and have always sorted out the V5 with the right registration on so it's habit for me.

Sounds like a dodgy dealer trying to offload a dodgy car. If it’s only £25 to get a replacement V5 he should have done it before advertising the car. If that’s an example of his customer service imagine what he’d be like if the car developed a major fault the day after you drove it home. I’d walk away and do some more shopping around. 🚩🚩

I wouldn't buy one of those cars due to reliability issues. Reviews are very mixed. I definitely wouldn't buy one without any proof of service history or the V5.
A quick scan of autoloader also tells me that 9k for that age and mileage is very much on the high side.
I'd look at a VW Sharan or a Seat Alhambra. Will be older but a much less risky buy

I agree with others, the lack of V5 is very suspect. A reputable dealer wouldn't even try to sell a car without one.

If you buy stolen goods, even unwittingly there is very little recourse to getting your money back. No V5 strongly suggests that things aren't on the level with this car.

Definitely look elsewhere.