Certifiable
There is no stipulation that says you have to have a valid roadworthy certificate for a car you are selling. In fact, while in previous times many cars were advertised for sale with a roadworthy certificate, these days privately sold cars rarely include the added value of a roadworthy certificate.
In private sales, it is up to the buyer to ensure the car has a roadworthy certificate
It is up to the new owner to ensure that a car has a valid roadworthy certificate submitted at the same time that the car is registered in the new owner’s name. In practice, what this often means is that, in private sales, a buyer will be able to use the car legally on the road, until the current license disc has expired. This enables a period of grace where the buyer can ready the car for a roadworthy test, and once it has passed, register the car in his or her name. Legally, however, once the previous owner has submitted a change of ownership form to the licensing authorities, the new owner has a period of some 21 days to roadworthy the car. If this cannot be achieved, the car has to be registered in the new owner’s name without a roadworthy, and only once proof of that roadworthy test has been submitted, will a new license disc be issued.
Related: What to do if you lose your car’s registration documents
What about dealers selling a used car?
In the case of buying a used car from a dealer, in 99 out of 100 cases, cars sold by a dealer will include a valid roadworthy certificate. This is a no-brainer, as it firstly protects the dealer’s good trading name, and secondly, it speeds up the registration process into the new owner’s name, once the deal has been concluded.
What will happen is that when a dealer buys a car, or trades one in, the dealership will conduct its own check on the car, rectifying any problems, and ensuring the car is ready for a successful roadworthy check. Usually, the dealer will only take the car to the nearest roadworthy station once a successful offer has been made on the car. This is to ensure that the roadworthy certificate, valid for 30 days after the test, is still current when the registration of the car with the traffic authorities, under the new owner’s name, takes place.
In rare cases, dealers may sell a restoration project without a roadworthy
In rare cases, such as when a very collectible car is offered for sale, but still needs restoration, such a car will obviously be sold by a dealer without a roadworthy. The same applies to cars sold as scrap, which are destined to be broken up for spare parts.
It is worth noting that in the case of all sales, the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) states that the seller must “stand good” for the durability of a vehicle for a period of six months after the sale. This legality is subject to many conditions, however. Any faults existing in the vehicle should be noted and listed as well as included in a sales contract, signed by both buyer and seller.
In the case of major mechanical failures after-sale…
Any disputes that may occur after such a sale, such as when there is a major engine or gearbox fault, may be costly to resolve. The possibility of the new owner abusing the car mechanically soon after taking ownership is a real one, and AutoTrader’s advice is to take along an expert with you, when buying a used car from a private owner, and to check out the car thoroughly, both statically, and on a road test.
To protect both the seller and the buyer, it is a good idea to arrange for an aftermarket warranty to be purchased with the used vehicle. Then it is the underwriter of the warranty that carries the risk of a major, expensive mechanical failure.
Wear and tear items, such as clutches, exhausts, brakes, and tyres would be excluded from this sort of guarantee.
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