Getting What You Ordered Part 1
Thursday, 15. November 2018
In order to reduce rates, those providing PCH must find ways of buying cars more cheaply. There is a process called ‘Pre-Registration’. It simply means that cars are registered to the dealer first, in order to capture some extra discounts being given away by the manufacturer, that may be limited to a number of vehicles or vehicles registered by a certain date.
This often happens when the current model is facelifted or replaced. If it’s a facelift it’s probably only cosmetic so light clusters may change, the grill design may alter and there may be some tweeks to the interior. The wheels will probably change and you may find a few options now standard. If there is a model change the whole design will change and whilst the car may keep the model name it will look markedly different to the outgoing model.
So why should this affect you? The chances are that you will check out the car you’re interested in online or even visit a main dealer. In each case, you will probably be looking at the very latest model, not the last model. Those who simply want to advertise a cheap rate will advertise the car but won’t explain that the car has been pre-registered. You won’t know because you don’t see the registration document (V5C).
At the time of writing the current registration is ‘68’ and it is November. So if a car arrived on a ‘68’ plate you could assume that it had just been registered if you hadn’t been told otherwise but it could easily have been registered on the 1st September and be the old model. Of course, it could still be the current model just registered two months earlier to capture the extra discount and enable the broker to offer the car more cheaply.
The effect could be twofold. Firstly the car may be the previous model leading to disappointment when you believed the car was the latest model that you ordered. We often promote cars that have been ‘pre-registered’ but we always tell the customer not only that the car was pre-registered but also the month in which it was pre-registered. You may feel that you are entitled to refuse delivery but you’ll find all sorts of excuses and charges tucked away in their terms and conditions.
The month is important, especially if you take out PCH without maintenance, as the service clock starts ticking from the moment the car is registered. When you take a new unregistered car it will normally be registered the day before or even the day of delivery. So there is a chance that when you take out a 3 year PCH that you may just be able to avoid the last service, depending on annual mileage. But if the car was pre-registered you are pretty much guaranteed to need a service before the car is returned, adding to the overall cost.
Know what you are getting and know the risks when you opt for a cheaper rate. By Graham Hill
