Q plate car.... would you buy one?

Sat Apr 30, 2011 5:01 pm

I generally know the history of why cars have been given a Q plate. But has anyone bought / owned one?

My thought is it has probably been far more intensley scrutinised before being put back on the road than most cat c's that you see on ebay.

Cheap bargain, or nightmare?

Whats the general opinion?

Sat Apr 30, 2011 5:12 pm

think it depends on circumstances- some Q plates iirc are imports or re-registered. some Q-plates are also kit cars...

there is a thread on here about buying cat-c and cat-d recorded vehicles, again depends what it is:

Most E30's will automatically be written off as BER (beyond economic repair) from even a small ding. However if one was cat-c'd in say 2000, when it was worth £5-7k then thats a lot of damage...

hope that helps?

Stu

Sat Apr 30, 2011 5:14 pm

thats great thanks, I will have a look for the thread x

Sat Apr 30, 2011 6:05 pm

Q reg could also be because an owner has had the reg no seized and replaced with a Q through repeated abuse of the registration plate regs (font, spacing etc).

I think that if you buy it cheap and expect to get sod all for it when you sell on, no worries.

Sat Apr 30, 2011 6:18 pm

I've heard that some imports are given a Q plate, because of insufficient evidence of year of build date. I wonder, if DVLA would issue an age related plate if build date could be confirmed, by BMW if it was a BMW, at a future date? Worth asking?

Sat Apr 30, 2011 6:27 pm

Somebody correct me if im wrong but isnt it more expensive to insure a Q plated car too?

Sat Apr 30, 2011 6:28 pm

hmmm some good points worth noting,

I need to find out more details yet of the car. All I know is it has loads of history, probably was a re-shell or re built from lots of used parts. Done some homework and it comes down to 1995 if I put the reg number in on the internet. I presume this is when it was given the Q plate as its an E30.
If it was written off in 1995 that would have been a considerable cost of damage, what would a 325 convertible be worth then?

Depending where it is and how much the price is could be worth looking at.

Sat Apr 30, 2011 6:29 pm

Personally I wouldn't buy a Q plate car unless it was virtually free and I had no intention of selling it on in the future.

Sat Apr 30, 2011 6:30 pm

Cook318IS wrote:Somebody correct me if im wrong but isnt it more expensive to insure a Q plated car too?

yes it is,i did aquote but it was with direct line £80 more, than a normal reg. But havnt tried adrian flux yet that do q plate insurance apparently.