Pre-reg cars: your V5C and the law - Introduction

If you buy a television, a sofa or the weekly grocery shopping, you don't expect the shop assistant to say they'll keep the receipt for the next three months.

So when you buy a car, why should you accept it if the salesman tells you he needs to 'hang on' to the registration document for it? Put simply, you shouldn't - if your dealer hangs on to it, he's breaking the law.

Read on to see why dealers do this and why you should insist the document comes with your car.