Pre-registered carsWhat are pre-registered cars?

Pre-registered cars should be in almost mint condition

Pre-reg, or pre-registered cars, are effectively brand new cars that are heavily discounted because they have already had one registered owner. Usually this is a dealer, but fleet managers and even manufacturers themselves have been known to pre-register cars.

They often pre-register dozens of cars at a time, and these are then sold on for as little as 70% of the list price. For the buyer it can mean a great bargain, but what’s in it for the dealers?

Well, when dealers pre-register cars they are effectively buying them – so it looks as though they are selling far more units. This means they can meet their sales quotas in quiet periods, and keep the manufacturers happy with a steady stream of orders.

They will then sell the ‘nearly new’ cars to customers as soon as they get the chance – usually three to six months after the initial registration.

Pre-registered or used?

A pre-registered car should only have delivery miles on the clock, and certainly shouldn’t show any signs of wear and tear. 

If it does, it could have been used as a test car for other buyers and you should therefore only pay ex-demo prices.

Warranties on pre-registered cars

As you might expect, the warranties on new cars begin the first time they are registered, not when you take ownership.

This means that a car you buy ‘nearly new’ could already be a year into its three-year warranty, and it may have been left exposed to the elements for some or all of that time.

Often car dealers pre-register too many cars and eventually have to sell them at a loss to stave off the effects of depreciation.

To get a rough idea of how long the dealer has kept the car for before selling it on, check the car’s build date. You can usually find this on a plate inside the driver’s door.

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