What paperwork should come with a used car?

Buying a used car is mostly about the car. But the paperwork is what proves the car is the car, that it is yours, and that you can legally drive it. Here is what should come with it, what will follow in the post, and what you need in place before you turn the key.

What documents should I get when I buy a used car?

On the day you should come away with a sales invoice, both keys if the car has two, the service record and any receipts or stamped book that go with it, the current MOT certificate if the car is old enough to have one, the handbook and the locking wheel nut key. The V5C log book is the one thing that does not come with the car on the day.

Do I get the V5C log book on the day?

No — and that is normal, not a red flag. When a car changes hands the seller tells the DVLA, and the new keeper receives a new V5C log book in the post. A seller who hands you their old V5C and asks you to post part of it off yourself is doing it the slow way. What you should get there and then is the V5C reference number, because that is what lets you tax the car before you drive away.

What should the sales invoice say?

The invoice should name the dealer, name you, and describe the car precisely — registration, make and model, mileage on the day, and the VIN. It should state the price you actually paid and list anything included, such as a warranty or a part-exchange allowance. Keep it. If anything goes wrong later, the invoice is the document that fixes the date of delivery, and dates matter for your rights. Our return and rejection guide explains why.

At ONECARS the invoice is simple for one reason: we charge no admin fee, so the price shown is the price paid. There is no line at the bottom you did not expect.

Is a full service history essential?

Not essential, but it is evidence, and on an older car it is worth more than a shiny bonnet. A stamped book or a folder of garage invoices tells you the car has been looked after and roughly when the next big job falls due. A gap of a few years on a fifteen-year-old car is common; a gap with no explanation on a car that should have been serviced yearly is a question to ask.

Where the paper record is thin, the MOT history fills some of the gap for free. Anyone can check a vehicle's MOT history on GOV.UK with its registration number: each test's result, the advisories and failures, and the mileage recorded. Advisories are the useful part — they show what a tester was watching year after year. We walk through how to read them in how to check a used car's MOT history, and how the mileage column exposes a clock that has been wound back in how to tell if a used car's mileage is genuine.

What about the MOT certificate?

In England and Wales a car needs its first MOT by the third anniversary of its registration, and then every year. So a car under three years old may have no MOT paperwork at all, which is correct. Anything older should have a current certificate, and you want to see the date it runs to before you agree anything.

Every ONECARS car page old enough to have been tested shows its MOT history from the DVSA, test by test, with the mileage recorded at each test — so the record is on the page before you ask for it. Every car page also carries the car's photographs and its full spec, and anything that needs doing is done by ONEFIX, our workshop on the same site, before the car is handed over. The 2010 Volkswagen Polo at £2,995 is a fair example: an older small car where the test-by-test record tells you more than the description could.

Does the car's road tax come with it?

No. Vehicle tax does not transfer with a car: the new keeper must tax it before it is driven on a public road, which can be done straight away online with the V5C reference. That is why the reference number matters more than the old log book. There is more detail in do you need to tax a used car before driving it home.

Do I need insurance before I drive it home?

Yes. A car must be insured before it is driven on a public road, including the drive home after buying it. Sort the cover before you set off, not after. Have the registration, the VIN and the mileage ready — the invoice has all three on it.

What extra paperwork does a part-exchange add?

A part-exchange adds a second set of documents, because you are selling a car as well as buying one: your own V5C, your service book, both sets of keys, and the settlement figure from your lender if money is still owed on it. On a part-exchange, the ONECARS order form states three figures before anything is signed: the allowance for your car, the settlement still owed on it, and the difference. Part-exchange explained sets out how we arrive at them.

What if the car is delivered rather than collected?

Then the paperwork travels with it, and you gain a right you would not have on the forecourt. A car bought from ONECARS online and delivered is a distance sale, so you have fourteen days from delivery to change your mind and return it. We deliver free within 20 miles of Plas Acton, Wrexham, on weekdays in hourly slots, with the car checked, valeted and fuelled before it leaves — see delivery.

A paperwork checklist to take with you

• Sales invoice naming you, the car, the mileage and the VIN
• V5C reference number, so you can tax the car before driving it
• Current MOT certificate, if the car is three years old or more
• Service record and any garage receipts
• Both keys, if there were ever two, and the locking wheel nut key
• Handbook, and the code or app details for anything electronic
• Warranty paperwork, and what it covers

What is good about buying the paperwork trail from us?

Every ONECARS car is checked on 34 points by ONEFIX, our own workshop on the same site at Plas Acton, Wrexham, and the whole list is published at how we check our cars. Every car comes with a free three-month warranty on the engine and gearbox, up to 2,500 miles, with repairs done by ONEFIX on the same site; longer paid cover is available, and what our warranty covers explains it plainly. Once a car is sold, ONEFIX next door services, repairs and MOTs it — so the next stamp in the book can come from the same people who prepared the car.

If you want to think it over, a reservation holds a car for fourteen days; within those fourteen days it can be cancelled for any reason and the fee is refunded in full, and if you go ahead it comes off the price.

We are at Plas Acton Garage, 282 Chester Road, Wrexham LL12 8DU, with a second forecourt at Ruyton near Shrewsbury, open Monday to Friday 9 to 5 and Saturday 10 to 4 for viewings by appointment. Browse our used cars, bring this checklist, and ask us anything on it — get in touch. Worth reading next: questions to ask when buying a used car and what to check when you view a used car.