Before you can make a decision on buying a car you need to ensure that the paperwork is in order. The key pieces of paper you need are:

• Registration document or V5C. This tells you the basics about the car's history such as how many owners it has had and who it is currently registered to. Bear in mind that the person named on this form is not necessarily the legal owner of the car. Don't buy a car without one of these and make sure it's a genuine document by holding it up to the light and looking for the watermark.
  
• The MoT. With the system now fully computerised, everything is logged centrally and can be looked up instantly. If a car isn't MoTed it can't be taxed - and neither will it be insured.
  
• The tax disc. Make sure the car has a genuine tax disc and not just a copy of one; look for the metallic strips in the paper. If the tax is about to run out, bear this in mind when negotiating a price for the car.
  
• Ask to see the car's service history. Ideally the car will have been maintained by the supplying dealer from new, but what you're after is proof of regular servicing. You can also ensure the mileage goes up in the right stages.
  

You can easily put a car through an MoT whenever you like; you can also buy or cancel tax to suit your needs. That's why the V5C is the most important document of the lot; the name on this piece of paper is the person to whom any speeding tickets or other motoring fines will be sent to. If that person doesn't deserve them, they have to prove why this is the case - and not telling the DVLA of a change in vehicle ownership is an offence.
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