hi David,
while i agree with the post from the prof, "no such change in legislation exists". and of course the phrase buyer beware should not be ignored. I tend to view thing slightly differently
IF some of the posters are to be believed there would not be any private sales, as you would not have the dealer protection on the sale.
yet thousands of private sales go through yearly without them all being dodgy deals by conmen.
the best you can do is check things out do research and then decide.
from the posts it seems you have done just that, the seller is the owner at a perminent address confirmed by the dealer
there is no outstanding finance and he has the Cris registration. in his name, the vans in good nick and at a price much better than a dealer special or you would not be thinking about it!!, so what's the problem, if you really want more proof ask to see some photos of him using the van or a insurance certificate from last year.
when I sold mine, it was by private sale, on the face of it it was a bit cheap also, but the price was set at an average of what a few dealers would buy it for and the forecourt price they would ask. I just want it gone but without being ripped of by dealers wanting a quick buck, and 100% profit,
I put an ad on gumtree and had a nice couple from derbyshire come look at it, I set it up so they could see everything worked, gave him my damp meter to check it with and left them to have a good look round while I made coffee.
showed them the CRIS registration and the original dealer receipt for the cash sale, the service book for the first 5 years [dealer contract] but none for the last 4 has I did my own servicing.
they left to have lunch and a think about it and came back 1hour later with the full cash asking price, hung it on their car and went. both of us very happy.
3 months later I had an e-mail from them saying they had used the van a couple of times and were very pleased with it,
also had a letter from CRIS asking if the ownership transfer was correct as i had forgot to sign the papers, DOH. so at least that works.