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Can anyone tell me if OY registrations are specific to audi UK cars and are they all ex managers cars to be avaoided?

More than likely Audi UK cars, yes.

Given a choice I'd avoid, but take what you see at face value.

Yep stay away is the best bet

Avoid? Depends.

It depends on how the car was driven by the manager.

When I worked for part of GM we were given cars from new to 9,000 miles when they were sold on in the dealer network as "warranted used" cars. The vast majority of managers used to drive them like they were stolen with no respect for whether the oil was cold or letting the engine tickover after a hard drive if it had a turbo so most of them didn't have the best start. But of course there were exceptions who treated the cars with mechanical sympathy.

I would say avoid if possible. Dealers definately don't have much love for their demonstrators

I used to own an S3 Sportback on an OY plate, never had an issue with it at all.

It all depends on how the car was driven when it was new, but who knows how that was apart from the manager that had it.

A lot of people here jump to the conclusion that they are dealer demonstrators. That's not the case. The O* prefix cars simply mean they were registered at Audi UK, and could have been used for a number of things.

For example, 12 mths ago there was a glut of Suzuka O* cars hit the AUC, I did some digging and they were in fact 'show' cars, that sat in shopping centres and on event stands etc, these cars were 12mths old and had only a couple of thousand miles on them. Then there was the cars which were supplied to Chelsea Football Club for the players to use. Saying all that there are a number of cars that are used for driving experiences, road tests etc, these are also O* cars.

Dealer demos will have been registered at the dealer, so will unlikely to have a O* plate.

In short, as a potential buyer I would strongly recommend finding out the exact history of any O* car, and get that in writing, along with a statement saying that it will not effect any future warranty claims and or faults.

Many thanks for your replies. Most helpful.

miatang wrote:I would say avoid if possible. Dealers definately don't have much love for their demonstrators

they are not dealer demos

This subject has been discussed previously so shouldn't be difficult to find. I also understand that they are ex Audi UK cars which are available to dealers sometime after 1st registration (whether that be after a certain mileage or time span, I don't know). They tend to be higher spec'd cars, and the ones I looked at when looking for previous Audi's seemed to be in good order with no signs of abuse. The days of running a car in are a thing of the past, but obviously treating a car with respect is another issue.
The cars I would avoid are ex Audi Press Office cars, or Audi cars that have been used by companies such as Enterprise who supply an Audi vehicle (which are actually Audi UK cars) comparable to the customers in the event of a warranty issue or breakdown when a dealer hasn't got a suitable replacement vehicle for a repair that may take longer than the usual repair time.
I have owned several KM /KV registered Vauxhalls which are as Petrol Dave says ex Fleet Management cars, and had no issues with them at all.
If you do the usual checks as you would on any forecourt and don't assume that all cars on a dealers forecourt must be ok, then you won't go far wrong.

Surely they are not all Audi UK cars? Any car registered at the Oxford DVLA office would have an O* reg prefix.

So yeah all the Audi UK cars do because their local DVLA is the Oxford one, but also any car bought privately from the Audi dealer in Oxford would as well?

Or do Audi UK specifically have the OY prefix allocated to them?

http://www.newreg.co.uk/dvla-number-plate-identifiers/

I think Audi UK cars will have been supplied/had PDI at Heyford Park, Bicester. Not a dealer but a fleet service centre that has been under a few names over the years but location the same, so easy to check in the service book.

Personally I wouldn't necessarily avoid an Audi UK car.

Mine is an OV and although I've had a couple of niggling issues, they're all issues other B* RS246 owners have had also (e.g. DRC) or small items that haven't created me any major headaches. All works are covered under warranty any way.......

As others have said, it's personal preference but if you're worried, asking for details on its history will give you some info. But I don't think many of these cars are worthy of avoidance tactics at all.