if u go to the post office in the morning they can give u a form so that u can apply for the log book in ur name . it takes a while because once dvla recieve ur form they then write to the owner asking him to confirm he is no longer the owner and once they get his reply they will then issue a new log book to u. ive looked at a car i thought was dodgy before so i went to the old bill station and ask if it was nicked by giving them the reg. the only problem in doing this is, if its nicked the old bill will ask u where u saw this car and the last thing u want to do is tell them its round ur house.just give them the geezers mobile number and say u saw it outside the local mcdonalds.hope its legit mate or i dont know what i would do. if its nicked just think of the poor bloke its been nicked from??? good luck (u could also hpi it they will tell u if its stolen or if it has any police interest???)