HPI checked a car I've just given a deposit for...
Discussion
Hi everyone,
Please, please, please, I'd love some help or some advice, because I'm absolutely and completely worried.
I've been looking for a Mazda MX5 to buy for quite a while. Today, new trade ad on Autotrader, I call, go to view it. It's not an actual dealership, more like a big house with a lot of cars around. But the company does exist.
We view the car, little test drive, it seems all good. I was still hesitant so the guy "proved" his good faith by showing my a whole lot of receipts, etc, to prove it's an actual company, that he's a respectable businessman and so on. He says he doesn't have the V5c but will send a V62 to get it. MX5 tend to go very quickly, and everything seems fine, so I pay a non-refundable £500 deposit.
Back home, still a bit hesitant (I'm 23, first time buying a used car...), I pay for an HPI Check by rac.co.uk
It shows :
- A Hire Purchase of 36 months contracted a year ago.
- "Interested Parties" (experian) from October 2014.
- And a mileage history of 80000miles in 2013 (whereas the odometer said 43000 when I viewed it!)
So I'm worrying like crazy. Is it possible that it all has an explanation and the car is actually "good" ?? If not, is it a sufficient reason to get my money back. Do I have to call my bank to cancel, do I have to go to court? What do I do??
Thank you very much if you help me, I'm completely lost right now...
Please, please, please, I'd love some help or some advice, because I'm absolutely and completely worried.
I've been looking for a Mazda MX5 to buy for quite a while. Today, new trade ad on Autotrader, I call, go to view it. It's not an actual dealership, more like a big house with a lot of cars around. But the company does exist.
We view the car, little test drive, it seems all good. I was still hesitant so the guy "proved" his good faith by showing my a whole lot of receipts, etc, to prove it's an actual company, that he's a respectable businessman and so on. He says he doesn't have the V5c but will send a V62 to get it. MX5 tend to go very quickly, and everything seems fine, so I pay a non-refundable £500 deposit.
Back home, still a bit hesitant (I'm 23, first time buying a used car...), I pay for an HPI Check by rac.co.uk
It shows :
- A Hire Purchase of 36 months contracted a year ago.
- "Interested Parties" (experian) from October 2014.
- And a mileage history of 80000miles in 2013 (whereas the odometer said 43000 when I viewed it!)
So I'm worrying like crazy. Is it possible that it all has an explanation and the car is actually "good" ?? If not, is it a sufficient reason to get my money back. Do I have to call my bank to cancel, do I have to go to court? What do I do??
Thank you very much if you help me, I'm completely lost right now...
So, I just called the seller.
Long story short, he stated and repeated that the car has been paid off. They have paid the remaining balance shortly before putting the car on sale (i.e today), which would be why it hasn't been updated on HPI checks yet. Mh...
And he confirmed also that the mileage is genuine, that it must be an error from the HPI. Which I might be ready to believe, considering the car really did not look/sound like a 80000 (in 2013!) miles, and the HPI figures would imply it has done 70k miles in 3 years... which is a lot.
I have recorded the conversation with my phone (just in case), and he told me he'd have an official letter from the credit company proving it's been paid off when I'll come back for the car.
Maybe he's a very convincing crook... but I have to admit I'm at least slightly relieved. I'll still try to call Mazda to confirm the mileage, and the credit company to confirm it being paid off.
Long story short, he stated and repeated that the car has been paid off. They have paid the remaining balance shortly before putting the car on sale (i.e today), which would be why it hasn't been updated on HPI checks yet. Mh...
And he confirmed also that the mileage is genuine, that it must be an error from the HPI. Which I might be ready to believe, considering the car really did not look/sound like a 80000 (in 2013!) miles, and the HPI figures would imply it has done 70k miles in 3 years... which is a lot.
I have recorded the conversation with my phone (just in case), and he told me he'd have an official letter from the credit company proving it's been paid off when I'll come back for the car.
Maybe he's a very convincing crook... but I have to admit I'm at least slightly relieved. I'll still try to call Mazda to confirm the mileage, and the credit company to confirm it being paid off.
Well, the "non-refundable" thing makes sense as it takes the car off the market.
At least, I'm not on the lowest point of stupidity (or am I?). The deposit was not paid cash without a trace, but by debit card, with a proper bank receipt and a "deposit slip" stating exactly what I've paid, how much left do I need to pay to get the car, and the absence of V5c at the moment of the sale.
If I have to take the guy to court or something, at least I'll have that.
At least, I'm not on the lowest point of stupidity (or am I?). The deposit was not paid cash without a trace, but by debit card, with a proper bank receipt and a "deposit slip" stating exactly what I've paid, how much left do I need to pay to get the car, and the absence of V5c at the moment of the sale.
If I have to take the guy to court or something, at least I'll have that.
All that jazz : Can I ring the credit company asking if there is still a unpaid balance on a given car? Will they disclose that information to me?
For the deposit, well, I've been fooled I guess. Told me a 10% deposit is the norm to secure the car. I could've put less, but he said that if anyone had come and paid a higher deposit, or paid the whole straight away, they would've gotten the car (and I would've had my money back, though).
Thing is, I have been looking for an MX5 for months now. Every interesting one goes very quickly. Less than 24h sometimes. So I hurried. Too much.
For the deposit, well, I've been fooled I guess. Told me a 10% deposit is the norm to secure the car. I could've put less, but he said that if anyone had come and paid a higher deposit, or paid the whole straight away, they would've gotten the car (and I would've had my money back, though).
Thing is, I have been looking for an MX5 for months now. Every interesting one goes very quickly. Less than 24h sometimes. So I hurried. Too much.
Ok thanks Torquey. I'll get to that tomorrow. Will also try to phone Mazda. The seller told me the last service was at Mazda in 2013, at about 25k miles. Maybe they'll be able to confirm.
If both those things come out well, finance paid off and genuine mileage, it just leaves the V5c. But if all the weird things highlighted by the HPI check turn out to be false alarms, and the car is genuine, then the absence of V5c can't mean anything bad, can it?
If both those things come out well, finance paid off and genuine mileage, it just leaves the V5c. But if all the weird things highlighted by the HPI check turn out to be false alarms, and the car is genuine, then the absence of V5c can't mean anything bad, can it?
All that jazz : Thanks a lot for all the help.
Yeah, I know, that deposit is stupid. Don't know why it didn't strike me on the spot. He went all "Ali Baba" on me, it made sense at the time.
I definitely don't have a good feeling about this either. I still hope he's of good faith, because that would mean I wouldn't lose £500, wouldn't need to go to court or something, and would have a damn car. But it's not looking too good.
As for awaiting the V5c to pay the balance, apparently it takes up to 6 weeks to arrive. Then again, if I give the guy the choice "either we wait for the V5c or you please give me my deposit back", maybe he's going to cooperate a bit more...
Yeah, I know, that deposit is stupid. Don't know why it didn't strike me on the spot. He went all "Ali Baba" on me, it made sense at the time.
I definitely don't have a good feeling about this either. I still hope he's of good faith, because that would mean I wouldn't lose £500, wouldn't need to go to court or something, and would have a damn car. But it's not looking too good.
As for awaiting the V5c to pay the balance, apparently it takes up to 6 weeks to arrive. Then again, if I give the guy the choice "either we wait for the V5c or you please give me my deposit back", maybe he's going to cooperate a bit more...
Here are the news.
I phoned the finance company, who have told me that there is still finance on the car at this point. I have given them the name and phone number of the seller, they'll see that on Monday (no managers on Saturday apparently).
I phoned the seller again, and once again he tells me that he's just paid it off so the money hasn't reached the finance company yet (mh...), he will get a clearance letter, that I will be able to call them to confirm. He tells me he will sign a statement saying the mileage IS accurate (I still have to call Mazda on that one).
He also told me that he hasn't sent the V62, he will do it as soon as I buy the car (which is probably, like edo said, to avoid adding a new owner if I don't buy it in the end).
I told him that if I can't get confirmation of, at least, the finance and the mileage, I will want my deposit back. He acts all offended like "you don't trust me, you're worrying way too much, put your mind at ease, I will give you all the guarantees you need, blahblahblah".
So... yeah. I doesn't stink much less, and I'm getting ready to never see those £500 back. Question now is : if I indeed get the confirmation (not from his letter, but by calling the company) that the finance has been paid off, if I indeed get the confirmation that the mileage is accurate... do I buy it or not? I feel like I won't want to buy a car that has caused me so much trouble even before I owned it. But on the other hand, if the HPI check had been all clear to begin with, I'd have bought it...
Gosh this is pissing me off.
I phoned the finance company, who have told me that there is still finance on the car at this point. I have given them the name and phone number of the seller, they'll see that on Monday (no managers on Saturday apparently).
I phoned the seller again, and once again he tells me that he's just paid it off so the money hasn't reached the finance company yet (mh...), he will get a clearance letter, that I will be able to call them to confirm. He tells me he will sign a statement saying the mileage IS accurate (I still have to call Mazda on that one).
He also told me that he hasn't sent the V62, he will do it as soon as I buy the car (which is probably, like edo said, to avoid adding a new owner if I don't buy it in the end).
I told him that if I can't get confirmation of, at least, the finance and the mileage, I will want my deposit back. He acts all offended like "you don't trust me, you're worrying way too much, put your mind at ease, I will give you all the guarantees you need, blahblahblah".
So... yeah. I doesn't stink much less, and I'm getting ready to never see those £500 back. Question now is : if I indeed get the confirmation (not from his letter, but by calling the company) that the finance has been paid off, if I indeed get the confirmation that the mileage is accurate... do I buy it or not? I feel like I won't want to buy a car that has caused me so much trouble even before I owned it. But on the other hand, if the HPI check had been all clear to begin with, I'd have bought it...
Gosh this is pissing me off.
I think you are all right. Yes, I am being a bit paranoid and suspicious, I've always been. And maybe this car is paid off, actually has 43k miles, and the V5c has actually been lost or whatever.
But, I also think this is too f
ked up to go on. Especially with this last thing I hadn't thought about : can't tax the car without the V5, so how am I going to drive it then?
I'll follow one of your advices, and ask for a refund, eventually just £400 out of the £500 to pay for the costs of taking the car off the market and what not. £100 is a lot, but it's still less than £500, and MUCH less than £5300. That'll teach me a lesson I guess.
Then again, asking for it is one thing, obtaining it is another...
But, I also think this is too f
ked up to go on. Especially with this last thing I hadn't thought about : can't tax the car without the V5, so how am I going to drive it then? I'll follow one of your advices, and ask for a refund, eventually just £400 out of the £500 to pay for the costs of taking the car off the market and what not. £100 is a lot, but it's still less than £500, and MUCH less than £5300. That'll teach me a lesson I guess.
Then again, asking for it is one thing, obtaining it is another...
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