Previous owner still has finance on my car!
Discussion
Morning folks,
first things first, i think i should explain the situatuion......
Last august i bought my car from a local dealer, (traded in my old car plus cash to pay for it) everything with it has been fine so far, but now another car has caught my eye and i've decided to get rid of my current car. so, i went to the garage the new car is at, had a look at the new car, liked it, had the owner give me a trade in price for my car, went to the bank to get funds sorted out ready for buying,
now the fun begins........
before taking my car as a trade in the garage owner, quite rightly, did a HPI check on it, turns out there's outstanding finance on it, now i never did a check on my car when i bought it because the dealer i got it from's website says all their cars are HPI checked, so i took this in good faith,
I checked with HPI myself, got the details of the finance company, and went back to the garage i bought my car from, they seemed surprised that the car had finance still on it
and said they would get in touch with the finance company and try and sort it out,
so the current situation is, that the garage admitted they never HPI'd the car when it came in or when it was sold to me, and they are trying to sort it out for me, obviously until this is sorted i can't trade in the car, because it's technically not mine to sell, it's still owned by the finance folk,
by the way, i'm in scotland and i know scottish law can sometimes be different, not sure if this is one of those times!
so....... ladies and gentlemen of pistonheads..... where do i stand with this, and what can i do to get things moving along faster??
as always any help or advice greatly appreciated from you guys,
Scotty
first things first, i think i should explain the situatuion......
Last august i bought my car from a local dealer, (traded in my old car plus cash to pay for it) everything with it has been fine so far, but now another car has caught my eye and i've decided to get rid of my current car. so, i went to the garage the new car is at, had a look at the new car, liked it, had the owner give me a trade in price for my car, went to the bank to get funds sorted out ready for buying,
now the fun begins........
before taking my car as a trade in the garage owner, quite rightly, did a HPI check on it, turns out there's outstanding finance on it, now i never did a check on my car when i bought it because the dealer i got it from's website says all their cars are HPI checked, so i took this in good faith,
I checked with HPI myself, got the details of the finance company, and went back to the garage i bought my car from, they seemed surprised that the car had finance still on it
and said they would get in touch with the finance company and try and sort it out, so the current situation is, that the garage admitted they never HPI'd the car when it came in or when it was sold to me, and they are trying to sort it out for me, obviously until this is sorted i can't trade in the car, because it's technically not mine to sell, it's still owned by the finance folk,
by the way, i'm in scotland and i know scottish law can sometimes be different, not sure if this is one of those times!
so....... ladies and gentlemen of pistonheads..... where do i stand with this, and what can i do to get things moving along faster??
as always any help or advice greatly appreciated from you guys,
Scotty
Scotty2209 said:
Morning folks,
first things first, i think i should explain the situatuion......
Last august i bought my car from a local dealer, (traded in my old car plus cash to pay for it) everything with it has been fine so far, but now another car has caught my eye and i've decided to get rid of my current car. so, i went to the garage the new car is at, had a look at the new car, liked it, had the owner give me a trade in price for my car, went to the bank to get funds sorted out ready for buying,
now the fun begins........
before taking my car as a trade in the garage owner, quite rightly, did a HPI check on it, turns out there's outstanding finance on it, now i never did a check on my car when i bought it because the dealer i got it from's website says all their cars are HPI checked, so i took this in good faith,
I checked with HPI myself, got the details of the finance company, and went back to the garage i bought my car from, they seemed surprised that the car had finance still on it and said they would get in touch with the finance company and try and sort it out,
so the current situation is, that the garage admitted they never HPI'd the car when it came in or when it was sold to me, and they are trying to sort it out for me, obviously until this is sorted i can't trade in the car, because it's technically not mine to sell, it's still owned by the finance folk,
by the way, i'm in scotland and i know scottish law can sometimes be different, not sure if this is one of those times!
so....... ladies and gentlemen of pistonheads..... where do i stand with this, and what can i do to get things moving along faster??
as always any help or advice greatly appreciated from you guys,
Scotty
If you were in England then the Hire Purchase Act 1964 would protect you, irrespective of what pub/internet forum wisdom would suggest.first things first, i think i should explain the situatuion......
Last august i bought my car from a local dealer, (traded in my old car plus cash to pay for it) everything with it has been fine so far, but now another car has caught my eye and i've decided to get rid of my current car. so, i went to the garage the new car is at, had a look at the new car, liked it, had the owner give me a trade in price for my car, went to the bank to get funds sorted out ready for buying,
now the fun begins........
before taking my car as a trade in the garage owner, quite rightly, did a HPI check on it, turns out there's outstanding finance on it, now i never did a check on my car when i bought it because the dealer i got it from's website says all their cars are HPI checked, so i took this in good faith,
I checked with HPI myself, got the details of the finance company, and went back to the garage i bought my car from, they seemed surprised that the car had finance still on it
and said they would get in touch with the finance company and try and sort it out, so the current situation is, that the garage admitted they never HPI'd the car when it came in or when it was sold to me, and they are trying to sort it out for me, obviously until this is sorted i can't trade in the car, because it's technically not mine to sell, it's still owned by the finance folk,
by the way, i'm in scotland and i know scottish law can sometimes be different, not sure if this is one of those times!
so....... ladies and gentlemen of pistonheads..... where do i stand with this, and what can i do to get things moving along faster??
as always any help or advice greatly appreciated from you guys,
Scotty
Anyway, even if the Scots arent afforded similar protection, or if its some sort of
ish Bill of Sale finance agreement, the vendor is still liable to you, so all isnt lost.markcjd said:
Scotty, big dealer or a small place? The dealer, as mentioned, is liable to you, but you could still end up shafted.
If he is small time or dodgy it is not unheard of for the dealer to simply shut up shop. Where in Scotland are you?
Sorry, should have been more specific when i said dealer, its not a big dealer like an audi or vauxhall dealer, its an independant little garage,If he is small time or dodgy it is not unheard of for the dealer to simply shut up shop. Where in Scotland are you?
i'm up in aberdeenshire, the garage itself is on the outskirts of aberdeen
the only couple of things i can think of doing to progress things is going to citizens advice or getting a solicitor involved to try and work out where i stand with this and get them to send a letter to make it obvious how serious i am about this?
The very easiest thing is to write to the finance company and simply ask them if they will confirm they have no financial interest in the vehicle, as you are the innocent purchaser.
Most will do this. They are not interested in you, and the chances are the previous owner is still paying the finance off happilly. Once you have that letter, which they may well even fax to your prospective purchase owner, then all issues are concluded.
Most people who buy on finance don't bother to pay it off when they sell privately.
Most will do this. They are not interested in you, and the chances are the previous owner is still paying the finance off happilly. Once you have that letter, which they may well even fax to your prospective purchase owner, then all issues are concluded.
Most people who buy on finance don't bother to pay it off when they sell privately.
Jujuuk68 said:
The very easiest thing is to write to the finance company and simply ask them if they will confirm they have no financial interest in the vehicle, as you are the innocent purchaser.
Most will do this. They are not interested in you, and the chances are the previous owner is still paying the finance off happilly. Once you have that letter, which they may well even fax to your prospective purchase owner, then all issues are concluded.
Sorry but....Most will do this. They are not interested in you, and the chances are the previous owner is still paying the finance off happilly. Once you have that letter, which they may well even fax to your prospective purchase owner, then all issues are concluded.
GC8 said:
If you were in England then the Hire Purchase Act 1964 would protect you, irrespective of what pub/internet forum wisdom would suggest.
Anyway, even if the Scots arent afforded similar protection, or if its some sort ofish Bill of Sale finance agreement, the vendor is still liable to you, so all isnt lost.
Not sure I agree - the finance company has title to the car and you cannot avoid this through claiming innoncent purchase.Anyway, even if the Scots arent afforded similar protection, or if its some sort of
ish Bill of Sale finance agreement, the vendor is still liable to you, so all isnt lost.If there is still outstanding finance then the original dealer did not have good title and therefore the OP does not have good title. If the finance company wanted they could take possession of the car to settle any outstanding debt and the OP is left with no car and no money. He could sue the original dealer for recompense.
S
The dealer is responsible in this situation. How hard you push them to resolve this (and how sound their finances are) will determine how this pans out. You want to avoid if possible pushing them to a situation where they wind up and leave you with the problem. Yes you could try to claim 'good title' to the car via the finance co as an innocent purchaser but once you do that then they will know where you live and there's really nothing to stop them lifting the car. Keep it out of sight as if you've lost the car and the dealer bails then you're really left outside in the cold with your nads hanging out. The dealer sold you a car that wasn't theirs to sell. This is the starting point. If this was a main dealer then you could go in there, sit down in the dealer principal's office and refuse to move until they'd sorted it. As it's a small independent you have to face the fact that they may not have the funds to solve this quickly. Good luck.
bennyboydurham said:
...they will know where you live and there's really nothing to stop them lifting the car...
Theres always 'the law' stopping them... They have no legal claim to the car, after all.As has been mentioned in the post above mine, a hit from HPI doesnt mean that there definitely is unsettled finance. Its not uncommon for long-since settled finance to still be recorded with HPI and its also possible, I believe, for a dealers stocking loan to be secured agains the stock, and this can still show months or even years afterwards.
GC8 said:
Agree or not my friend, you are completely wrong. Google the Hire Purchase Act, which I have re3ferenced in an earlier post.
Also consider the pub / internet forum myth which I also mentioned, and stop perpetuating it.
From Experian.....Also consider the pub / internet forum myth which I also mentioned, and stop perpetuating it.
"Why it's risky to buy cars with outstanding finance
If you buy a vehicle with an outstanding loan or hire purchase agreement, the finance company retains a legal interest in it until the money is repaid in full.
The company will try to track down the vehicle and repossess it, unless you prove that you were what's called an innocent purchaser. Proving this can be an extremely difficult, lengthy and stressful process."
Could you quote the specific part of the act you are referring to which obviates this?
S
GC8 said:
Have you researched the Hire Purchase Act? Or have you simply coped and pasted the FAQ from a firms website who sell you the information?
You appear to only have some of the facts about what happens when you buy a car with outstanding finance, go and do some more research and then come back when you have all the facts (which you clearly dont at the moment so your advice is not much help to this chap).This is a tricky situation since the loan is secured on the chassis number of the vehicle. Even if you find out from hpi which lender it is they might not talk to you re this as you aren't the person who borrowed money against the car. Citizens advice might be the best starting point .
rallycross said:
GC8 said:
Have you researched the Hire Purchase Act? Or have you simply coped and pasted the FAQ from a firms website who sell you the information?
You appear to only have some of the facts about what happens when you buy a car with outstanding finance, go and do some more research and then come back when you have all the facts (which you clearly dont at the moment so your advice is not much help to this chap).The OP is in Scotland, but this side bar refers to English law (and we arent talking about dodgy Bill of Sale Act finance, which I read about recently, either.
Hire Purchase Act 1964 said:
27 Protection of purchasers of motor vehicles..
(1)This section applies where a motor vehicle has been bailed or (in Scotland) hired under a hire-purchase agreement, or has been agreed to be sold under a conditional sale agreement, and, before the property in the vehicle has become vested in the debtor, he disposes of the vehicle to another person. .
(2)Where the disposition referred to in subsection (1) above is to a private purchaser, and he is a purchaser of the motor vehicle in good faith without notice of the hire-purchase or conditional sale agreement (the “relevant agreement”) that disposition shall have effect as if the creditor’s title to the vehicle has been vested in the debtor immediately before that disposition.
(1)This section applies where a motor vehicle has been bailed or (in Scotland) hired under a hire-purchase agreement, or has been agreed to be sold under a conditional sale agreement, and, before the property in the vehicle has become vested in the debtor, he disposes of the vehicle to another person. .
(2)Where the disposition referred to in subsection (1) above is to a private purchaser, and he is a purchaser of the motor vehicle in good faith without notice of the hire-purchase or conditional sale agreement (the “relevant agreement”) that disposition shall have effect as if the creditor’s title to the vehicle has been vested in the debtor immediately before that disposition.
boy said: This is a tricky situation since the loan is secured on the chassis number of the vehicle. Even if you find out from hpi which lender it is they might not talk to you re this as you aren't the person who borrowed money against the car. Citizens advice might be the best starting point .
actually the HPI report gave me a heap of info on the finance agreement, who it was with, a contact number for the finance company, the agreement number, the first thing i did was phoned them and they, like you were saying, did ask for the chassis nuumber of the car and confirmed it matched the car the finance is against, it was the guy at the finance company that told me about being able to claim as an "innocent purchaser" he was actually a really helpful bloke! not what i was expecting!going to citizens advice on monday, and speaking to the garage i got the car from again, and i've got a letter drafted up for the finance company, to be honest if i think the only option i really have is just to keep pushing the garage to sort it out and try and get ownership signed over to me, but i'll just have to wait and see i guess!
once again, thanks for the advice so far guys, at least if anyone is searching the forum in the future if they're in a similar situation theres some helpful stuff for them to read!
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