car buying advice 911 needed

[The Saint 911]

hi, mate of mine buying a 911, ive been helping- We have found one 2002/ Targa -

However-
The Garage {not porsche}is selling the car for the owner, as were doing our checks it turns out there is still Finance on the car- Shouldnt they have Told us this at some point-? also another point, if we paid them the cash and there was still finance whose liable-

Also on the HPI check, the VIN is not registered with the VRM , ie as far as i understand number plate to chassis no, apart from common sense - Can this happen? or be overlooked.Over course the car is 30k++ so should we be wary?,,any advice appreciate.

many in advance, as we were going to pick it up today-

[mbutchers]

The finance has to be settled when you buy the car.
If it has outstanding finance on it, then the finance company can take the car if the finance payments are defaulted.
Make sure this is sorted prior to handing over the cash.
As to the other issues, it all sound a bit dodgy to me.....
All IMHO obviously .....

[kayc]

The Saint 911 said:

hi, mate of mine buying a 911, ive been helping- We have found one 2002/ Targa -

However-
The Garage {not porsche}is selling the car for the owner, as were doing our checks it turns out there is still Finance on the car- Shouldnt they have Told us this at some point-? also another point, if we paid them the cash and there was still finance whose liable-

Also on the HPI check, the VIN is not registered with the VRM , ie as far as i understand number plate to chassis no, apart from common sense - Can this happen? or be overlooked.Over course the car is 30k++ so should we be wary?,,any advice appreciate.

many in advance, as we were going to pick it up today-

Pay the finance company direct and pay the remaining balance to the dealer,that avoids the finance risk..having said that the whole deal sounds dodgy and i would buy a different car,theres plenty about and this one sounds like its got vague history to say the least.

[Wetwipe]

rearrange the following words into a common phrase of saying

it bargepole with dont a touch

[fidgits]

There are enough cars out there NOT to be blinkered into buying a car like that...

It may be perfect, and it may be fine, but personally, if your in any doubt, you really shouldnt be considering parting with 40k!

[The Saint 911]

appreciate it,,and i agree with you ...however the frustrating thing is we have been looking for months, Black /Tiptronic Targa-

Also---
We have had the 190 porsche check done- so 200+ squids...
Paid £200 deposit
Paid for 12 months Tax,

With all the negotiating done, we just thought we d do the HPI and then the finance and VRM/VIN issues came up, which i dont know if 'can' happen.

[kayc]

The Saint 911 said:

appreciate it,,and i agree with you ...however the frustrating thing is we have been looking for months, Black /Tiptronic Targa-

Also---
We have had the 190 porsche check done- so 200+ squids...
Paid £200 deposit
Paid for 12 months Tax,

With all the negotiating done, we just thought we d do the HPI and then the finance and VRM/VIN issues came up, which i dont know if 'can' happen.

As i said earlier if you cant get out of the deal pay the finance deal off,otherwise the person you buy from can halt payments and you are liable for the debt.

[Wetwipe]

The Saint 911 said:

appreciate it,,and i agree with you ...however the frustrating thing is we have been looking for months, Black /Tiptronic Targa-

Also---
We have had the 190 porsche check done- so 200+ squids...
Paid £200 deposit
Paid for 12 months Tax,

With all the negotiating done, we just thought we d do the HPI and then the finance and VRM/VIN issues came up, which i dont know if 'can' happen.

OK if you are running a check through experian these issues can sometimes crop up when a plate change has recently been done.

Basically what happens is that DVLA update experian that the private plate has been removed and allocate a new plate. If the private plate is not then allocated to another chassis experian will not update their records completely and the chassis number will not be shown against the new registration number on your car.

This could possibly be the reason however, you need to get definate confirmation of this.

First of all contact the data supplier (experian/hpi etc) and see if they can clarify.

Also speak to the OPC who carried out the porsche check. Do they have any record of the car with the registration number supplied? can they confirm the correct chassis number and do the options spec originally by the factory match those on the car?

Next check the option codes recorded on the white sticker under the bonnet. do these match what Porsche tell you, match the physcial fittings to the car and there should be a corresponding sticker inthe service book. The chassis number is recorded there also - does everything match up?

Finally, if your mate does buy the car and it does transpire to bee hooky then he will have legal right of redress against the dealer, however this is a long and drawn out process (assuming the dealer is around when you discover the problems) and even then there is no guarantee they will have the financial ability to compensate you.

Bottom line - do not completely discount the car, just dont rush into the purchase and take the time to ensure the car is right.

If it is, then you have found the perfect spec/colour combo and you can sleep safe in the knowledge that the car has a good history. Also it will give any future buyer confidence in the histroy of the car if you are able to demonstrate you have carried out all the normal checks.

[pikey]

The Saint 911 said:

The Garage {not porsche}is selling the car for the owner, as were doing our checks it turns out there is still Finance on the car- Shouldnt they have Told us this at some point-? also another point, if we paid them the cash and there was still finance whose liable

Just to add my 2p..

If you buy the car, take it away and the current owner (or dealer) does NOT pay the finance, then the finance company will come after YOU for the settlement or to take the car itself back. Legally, you would then sue the individual who didn't clear the finance... but that's a stressful area to get into.

If it was me, I would push for an agreement where I pay the owner the difference, take the car and clear the finance myself. As all the comeback is on the new owner there is no downside for the old owner.

PS. I speak from experience. I part-ex'd my car to a main dealer who didn't clear the finance for THREE months. Finance company tried to get arsey with me until I informed them I didn't own the car. They immediately left me alone & went after dealer/current owner. They see "owner of the car" as being liable rather than who took out the debt.

[mikeg996]

It almost seems like there's a market for somebody to step in between buyer and seller, sort out issues like finance, history, HPI, etc., and prepare the car so it's ready to be bought.

HANG ON...that's supposed to be the dealer, isn't it?!

Seriously if you're paying the dealer's premium then you should be getting a car that's ready to drive. If not, go private.

And if you can't find the 996 you're looking for, then you're not looking hard enough. Residuals indicate that there are *lots* around.

EDIT: and if the dealer is kosher, a sale or return usually indicates that it's overpriced.

Edited by mikeg996 on Friday 17th November 11:01