Outstanding credit on a car

I think the RAC offer an online service to check the finance left on the car. Whatever happens do not go ahead with it until you have 100% certainty on the amount outstanding.

I was told once by an AA bloke that if the HP has not been cleared then the seller of the vehicle does not have legal title to it. I suspect this means any sale contract would not be valid...

If you really want the car, call the finance company and ask them what procedure would satisfy them whilst protecting yourself.

Adrian.

Try here

That's what we're trying to assertain at the moment; I suspect the finance company will get authorization from the seller to be able to tell me what's owed on the car. I could then pay the finance company (they'll accept money from anywhere!) and enter into an agreement with the seller so that in doing so I've bought the car from him, but really it's all in the wrong order - since he shouldn't be able to sell until the finance is cleared. I don't want a situation where I agree to pay the finance then he agrees to sell me the car subsequently (once he's entitled to) for a nominal fee. Yuk.

The ideal solution from my point of view would be that the finance company transfers the hire purchase agreement over to me (and the seller hands over the keys) then I pay off the finance company and legally own the car. I suspect that the finance company won't be too pleased with this since they're then effectively selling me the car (without even seeing it in the past two years).

The seller is currently getting in touch with the finance company to see what they're willing to do. Perhaps he can instruct the finance company to transfer the ownership of the car to me once the finance is paid, but whats then to stop him telling them not to whilst the money clears.

I suspect it's in the finance companies interests to keep the seller locked into whatever agreement he signed, so there's not going to be a safe way to purchase the car.

Back to autotrader!

Chris

wrote

Goody! I think I might sell *your* car, then!

I'll sell it to my mate. I won't tell him it's yours, let him think it really is mine, then he's buying "in good faith".

Pity you'll lose the title to your own car, though - eh?!

And a link to that legislation would be helpful.

It's a pity you know that.

Assuming it's a private purchase you *do* get good title to the car even if there is outstanding HP owed on it. The legislation was changed many years ago (in the 70s ?) so that private purchases of vehicles made 'in good faith' give title to the purchaser regardless of any outstanding HP.

However, since you appear to know somehow that there is outstanding HP on the vehicle you are not buying 'in good faith' as I understand it.

HPI checks are a rip off!

wrote

Actually, you said: " **EVEN IF** there is outstanding HP...".

You even went on to say: "...give title to the purchaser **regardless** of any outstanding HP."

In other words, you said that title passes properly *whether-or-not* HP existed. Are you now going back on what you actually said?

I specifically said "if there is outstanding HP", the legislation is specifically for that case only. If I happened to be an HP company and you'd bought your car using my finance then, yes, you could sell the car and the purchaser would have good title.

You can find it with a Google search, most local Trading Standards web sites have it. It's *old* legislation now though.

... and a quick Google search later:-

There is however an exception to this rule in the case of motor cars. Under Part III of the Hire Purchase Act 1964 (the remainder of which has been repealed), a hirer of a car under a hire purchase agreement or a buyer of a car under a conditional sale agreement will pass good title to a private buyer (i.e. not a motor trader) who buys in good faith without knowing that the car was on finance. The seller will no doubt be in breach of his agreement with the finance company for selling the car, and may be guilty of theft, but title will still have passed

Yeah...whats wrong with that ...If there is No HP then it's a normal sale .If there IS then the buyer still gets title so long as he buys it in good faith . You are reading something in to what he said that is NOT there .

Stuart

"Stuart" wrote

Oh but it *is* there - he definitely said (look back if you don't believe me):-

"The legislation was changed many years ago (in the 70s ?) so that private purchases of vehicles made 'in good faith' give title to the purchaser regardless of any outstanding HP."

The word "regardless" means that the preceding bit is valid whether-or-not there is outstanding HP.

You know excatly what he meant .The words nit and picking come to mind along with pedant ..lol

Stuart