Anyone bought a car then found it was still "on credit"

[Dave7]

Was just reading that 1/3rd of cars bought still had outstanding finance. I find that hard to believe/comprehend.
Apparently the law views the debt as "belonging" to the car as against the original person who took out the loan. Therefore they can take back the car and force you to pay the debt.
Cant understand the legal jargon but that just sounds wrong.

 

[Levo-Lon]

That's what HPI is for.
Buy private and dont check ,your in bother

 

[Drago]

Nope, because I'm not daft.

 

[Kajjal]

Was just reading that 1/3rd of cars bought still had outstanding finance. I find that hard to believe/comprehend.
Apparently the law views the debt as "belonging" to the car as against the original person who took out the loan. Therefore they can take back the car and force you to pay the debt.
Cant understand the legal jargon but that just sounds wrong.

The loan is secured against the car making the car the property of the finance company until the loan is fully paid off.

In case of non payment the finance company simply repossess the car as they own it.

 

[gavroche]

I never buy a car private but always from a dealership.

 

[Brandane]

Therefore they can take back the car and force you to pay the debt.

They can take the car back, but I don't think they can force you to pay the debt too! It's either/or. If they have the car, that's the debt covered.
If the car was bought on credit, then the car belongs to the finance company until such time as the debt is fully repaid, which is why you have to be wary when buying private. Never buy private without doing an HPI check yourself (don't trust a piece of paper shown by the seller, it could be fraudulent).

 

[Threevok]

Nearly

I once bought a second hand car from a dealer, that had been reclaimed by a finance company, for this very reason.

Worse thing was, the disgruntled previous owner came to my house, after spotting the car parked outside.

He didn't stay long though

 

[I like Skol]

That's what HPI is for.
Buy private and dont check ,your in bother

THIS ^^^^^^^^
I always check, even if buying from a large dealer, because you can't trust anyone!

The entitlement of a loan company to seize a vehicle all depends on how the loan was obtained. A personal bank loan taken out to purchase a car but not secured against the equity of the vehicle will leave the purchaser free to then sell the car without the lender having any claim on the vehicle.
A lender will usually secure their advance against something (a building or vehicle) because they aren't stupid, and this is where the buyer must protect themselves against paying for something that the seller does not own!

 

[Dave7]

The loan is secured against the car making the car the property of the finance company until the loan is fully paid off.

In case of non payment the finance company simply repossess the car as they own it.

Ahh.....maybe I misunderstood the part about forcing you to pay the debt.
Unless maybe you have damaged the car so that it was now worth less than the balance??

 

[keithmac]

Never bought any car without doing a HPI check myself.

Worth noting some dealership cars can flag up outstanding finance because the dealership themselves have taken finance to buy it in!.

 

[Kajjal]

Ahh.....maybe I misunderstood the part about forcing you to pay the debt.
Unless maybe you have damaged the car so that it was now worth less than the balance??

Effectively you would have bought a car from some one who didn't own the car. You are not responsible for the debt unless you agreed to take it on as part of buying the car. But if the debt is not paid the car will still be repossessed, meaning you lose the car. By damaging the car you would be damaging the finance companies property and it is up to them how they handle that.

Simple solution do a HPI check first.