HPI check flagged up a problem.

[User33236]

Went out to a local(ish) branch of one of the biggest car dealerships in Scotland to look at a second hand car.

Liking the car and coming to a fair deal we paid a small holding deposit with the balance agreed to be paid later in the week then we pick it up.

Sitting here tonight I got an HPI check done and it's showing the registration is recorded as having outstanding finance!

Guess I'll be spending time in the morning talking to both the HPI company and the dealer to try and get to the bottom of this.

 

[NorthernDave]

A lot of the big names don't own the cars in the forecourt - they're owned by banks and finance companies, with the dealer only paying for them when they actually sell them. If you imagine the big dealer groups might have thousands of cars in stock, it's a lot of money to have tied up.

We had exactly the same thing when we bought the C3 - queried it, they explained the above and it all went through no problems.

Best to check though!

 

[Crackle]

As per Dave: Last two cars I've bought have showed outstanding finance through the dealer, in fact last three cars now I recall exactly. It's pretty rare the dealer outright owns the cars these days. It's normally cleared within a couple of weeks of the sale.

 

[User33236]

Thanks both. I'm hoping its something simple, as above, because I like the car.

Will know more for sure when I speak with them.

 

[screenman]

Bliley you lot are in a different motor trade than I am. If somebody has part exed the car you are looking at and they had it on finance then it can take a few weeks before it comes off the register.

Depending on the stocking loan most stock financed by one will not appear on the register. All of the 20 or so dealers I service but and hold their own stock, the larger groups may move them around between sites though.

 

[User33236]

Bliley you lot are in a different motor trade than I am. If somebody has part exed the car you are looking at and they had it on finance then it can take a few weeks before it comes off the register.

Depending on the stocking loan most stock financed by one will not appear on the register. All of the 20 or so dealers I service but and hold their own stock, the larger groups may move them around between sites though.

Car has been untaxed since early September so would have thought finance register would have been updated well before now it if was paid off anywhere near that time.

 

[Drago]

Get your deposit back, go find another. There's no shortage of nice little cars with clean histories, so there's no incentive to faff about.

 

[User33236]

Get your deposit back, go find another. There's no shortage of nice little cars with clean histories, so there's no incentive to faff about.

That'll be the plan if I don't get the right answers in the morning.

There are plenty about but only two i can find in Scotland in the colour we want with the more powerful engine so a trip up north next weekend might be in order.

 

[NorthernDave]

Bliley you lot are in a different motor trade than I am. If somebody has part exed the car you are looking at and they had it on finance then it can take a few weeks before it comes off the register.

Depending on the stocking loan most stock financed by one will not appear on the register. All of the 20 or so dealers I service but and hold their own stock, the larger groups may move them around between sites though.

I can't comment on anyone else, but I've cited the arrangement at Evans Halshaw when we bought our car - and they've got over 100 branches and are part of Pendragon so they're a big enough company.

 

[Pale Rider]

Sounds a bit ropey to me.

Dealer invoices you the car, takes cleared funds, then releases it to you, but it's not theirs to sell.

If the dealer goes bust before they get around to clearing the finance, the finance company will be knocking on your door to get their car back.

A small risk, but then it's a large sum of money.

The fact that it's standard procedure only goes to prove the old saying:

The motor trade is the same as horse trading, only on four wheels rather than four legs.

 

[biggs682]

All the dealerships i have worked at in the past would always hpi any car they were offered in part ex before doing deals , so strange why the dealership hadnt already done this and shown the results to you ?

 

[User33236]

All the dealerships i have worked at in the past would always hpi any car they were offered in part ex before doing deals , so strange why the dealership hadnt already done this and shown the results to you ?

That’s been my previous experience too.

Website stated details of what seems to be a partial check hence I got one done.

The branch is a new car dealer and the one we’re looking at it a smidge over a year old so already lost that huge new car premium.

I’m sure there’s more to this story that I will find out today.

 

[screenman]

I stand totally correct and own up and apologise for my misinformation that I offered earlier, it seems some types of stocking loans can show up on HPI. Please read the link, I have though still known of cars showing on the register a long time after the finance was settled.

https://carbuyingguru.co.uk/stocking-loan-used-car/

 

[User33236]

I stand totally correct and own up and apologise for my misinformation that I offered earlier, it seems some types of stocking loans can show up on HPI. Please read the link, I have though still known of cars showing on the register a long time after the finance was settled.

https://carbuyingguru.co.uk/stocking-loan-used-car/

Contacted the car check company who confirmed it is indeed a stocking loan and ‘nothing to worry about ‘ as the dealer in question is “highly unlikely” to go bust in the next couple of weeks.

 

[biggs682]

That’s been my previous experience too.

Website stated details of what seems to be a partial check hence I got one done.

The branch is a new car dealer and the one we’re looking at it a smidge over a year old so already lost that huge new car premium.

I’m sure there’s more to this story that I will find out today.

Worse come to worse you could ask the dealership to let you have the contact details of who the outstanding finance is with and you can contact them for more info , but as others have said you shouldn't be doing all this running around