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I'm looking at buying a car this weekend pending an AA check. The car seems to be in good nic and drives well. One thing the owner has told me that it is currently under finance and was jointly owned by himself and his partner. The couple are no longer together but I assume that his partners name is on the ownership of the car,otherwise he wouldn't tell me. I've asked him to transfer ownership to himself but he cites concerns around the viability of adding an extra ownership to the car, i.e it goes from a 1 owner vehicle to a 2 owner and loses value. If I buy this car how can I make sure that
1) the finance company's claim to the car is bought out, so any money I pay the owner goes first to sort the finance and then to themselves
2) avoid a situation where the seller's partner who has their name on the ownership cannot lay claim to the car
Can someone legally sell a car that doesn't belong to them fully?
Thanks in advance
This situation needs to be approached with caution as there are two potential fish-hooks.
The most pressing issue is the matter of money owing to the finance company. This needs to be settled (and you need to have verification of this), before you part with any cash. If you pay for the car on the understanding that the vendor will settle the finance, the car can be re-possessed from you if he doesn't. Alternatively, you could go to the finance company with the vendor and settle the finance, paying him the remainder. If you do this, make sure there is not a second security over the vehicle, as we've heard of cases where the buyer settled with the finance company they were told about, only to find there was a security held by another party too.
The joint property issue is less alarming, but it would be preferable if you could get some confirmation from the ex-partner that she is agreeable to the sale. This is secondary though, as while her name may appear on the registration document, that doesn't necessarily constitute ownership. We (incorrectly) refer to "ownership papers" when in fact they are just documents for motor registration purposes.
Many thanks for this. How do I find out if there is a second security? The security I've been told about is under both his and his partner's name and we're going to sort that out next weekend. I can run a car jam report but will it detail who the security interest is against?
Given the complication in this instance, ideally it might pay to run a security check after the finance has been settled. (The finance company may possibly be able to advise you of whether or not there is a second security too).
You can get a full AA Vehicle History Report to get all the information, including damaged vehicle alert, stolen vehicle alert, odometer inconsistencies and various other alerts. (Discount applies to AA Members).
For PPSR (Personal Property Security Register) checks only, you can text the reg number to 3463 and get an instant reply.
All this will cost time and money and may end in problems anyway. I would forget that car and find another without any of that.
Might be the safer bet :)
Thanks for your help guys!
I was able to run a carjam report which showed the amount that was owing and who it was owed to. I was then able to reconcile that with finance statement. We went to the bank and then paid that amount and got a an email through from the finance company stating that the outstanding amount had been settled. We've changed ownership over now. So is there anything more I need to do or get from the finance company?
I know its a bit tricky but I think the finance was putting other buyers off and I was able to negotiate a really good price as I'm sure I was the only buyer interested in 6 weeks of the car being advertised
As long as all the finance has been settled and you've satisfied yourself 100% that no other party has an interest in the vehicle, it sounds like you're home free and there's nothing else you need to do.