Car finance on vehicle purchased from trader

[Saj33]

Hi all,

 

I have an issue regarding a car i bought from a trader.

 

I purchased the car in Jan 2016 in good faith, the trader told me the car was hpi clear and on the receipt i was given the trader wrote it was hpi clear.

 

I decided to do hpi check today because i was thinking about selling my car,

 

on the hpi check with RAC it states there is outstanding finance and to contact volkswagen before purchasing to see if the finance is cleared.

 

I contacted volkswagen today and gave the finance ref number

 

, i was told that it was a contract finance and the department is closed until tuesday, when i asked if there was any finance i was told only the contracts team can tell me, it seems there is finance on the car.

 

I just wanted to know what my rights are and what i can do?

[obiter dictum]

I might be wrong as this is not my area but?

 

Is there not a legal obligation on a professional trader to check the vehicle is finance free before re-selling and to provide the HPI clearence document to the purchaser prior to sale. The key being a professional dealer

 

As that obligation is on the dealer, if that has not taken place a breach of contracted selling as not described

[phil40000]

It is fairly common for finance that has finished or been paid off to still show on an HPI/Experian report.

These reports do not always mean what we want them to and it is only 'best practice' for a written off vehicle,

 

for example, to be recorded on their databases

A lot of dealers hold stocking plans,

which means they are taking out very short term finance on the vehicle whilst they have it on the forecourt.

 

Most main dealers, for example, use stocking plans on a 60-90 day basis per vehicle. It is not unsusual for dealers to settle existing finance when they sell the car, although the customer should be informed of this during the sale.

Most customers do ask for a copy of the report anyway or at least to look at it.

 

Call the finance company and ask specifically if they still hold 'an interest' in your vehicle.

You do hear the odd horror story about traders adding finance to a vehicle they have sold but i would be faily confident that this will be an expired settlement.

 

If the finance company do not hold any interest in the vehicle ask them for an email confirming this.

On reciept of said email HPI/Experian will remove the finance marker from your vehicle report.

Edited January 4, 2017 by phil40000