Car Under Finance

[andz]

Hi guys,

About 2 yrs ago, a friend of mine bought a R34 GTT for $25,000 then sold it about 6 months later (18 months ago) for $24k.

Anyway, yesterday the guy that bought the car off him came to see him and said the car was and still is under finance, the finance company will reclaim the car today.

The guy said he seeked legal advice and is suing my friend for the $24k, for selling the car "illegally", then my friend would have to chase the money from the original person whom he bought the car from 2 yrs ago etc etc...

In my opinion, if you buy a car, it is your responsibility to check for any theft/finance (I always check with ezyreg), or else it is your fault and you lose the car + cash.

Anyway, long story short, what do you guys think? Will the court make my friend pay the money back? (although he didnt know it himself and he wasn't the financer)

Cheers,

[JMW]

Best option when buying a car that may be under finance or even just for your own peace of mind, is to do a VSR check (Vehicle Security Registry) to see if the vehicle has any encumberances on it from a financial interest. If the seller claims the loan will be paid out, then the transfer papers should not be signed until proof of the loan being paid out is received. Or if in doubt, rather than a cash transaction make the bank cheque out to the financial institution and to be paid into the account of the loan only.

It all comes down to caveat emptor (buyer beware), i'd say your friend may have to pay the cost and then chase the owner he bought it from. But best to ring Legal Aid or similar to get an exact answer.

[natett]

Unfortunately the guy is in his right to sue. Financed cars are big problems and as mentioned above paying the finace out at time of purchase is a must.

in the scheme of things your friend will need to sue the original owner or finacier.

Something like this he really needs to speak with legal aid or a lawyer to ensure his story is 100% and gain appropriate direction from a lawyer...not forum folk.

good luck to him but i think he is in for a long process to have it sorted.

[R33 Sleeper]

Its pretty important to get a finance check to see if any interest is owed before buying a vehicle for situations like this. My car was financed by the previous owner which he neglected to tell me and i only found out when i got an RAA check before i bought it! (Thank god) Luckily RAA checked if it was otherwise id owe another 6k ontop of what i paid for the car.