http://www.wanganuichronicle.co.nz/local/news/car-buyers-loss-proves-harsh-lesson/3933775/

Car buyer's loss proves harsh lesson
John Maslin |

Share Tweet A Wanganui man has a salutary lesson for anyone considering buying a car privately - buyer beware.

Robert Scott was stung when the car he had bought was repossessed because the previous owner failed to meet their financial obligations on loans secured against the vehicle.

Mr Scott had seen a car on Trade Me that he thought was ideal for his family and especially his daughter, and when it did not sell through the site, he made an offer.

He had the car checked out mechanically but overlooked checking the financial background. Nine months later the Hyundai Accent was repossessed, even though the previous owner assured him it was "freehold".

Mr Scott acknowledged he did not do a financial check and admits that was his mistake.

"I took the seller at face value," he said.

"What disappointed me was the fact we had no prior warning from the finance company to say there was an issue with outstanding money owed on the car. Suddenly this guy from the debt collectors turns up on our doorstep, repossessing the car," he said.

"If the finance company had called us, we could have worked something out. We certainly knew where the seller was living at the time."

Mr Scott had paid about $2000 for the car and when the matter of the debt arose, the seller agreed that he would pay the money back.

"We got about $300 from him and that was all.

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By that time he'd left the area and headed north."

That left the Mr Scott $1700 out of pocket. The finance company then sold the repossessed vehicle through the auction process. Mr Scott has since bought another second-hand car off a private seller, but as well as getting the mechanical check he made sure to get a finance check on the vehicle.

There was money owing on that car as well, but he struck a deal with the finance company to pay the outstanding amount to secure possession.

Mr Scott said buyers needed to be aware that buying off unlicensed people was "fraught with difficulty".

"The thing is, there are systems in place to get this stuff thoroughly checked out but sometimes we are just too lazy," Mr Scott said.

MotorWeb is one of the country's leading vehicle history check providers and marketing manager Conrad Heaven said the company had found second-hand car buyers still focused on mechanical checks, unaware of the other risks.

Mr Heaven said those risks included repossession or the vehicle having a substantially lesser value than the purchase price due to previous damage.

MotorWeb's vehicle information report (VIR) provided private car buyers, car dealers, finance companies, and the insurance industry with access to information on vehicles registered in New Zealand.

Between August and October this year the company carried out 268 VIRs in the Wanganui region. Of those, 51 still had money owing on them and 14 had inconsistent odometer readings.

Mr Heaven said MotorWeb encouraged second-hand car buyers to be more vigilant and conduct a detailed check before any money changed hands.

He said there were more than 500,000 cars in the country having money owing and 38,000 cars were sold privately every month. MotorWeb usually carried out more than 150,000 transactions a month for registered motor vehicle traders, finance and insurance companies and private buyers.

The information for the VIRs came from Government and private sector organisations, including the New Zealand Transport Agency and police.