Hi Guys,
Cant find anything in the searches on this.
I'm thinking of buying a car from a private trader, and it looks good (although im no mechanic). I asked the man if the car was HPI clear and got the reply "err, not sure".
Is there any way of finding out from HPI whether he has actually carried out a test on the vehicle? For example if I phoned them (theyre closed atm) or if my insurance company phoned them, could they disclose whether this person has filed for a check on this car?
I realise I could just do the check myself and pay the £40 odd pounds, but am a lowly uni student looking to save money wherever I can.
Thanks
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by private trader you mean someone who dodges income tax ?
this countries in enough mess without helping the black market
if he is a milkman and doing cars on the side and you buy a car of him i sincerely hope the wheels fall off
no offence
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no i meant he is a regular person, selling his own car
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For "Err, not sure" read "no", or if the guy selling it doesn't know then it may not be his car, walk away.
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If he is selling his own car then he is not a trader?
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Who cares. Thats irrelevant and not what Im asking.
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Who cares. That's irrelevant and not what I'm asking.
It's extremely relevant actually. If you buy from a trader and it turns out that a finance company has an interest in it, generally speaking the lender will accept you're in the clear as an "innocent purchaser" and go after the dealer.
If you buy privately, you are likely to be put to more proof of innocent purchaser status. By definition, if you had your suspicions but did nothing about it you would not get title and the lender could repossess it.
Additionally, if it turns out he's stolen it, you're up the creek whether it's on finance or not.
Start by asking the vendor if it's on finance - it it is, contact the lender yourself and make sure the loan/HP is paid off. Otherwise either HPI it or find another.
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by private trader you mean someone who dodges income tax ?
BB, may I be so rude as to ask how you started out?
Most of the small car traders I know, started out by 'having a tickle' buying and selling in their spare time, before making a real living out of it.
In fact theres one guy, he started selling one at a time, from his house, he is now a large independent, with full dealer services, and doing as well as most could dream of!
(not sure what his 'real' job was, but I think it was a financial consultant of some kind!)
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So you want the security of an HPI check yet you dont want to pay for it! you get what you pay for.
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The last HPI I did was £19.99. Unless he could show you the original email and printout I wouldn't trust him anyway. To be fair, if you can't afford £20, you can't afford to run a car.
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I can see where the OP is coming from, it sounds like "not sure" could well mean "no" and in that case I would rather not pay for a HPI myself, personally I would just walk away, plenty more cars out there.
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Even if you could find the record check it will be out if date.
Spend £20 and get your own if you want the car
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