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Anon
By AA | Moderator | 844 Posts | 2 February 2011 at 12:12pm

I've purchased a vehicle privately, completed the change of ownership paper process and now a finance company is threatening to tow the car away due to money owning from the previous owner.

Can they do this?

Mary

From the "Ask Jack" archives - 14 December 2009

jbiddle
By jbiddle | Community Member | 1657 Posts | 2 February 2011 at 1:44pm

The short answer is, yes they can.

Ownership papers are a transaction trail only and are not a legal ownership document. If the previous owner has on-sold the vehicle without paying the finance owing, then the lender is within their rights to repossess the vehicle.

Check before you commit to purchase - especially if you're buying privately - on not only money owed, but also a number of other important matters such as whether the vehicle has been reported stolen, and on its ownership and odometer history.

AA LemonCheck is one such checking service. Save yourself the pain, go to www.aalemoncheck.co.nz.