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How many of you would carry out a HPI check on a M/H you were buying from a reputable dealer?
Not many I suspect.
OK, if buying privately we'd all do it, it'd be stupid not too wouldn't it? But through a reputable dealer - surely we wouldn't need to.
We've just changed our 'van for an almost new M/H (six months old with nominal mileage) and did the usual P/EX via a reputable dealer (I did check their feedback here first).
I decided that it would be prudent to do a HPI check before paying up, just to be sure there was no outstanding finance etc. even though the dealer assured me that they'd already done one when the 'van arrived and the check was clear.
I hunted around for the best deal and decided to use the AA, not the cheapest (£20) but it carries a £30,000 warranty and gives a full report, unlike some of the cheaper options. Plus I felt that the AA were less likely to find loopholes if something went wrong.
Anyway, to get to the point the report came back with THREE critical mismatches on the vehicle data:
1) There was outstanding finance.
2) The V5 date of issue didn't match the serial number.
3) The mileage showed as 10,000+ miles greater than shown on the 'van odometer.
The outstanding finance turned out to be the dealers stocking loan which was tied to the 'van title so if the dealer didn't pay the loan back on the sale of the 'van, technically it would still be the property of the finance company. Easily sorted, I simply asked the dealer to supply a written statement of cleared finance. But I wonder how many of us realise that the 'vans on the dealers forecourt don't usually belong to them? I wonder if they all pay off their stocking finance promptly when they sell the 'vans?
The V5 issue date was more of a problem and was only resolved with the help of the AA (who I have to say were very helpful and extracted information from the DVLA within minutes where the dealer failed to get any response at all). It turned out to be an error caused by the DVLA issue of the new "red" V5s. It seems that the HPI database hasn't been updated yet for many vehicles.
The mileage was the potential killer though. It turned out to be an error by either the DVLA or the National Mileage Register (neither will actually admit to it) but once copies of records from when the last owner signed the 'van over to the dealer were sent off the mileage on the register was suddenly corrected.
Imagine what would have happened in this hadn't been done before I bought the 'van? If I had tried to sell the 'van in, say 12 months time, the recorded mileage would most likely still not have got to the figure already recorded on the database so any buyer doing a check would assume that I'd "clocked" the mileage and a year down the line can you imagine the problem I'd have getting the error corrected?
Like I said - £20 well spent.
______________________________________________________________ If you lend someone £20 and never see that person again, it was probably well worth it.
So if the dealer had done an HPI why didnt he show you it? I would ask to see it as presumably it will also show the outstanding finance and other errors?
Good job you got it sorted though!
______________________________________________________________ Hank the Tank has a website. Follow our adventures at http://www.hankthetank.co.uk
So if the dealer had done an HPI why didnt he show you it? I would ask to see it as presumably it will also show the outstanding finance and other errors?
Good job you got it sorted though!
The dealer had done a HPI and was quite happy to show it to me - it was clear. The errors had developed during the time the dealer had the 'van in stock because the DVLA had issued a new V5 (red one) and a mistake had been made during the transfer of the mileage record the dealer had provided to the DVLA when it was transferred from the previous owner. No-one admits to the error but the DVLA is definitely chief suspect.
Of course there would be no finance outstanding when the delaer did his HPI because it was the dealer himself who financed it.
______________________________________________________________ If you lend someone £20 and never see that person again, it was probably well worth it.
So if the dealer had done an HPI why didnt he show you it? I would ask to see it as presumably it will also show the outstanding finance and other errors?
Good job you got it sorted though!
The dealer had done a HPI and was quite happy to show it to me - it was clear. The errors had developed during the time the dealer had the 'van in stock because the DVLA had issued a new V5 (red one) and a mistake had been made during the transfer of the mileage record the dealer had provided to the DVLA when it was transferred from the previous owner. No-one admits to the error but the DVLA is definitely chief suspect.
Of course there would be no finance outstanding when the delaer did his HPI because it was the dealer himself who financed it.
This isn't as straightforward as it perhaps ought to be.
Leaving aside the issues with the incorrect registration details including mileage, if as a consumer / private buyer you buy a car or MH from a dealer you may be better protected by current legislation if you don't have actual knowledge of outstanding finance.
This may seem counter intuitive, but the problem with getting a HPI search against the vehicle while it is at the dealership is that it may reveal outstanding finance*! The consequence of HPI's information is - you will be fixed with actual knowledge of finance that is revealed. That diminishes your statutory rights as a private buyer to get a good title to the car or MH.
If you do not do a HPI search when you buy from a dealer, you can say you bought in good faith and without notice of outstanding finance. In most cases your statutory consumer rights will override the finance company's claim to ownership, ensuring that you acquire a good legal title to the car or MH free from any outstanding finance and they cannot repossess it.
With HPI you are effectively buying title insurance, but there is a limit of cover - usually £30,000 - whereas your statutory rights have no upper financial limit. The total purchase price becomes an important consideration. You may still be at risk of the amount of the price paid in excess of £30K.
On the other hand if you are buying a car or MH from a private seller, you have little or no protection against a finance company's prior rights, so a HPI check is a very sensible precaution to take before agreeing to buy.
[*but sometime not. There is no absolute guarantee that the HPI check will reveal outstanding finance, simply because finance companies do not always register their loans with HPI. ]
I bought a car from what turned out to be a dodgy dealer about 20 years ago. He had the car on his forecourt and unbeknown to me it was there on the basis that he would sell it and pass the money to the owner. He sold it to me, gave me an invoice but did not pass on the money to the owner and I eventually had to hand the car over. It came to light when I applied for the V5. He stiffed a lot of people doing this. a sort of mini pyramid fraud( eg Alan Stanford & Bernie Madoff0 He eventually went to jail and I learned never buy a car without a V5 no matter how plausible the excuse
Last year I bought a van from a reputable trader who was retiring ( not motor trader) and after I insured it was told by the insurance company that they had done a HPI check and that the van was a write off. To cut a long story short, I too did an HPI check and received the same information but was able to prove to them that their records were incorrect. Took ages to get the record amended and could not recover any of my costs, not even the cost of the HPI check. Not sure what I learned from that !
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£20 well spent
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