Selling a car that's on HPI
 

Hi,

I've got a car that currently has a loan secured on it, but in order to sell it does it have to be HPI clear? I'm going to pay off the loan as soon as I sell but not sure what the protocol is.

I'd prefer to get a loan on unsecured and then sell the car, but I'm not feeling confident the banks are lending at the moment.

thanks

Yes, has to be HPI clear to sell or you will be breaking the law. You are the registered keeper of the car but NOT the owner. The finance company will own the car. You have to contact them prior to doing this. They may agree, but unlikely. Finance should be paid off prior to selling.

Thanks for the quick response. Are there any options if I can't get an unsecured loan to clear the finance?

I bought a car that had finance on it. The seller didn’t tell me it still had finance on it but I did an HPI check and found out. Thankfully the finance was with the Post office so when I bought the car for cash we both went to the post office, paid off the finance there and gave him the difference. He walked away with practically no money but I had a clear car in my name.

So long as you inform people the car has finance and arrange to pay the finance off during the purchase then its possible. You will put a lot of buyers off though so may still be a better option to get an unsecured loan and clear the car prior to selling.

Good luck. Nice to see someone actually asking these questions before trying to sell. lol

^^ I've done that in the past too - one cheque for finance another for the balance to the seller. Not ideal though, best to avoid HPI cars imho.

TX.

Formally - the finance company have title on the vehicle and once that liability is paid off the vehicle is yours to sell so technically the debt has to be settled first or you are committing fraud.

That said as an ex motor trader I can assure you that the advice you have been given on this thread is generally accurate. The correct way of doing it is for the buyer to pay the finance company the settlement figure and you the difference. The complexity arises in making the buyer understand and also waiting the (up to 14 days) for the finance company in sending anything legal confirming the liability is clear.

By FAR the best way is to get an unsecured loan to cover it and then sell the vehicle. Maybe you can get an overdraft that covers the amount needed?

Dont break the law on this one..... penalties dont take into account the complexity of the process and the penalities can be sever!

im sure if you made the buyer aware before he agrees to buy the car it will be fine.
he could pay the outstanding debt over the phone by debit card . and give you the rest in cash . job done that way he has his statemant as proof paid ...

as AN07 says, ive done this before . worked for me

interesting read on this very subject
https://www.scoobynet.com/scoobynet-...n-scammed.html