who owns the car when the finance is paid off?

sazaboo

me or my ex??

joint car finance taken out when we were married, he didnt drive so I was registered keeper then and have been since.

we took 7 year agreement out in 2006
both paid from joint account
separated in 2010 and all that was said was that 'i can keep car if i make the payments' verbal agreement only...i think, must check paperwork!

I carried on the payments (and all other car related costs)
finance will be cleared this year...who owns the car??

my ex is making noises because i 'might' be trading in car for a newer car.

never been an issue previously...

any advice please, cheers!

Buzby

The Registered Keeper is irrelevant to this. You say Joint Finance - are both names on the agreement, or is one a guarantor for the other?

If joint, then ownership is 50/50. A verbal modification that if you pay, you keep it needs corroboration. In the absence of this, then you need to prove the payments you made to show your % contribution. You willthenuse this to assert ownership should a dispute arise later.

sazaboo

yes, i know the registered keeper bit is irrelevent regarding the legal ownership, it was just some background..but thanks anyway

it was a conditional sale, both names on the agreement.

ive found a paragraph from a mediation session where it is confirmed that I keep the car if I pay etc...but there were other things agreed in that mediation that never happened as it was done under duress...he would have to make a good case to stake a claim on a car worth 1500 quid that he didnt contribute to for most of the HP term. I will speak to HP company to get facts from them.

lets see what happens anyway!

cheers!

The_Boss

If only breakups were easy and amicable and verbal agreements stuck to. I had a verbal agreement from an ex regarding money I gave her for our deposit for a flat that I could not be on the mortgage for. 7 years, big solicitors fees and an ultimate loss of over £14k later, I received £5k...

sazaboo

spoke to HP company, once the finance is cleared in june, then its a civil matter...it will be interesting to see what he does about it after ive traded it in....

Ghostrider

I doubt in this case there is much of a leg to stand on for him. The value of the car is hardly worth his effort fighting what is at best a tenous argument from his side.

You have paid for the car so generally speaking i'd say the courts (if it ever got to that) would likely favour your argument. The credit agreement is largely irrelevant and doesn't prove ownership, it proves you were both jointly and severably liable for the debt.

Legal ownership of a car can only be proven by the person that has paid for it. If you're the one who has paid for the car, then in the eyes of the law (in most cases) you're the owner because you paid the loan off, not him.

So let him whinge and see if he ever actually did anything about it as I suspect that he wouldn't. Its up to him to make a claim on it if he thinks he has one, it's not up to you to defend your ownership of the vehicle.