deposit for private car sale

polarization

You may find some useful information from the website below

http://www.motoringassist.com/motoring-advice/general-motoring/motoring-guides/buying-car-privately/

"
Your rights and responsibilities
If you decide to buy your car through a private seller, you are likely to get more for your money. However, it is vital that you tread carefully – you have far less legal comeback buying in this way than if you were to buy from a dealer, broker or car supermarket.

Checks that the trade must carry out by law are not compulsory in private sales. You will not be covered by the Sale of Goods Act and the only obligation for the seller is to describe the vehicle truthfully. Even if they don’t, getting compensation can be difficult, time consuming and very expensive.

For this reason, beware of dealers masquerading as private sellers in order to shirk their legal responsibilities.
Regardless of where you buy your used car from, you should still expect the vehicle to:

• Be capable of passing an MOT (unless the seller states otherwise and you are fully aware of this)
• Be owned by the person selling it – if it turns out to be stolen, you have no legal right to keep it, even if you have paid a lot of money for it

As a buyer then, it is up to you to protect yourself and your money by making sure you carry out all the necessary checks.

Paying

• Avoid paying in cash, as there’s no comeback at all if something goes wrong.
• Give yourself maximum protection by using a banker’s draft.
• If a seller is genuine, they will be happy with this.

If things go wrong
When buying privately, it’s a case of ‘buyer beware’ – there is very little you can do should things go wrong. As the buyer, it is up to you to ensure that you are buying a genuine car from a genuine source – the checks listed above are vital.

• The only legal terms that cover a private sale are:
• the seller must have the right to sell the car
• the car must not be misrepresented
• it must be as described

If the car you buy doesn’t meet with the above conditions, then you have the right to sue for compensation, but proving that this is the case, and in many cases, even finding the seller after the sale, can be impossible."

Foxy-Stoat_3

OP, choose another car to buy as you are not happy to pay the finance company over the phone when you collect or the seller is unwilling or unable to clear the finance and provide proof when you collect. The ONLY proof that matters would be a phone call quoting the reference number to the finance company or a clear marker on the HPI report.

I would prefer to call the finance company, pay them over the phone and the difference when buying the car, as if he really wanted to scam you he could fake the written proof and hand it to you when you pay him for the car.

colino

Good thing that every other car for sale in the UK is owned outright either by the private seller or the trader or the posters on this thread would have conniptions.
Make a token deposit, £50 to secure, and take control of the finance pay-off, either by paying them direct or working with the seller so that you both know the money is paid and ownership transferred.

Marktheshark

Richard53 wrote: »

I don't think that is a good comparison. Buying and selling of houses is a very highly regulated process, with surveys, solicitors, estate agents and so on, and the interests of buyer and seller are fairly well-protected in law.


Whereas if someone decides he can't keep up the payments on his motor and sells it for cash without telling the finance company, there's not a lot the poor buyer can do when the finance co. turn up to repossess their property. He can try to find and sue the seller, but the seller is probably long gone.


For me, this deal would be too much of a risk. If I really wanted the car and nothing similar was available, I would tell the seller I would buy it, if and when he could show me proof that the finance was paid, and not be offering any deposit in the meantime. If that lost me the deal, so be it. Plenty more fish in the sea.

Not everyone has your brains, as the thread quite clearly shows.

RS2000.

Marktheshark wrote: »

Not everyone has your brains, as the thread quite clearly shows.

You're one of them!

forgotmyname

Seller moving abroad? Even more reason to be suspicous. Speak to the finance company yourself to make sure its settled.

Google their phone number and dont use a number given to you by the seller.

Richard53

I take the point made by many people here that there are ways round the finance company issue, and if the seller is as genuine as he seems there is probably no real risk of losing the car and the money. I would just say this - the market is awash with decent second-hand cars at every price point, sold by people who actually own the cars concerned and who can complete the sale without reference to a distant finance company. Unless the car is very rare or desirable in some way we have not been told of, why a) take the risk of being scammed, and even if the seller is genuine, b) involve yourself in all this hassle?


Personally, all I want to do is see the car, give the seller a small deposit to hold it, go away and do my checks, and then turn up a few days later with the balance and drive it away. Unless the OP is set on something rare and exotic, there are plenty of cars about where you can do just that.