Hi everyone, it's been a while!

Sold my hawked 3 years ago, and went German:brick wall
Sold my A5 recently and after a long search, I've decided to get back in a Scooby.

I found a mint 15-plate STI at an independent dealer.
Went down the other day to check it out, everything was as described and very happy with how it drove so left a £750 deposit.

At the time, I never thought to do a HPI check because I though buying from a dealer is safe.

However, I decided to do one this evening for piece of mind, and unfortunately it brought up two red alerts on the car.

The first is the plate was recently put back on about 4 months ago (previous owner had a private plate).

It also states that under the private plate, a finance agreement was recorded in 2015 against the STI, then in 2016 a finance agreement was recorded against a BMW M3.
It further states that there is outstanding finance recorded against the VIN of the Impreza STI and that the lender still owns the vehicle until the loan is fully repaid.

Any advice on what to do? I was supposed to pick up the car on Friday, but not so sure now.

 

You need to be careful, if the finance isn't paid they could come and take your car!

 

Ring them and talk about it, but don't drive away with it till you have written confirmation its sorted and HPI comes back clear.

 

you say Dealers, but is that just a car garage or an actual Dealer for a brand ?
only there are places that sell cars for their owners, look and talk like a dealer, but are just a posh Ebay, so worth finding out what the set up is,
once sold the garage may pay the finance off for the seller.

 

First port of call, take your print-outs to the seller.

 

Go to dealers. Make sure they are proper dealers as per JDM Stig advice. Ask about outstanding finance. Gauge their reaction. If they woolly and evasive ask for deposit back and move on. If they up front and amenable then make sure you pay finance company and not the dealer. If the dealer doesn't agree or asks you to pay them so they can pay finance company, walk away with deposit.

Wouldn't be too concerned but only way forward is to buy the car from the owners (finance company) and not the dealer.

 

There was a company in Cardiff - Williams - who sold cars on behalf of people. They took a cut and off went the car. BUT they sold cars and never cleared finance, paid the original owners and ragged them as demo's.

I am not saying the dealer is doing the same or you end up in the same boat but I would be very cautious. A 2015 STI should still have Warranty from Subaru and a call to them may also help you decide.

 

The car is for sale at an independent garage not a main car brand dealer.

I emailed the salesperson with my findings so just waiting for their reply now.

In the meantime, I called the finance company myself and they stated that the agreement had been settled but HPI wasn't updated, and they emailed me a document stating that they have no more interest in the vehicle.

Should I wait for the HPI to come back as clear before purchasing or am I ok with the letter now?

 

Are you sure its not finance the trader themselves have on the vehicle and other stock? This exact thing happened when I purchased mine.

 

If the car is within the dealers stocking loan it will show up like that.

 

I've bought a few cars that still had the outstanding finance showing on the hpi but in fact it was cleared.

Speak to the hpi company that you used and get them to chase the finance company. If it's clear they will update the check and it will show all clear.

It's a common occurrence in my opinion. Breakdown of communication between the finance company and hpi company.

Don't be put off it as it could well be a genuine mistake.