What you need to check and what pitfalls there may be when buying a car second-hand — notaries advise

There are a number of reasons why the owner of a car may have limited rights to dispose of this propertysay representatives of the notary office. — For example, if a car is seized by bailiffs for debts or if its owner is declared incompetent or bankrupt by a court. A transaction with such a seller may be declared invalid by the court.

One more point: if the car was purchased by the seller during marriage, then it is the joint property of the spouses.

Therefore, to sell this property, the co-owner needs to obtain the consent of the other half. If this is not done, in the future the seller’s husband or wife will be able to challenge the transaction in court, — tell at the notary office.

Thus, the correct question from the buyer to the seller of the car is by no means “will that wheel get there if it happened to Moscow or won’t it get there?” First of all, you need to ask: is he married? If the answer is “Yes,” then ask how his wife views the upcoming deal. And not just ask, but demand to bring an official document from your wife agreeing to the sale.

It is also important to make sure that the car is not pledged. More often, vehicles on the secondary market find themselves under such encumbrances, but this also occurs in showrooms.notaries explain.

In other words, the car may not be seized, but its owner is not at all bankrupt and is fully capable. But the car itself has debts. Figuratively speaking, the owner took money from someone and swore on his car that he would return it. If there are problems with payment, you will have to give the car back. In past years, many conscientious buyers suffered from this: before they had time to get behind the wheel of their purchase, stern people from the bank came to them and took it away.

First of all, the buyer must check whether there are any debts on the car. But there are other risks

Today, the buyer is protected if he makes inquiries in the notary’s database.

You can check your car for collateral around the clock and completely free of charge using the registry of notifications about the collateral of movable property on the FNP portal. To do this, you need to enter data about the car — VIN or PIN code, chassis or body number. It is also possible to check by the name of the seller— the notary reminds.

Another serious risk is purchasing a car from a so-called “led” seller who has been bewitched by scammers. Contacting a notary can generally protect the car buyer.

source: «Rossiyskaya Gazeta»