For sale: great car with brilliant stereo, alloys...and debt

The vital $2 used car check you must do when buying privately.

It's vital buyers undertake all the right checks before buying privately. Picture: HILDER DARREN

GETTING your first car should be one of life's most memorable milestones but for an unlucky few out there it becomes an experience they'd prefer to forget.

I recently learned of a case where a father had been stung helping his daughter buy a used vehicle.

Little did they know the car would also come with an outstanding loan from the previous owner.

They had done almost everything right, except applying some due diligence and searching the Personal Property Security Register. Here they would have found out a finance company held an interest in the car to the tune of nearly $10,000.

This came to light after the deal was signed, sealed and delivered and now they're faced with the prospect of handing the car back to the finance company or paying out a debt that isn't theirs.

Situations like this were all too common before there was a register to record money owing on used vehicles.

Despite the information and resources we now have available, it clearly still happens.

It's easy to blame the seller but a PPSR check takes two minutes and costs $2.

It's a small investment of time and money that could save a whole lot of emotional and financial heartache in the long run.

Originally published as For sale: great car with brilliant stereo, alloys...and debt