Statistically, there is a one in five chance vehicles offered for private sale are carrying debt for which the new owner could become liable.

The Register of Encumbered Vehicles (REVS) is a service provided by the Office of Fair Trading that can tell you whether or not a vehicle is recorded as encumbered. Encumbered means that there could be money owing on the car or that the registered operator may not own the vehicle outright.

REVS can also check if the vehicle is required for an RTA inspection or whether the vehicle has:

• money owing on it
• been reported as stolen
• been recorded as de-registered
• been recorded as a repairable or non-repairable write-off.

Note: If the vehicle you are buying is recorded as a repairable write-off and is still within the manufacturer’s warranty period, you should contact the manufacturer to check if the warranty is still valid. Some warranties have conditions that invalidate the warranty when there has been an accident.

You can conduct your own REVS inquiry online at www.revs.nsw.gov.au or call 13 32 20. The REVS call centre is open 7 days a week from 8.30am to 5.00pm on weekdays and 9am to 5pm on weekends and some public holidays (excluding Good Friday, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.)

Always purchase a REVS search certificate (for a small fee) when REVS tells you the vehicle is not encumbered. This will provide confirmation of your inquiry and offer legal protection against the vehicle being repossessed by a creditor due to a previous owner’s unpaid debt.

REVS does not guarantee the accuracy of stolen and written-off vehicle information. To check if the registration is still valid, call the RTA on 13 22 13 or contact your local motor registry. Where the information provided by the seller does not match up, the RTA can also provide advice on what to do. Registration requirements may differ between states and territories.  If you are thinking of buying an unregistered vehicle that has been significantly modified or is a specialised vehicle, such as a high performance vehicle, you should check with the RTA as to NSW registration requirements. The RTA can be contacted from 8:30am to 5pm Monday to Friday and 8:30am to 2pm Saturday.

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If REVS says the vehicle is recorded as being encumbered and you still wish to proceed with the purchase, REVS can tell you what steps to take.

Call REVS on

• Sydney Tel: 13 32 20
• ACT, NT and regional NSW Tel: 1800 424 988

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There are plenty of sharp operators prepared to take private car buyers for a ride. Consumers should be aware that the legal safeguards for people who deal through licensed motor traders don't cover private sales. For private sales, the old axiom – buyer beware – still applies.

Unlicensed backyard motor dealers – scoundrels who buy clapped out cars, perform a little cosmetic surgery and sell them through the classified sections of newspapers or on the side of the road - continue to operate despite widely publicised prosecutions by the Office of Fair Trading over recent years.

The repairs carried out by backyard operators are often slap-dash and sometimes dangerous. But their antics don't stop at shoddy repairs. These shonks have few qualms about winding back the odometers on the cars they offer for sale.

A car with low kilometres is a far more attractive proposition. In one recent case Fair Trading found a backyard dealer had wound an odometer back 427,000 kilometres - more than the distance to the moon. The ex-taxi was later sold to an unsuspecting buyer for thousands of dollars above its market value.

‘Flicking the speedo’ is illegal. If found guilty sellers have to pay a hefty fine, compensate the buyer for the inflated value of the car and cover legal costs. In the case of the 427,000 kilometre wind back, the fine, compensation and costs amounted to almost $5,000.

Tips

• Compare the vehicle’s condition with the odometer reading
• Check the log book or service sticker
• Better still, get a pre-sale inspection, and
• Make sure you call REVS first!

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