In a recent survey compiled by the car history check website Motorcheck.ie, one in seven cars of the one hundred surveyed were confirmed to have finance outstanding. The survey focussed on vehicles that were advertised for sale by private sellers, non-franchise dealers and main dealers.

It found that of the 100 examined;
· 30% of the sample turned up positive for finance on the official records of the Irish Credit Bureau (ICB)
· 21% were confirmed to have been on finance on the day they were advertised (verified by bank named on the record)
· 14% still have finance outstanding today (verified by the bank named on the record)

Of the 14% that were confirmed to be on finance;
· 2 were advertised by private sellers
· 5 were advertised by a member of SIMI
· 7 were advertised by independent dealers and not affiliated with SIMI

Commenting on the results Shane Teskey, MD at Motorcheck.ie said "It's clear that outstanding finance could be a major problem for anyone buying a used car. Whilst a red flag for finance on a Motorcheck report is not necessarily a deal breaker, it is very important that the buyer finds out what the nature of the finance agreement is before concluding a purchase. It could be finance provided by a bank for stocking purposes that is a relatively common arrangement these days, or it may be a finance agreement that is still active in the name of a previous owner. The latter is a very serious problem and could lead to a car being repossessed by a bank at any time.