Register of Encumbered Vehicles

The Register of Encumbered Vehicles (REVS) stores information on cars that have interests registered against them.

A lender that takes a car as security for a loan will register an interest in the car. It means that there is an outstanding loan against the car. In these cases, the borrower (which is usually the registered owner) cannot sell the car without the lenders permission. A REVS check will tell you if there is an interest registered against a car.

You can get a REVS check over the telephone by providing the cars registration number, engine number and VIN (vehicle identification number) number. If REVS advises you that there is no encumbrance (interest registered against the car) for a small fee you can obtain a REVS certificate which confirms your enquiry. Keep the REVS certificate, it gives you protection against repossession (a lender taking the car).

You can contact REVS on 13 3220.

You can also conduct your own inquiry online REVS

Buying an encumbered car (without a clear title)

What if REVS tell you that the car you want to buy is encumbered but you still want to buy it?

You can still buy a car without a clear title but you must ensure the outstanding loan (debt) against the car is cleared before you take it away. Here is what you need to do:

Speak to the seller and ask them to provide you with a written pay out figure from the lender. The pay out figure is the amount that needs to be paid to that lender to clear the interest they have against the car.
Make out two cheques - one payable to the seller and one payable to the lender. If the amount owed to the lender is more than the sale price of the car, ask the seller to speak to the lender to have their interest in the car removed from the REVS database.

Keep proof of these payments such as receipts or cheque butts.

Repo'ed – a case study

Phoung had wanted to buy the car as soon as he saw it. The car was in perfect condition considering it was over 20 years old! It was obvious the sweet woman selling it had hardly ever taken it out of the garage. Still, he had organised an inspection to make sure it was okay and he was relieved when it showed that the car was in good condition. After he had bought it, he drove it round to a friend's place to show off how brilliant it was.

The next weekend, Phoung moved into a new place and he parked the car right out the front. The next day the car was gone. Phoung found out that the car had been repossessed by a finance company because there was money owing on it by the previous owner.

Phoung should have contacted REVS to find out if there was any money owing on the car!

 

 

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