Used car buyers beware...

[Miulang]

Before you sign your name to that sales contract for a used car, do what the article in this link suggests that you do: check to see if the vehicle has any outstanding parking tickets written against it.

Apparently, since Sept. 12, the government has been enforcing a law that it instituted in 1992 which says all parking fines have to be collected on a car and it doesn't matter who the tickets were originally written out to.

"...Since Sept. 12 on Oahu and August on the neighbor islands, the state has been holding drivers responsible for parking infractions accrued by their vehicles' previous owners. In dozens of cases, buyers have not been able to renew vehicle registrations.

And the options for owners are few -- either pay the fine, get the car's previous owner or owners to cover it, or file an application for default judgment to dispute the merits of the citation. To request a judgment, though, the owner must post an appearance bond equal to the parking violation fees against the vehicle...."

Wonder why all of a sudden they decided to start enforcing this law anyway? Do the County governments need the extra revenue?

Miulang

[alohabear]

Re: Used car buyers beware...

This is one F@#Ked up law!! Paying for others mistakes is wrong... It's sending a message that if you like get rid of parking tickets ...sell your car. Maybe we need to request a driver's history now too.

[pzarquon]

Re: Used car buyers beware...

It's sending a message that if you like get rid of parking tickets ...sell your car.

Actually, this was the problem of not enforcing the law... one that was specifically enacted years ago. Up until now, transferring ownership was the loophole to bury liability for unpaid fines. With the new system finally connecting the dots, it's more difficult to sell your car with unpaid tickets, particularly through dealers.

Sadly, nothing really changed insofar as it's still "buyer beware." When you buy a car from an independent party, you should be checking, for example, that it's not a salvage (the most common "gotcha" up until now). Unpaid fines are now part of that same equation.

While folks who get into private party sales are the ones everyone's thinking about, I think it's the dealers that have the most reason to howl. Paying off tickets for one car is hassle enough, but if you move dozens of cars a week? Yike. Leaving aside the cars you've already taken in without a formal check... even if they account for unpaid tickets when buying a car today, it means a lot more cash running around (usually via third-party title/transfer services) than before.