Hello Everyone,
I was redirected here to post this for support.
I am an international student in Sydney, Australia and I happened to purchase a car from an individual seller. It was for around A$13000 from the western part of Sydney, two months ago. At that time I didn't know about PPSR. So, I just paid the amount via bank transfer, got the car and a handwritten receipt to prove the transaction. The car was registered in Queensland.
Later when I went to register the car in an NSW service center, the lady over the counter told me that she couldn't transfer and register the car in NSW because it was recently written off. At that time I didn't even know what "Written Off" meant for a car. I checked the PPSR after it and found out that the car had a repairable written-off assigned in Victoria in late 2018. It was inspected in Queensland in late 2019 where it got a QLD rego.
To register in NSW, I had to do an inspection on the car at a Vehicle Identification Inspection Unit (VIIU) in NSW.
I did it and the guy there reported, "Vehicle had a complete sectional repair on the rear by replacing the whole rear cut. Owner to provide manufacturer repair guidelines which shows that the sectional repair conducted is an acceptable method. Owner to provide from a licensed repairer, a structural integrity report."
Now, I've been to car dealers and panel beaters, and none of them knew how to provide what the VIIU was asking for.
I talked to solicitors via LawAccess and they drew out the conclusion that "There is an implied promise that the car ought to be transferable". They suggested me to talk to the seller, send him a letter of demand asking for the total refund and return the car after we negotiate on a price. The individual car seller doesn't negotiate much and once mentioned that he could give the amount totaling to the scrap value of the car.
This is my situation right now. I have a car that I paid for but the car isn't in my name. I can't drive it because it hasn't passed the inspection. The Police don't handle such cases because it is a civil matter. Shouldn't the car at least be in my name? If I pay for something, it should be in my name legally. I can't even sell it for scrap because it is not in my name.
The only step that I can take now is to hire a solicitor and take the seller to court if necessary. But the costs regarding it might be high, I have no idea whether it would offset the amount I would get back if the car is returned and refunded. I am not even sure where I'd have to go to hire solicitors (except maybe LawAccess?).
Please help me with any advice or anything you think that I should do.
I am sorry if this is the wrong place to post my issue. I think that bushfires need more attention and they are far more devastating than my personal problems.
Thanks
can you do the vehicle ownership in QLD?