Buyer loses luxury MPV to collapsed motor dealer’s creditor, incurs $100k in legal costs
Lee Nian Tjoe
The Straits Times
May 18, 2026
Mr Wang Bingxin, 42, bought a used Toyota Vellfire in September 2024 in the hope of earning an income as a private-hire car driver. But he ended up losing nearly a quarter of a million dollars when the car was seized by a finance company a month later.
In September 2024, Mr Wang paid $140,800 to GV Automobile Centre for the multi-purpose vehicle. The part-time property agent needed a car to drive his family around, and was planning to try driving a private-hire car.
He took possession of the car on Sept 13, 2024, and was told that legal ownership would be transferred to him within a few days. But before that was done, the dealership went into liquidation.
GV entered voluntary winding-up after its director made a statutory declaration on Sept 30, 2024, followed by the appointment of a liquidator on Oct 11, 2024.
Kenso Leasing, the finance company that funded GV’s purchase of the used Toyota Vellfire from another dealership, seized the vehicle on Oct 14, 2024.
Mr Wang took Kenso to court in March 2025, claiming that he was the rightful owner of the car because he had fully paid the dealer, who was basically selling the vehicle on behalf of the owner, Kenso.
On April 6, a judge ruled that GV was not acting as an agent of the finance company.
The judge also said that Mr Wang would have been able to tell from a copy of the PARF-COE Rebate Enquiry from the Land Transport Authority (LTA) shared by the dealer that the vehicle owner was not the dealer but another company. This means that the dealer could not transfer ownership to Mr Wang.
Besides showing the residual value of the car and its vehicle identification number, the document also stated the last three digits of the Unique Entity Number (UEN) of the registered owner. In this case, the UEN was different from the used car dealer’s.
The legal battle cost Mr Wang an extra $100,000.
Mr Wang told The Straits Times on May 13 that the lesson he learnt from the episode was to never take used car dealers at their word, and to walk away from the deal if they cannot immediately transfer ownership upon payment.
Motor dealers often take short-term financing to buy cars for resale. Even though the car is physically in the showroom, the dealer cannot transfer ownership to the next buyer before the sum owed to the finance company is repaid.
Vehicle ownership transfers can be done online on LTA’s website.
Lawyers and industry insiders said that it is not uncommon for finance companies and end consumers to have ownership disputes.
Mr Melvin Yong, president of the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE), told ST that there were 36 such complaints between Jan 1, 2024, and May 4, 2026.
The consumers had sought help from CASE to speed up the ownership transfer process, or to get monetary compensation for costs stemming from delays or failures to transfer or cancel the vehicle purchase.
Mr Yong said LTA requires the ownership transfer to be completed within seven days when a vehicle changes hands.
This can be done only when the seller has settled any outstanding financing and legal claims by parties other than the owner, like the finance company, and meets all required administrative and insurance conditions for the transfer.
“Consumers buying a second-hand vehicle are advised to engage reputable motor dealers, and where possible, CaseTrust-SVTA accredited dealers, for greater assurance of proper transaction practices and recourse mechanisms,” said Mr Yong.
CaseTrust-SVTA is a joint accreditation scheme between CASE and the Singapore Vehicle Traders Association, which identifies trustworthy dealers.
Parwani Law, the law firm that represented Kenso Leasing in Mr Wang’s case, said the ruling was significant because it showed that the courts will look at the facts of the case, rather than siding with the consumer by default.
This is the second case in which the law firm had successfully represented motor finance companies in ownership disputes.
Mr Vincent Tan, managing director of Tembusu Financial Services, said that there is always a risk that finance companies cannot recover the loan or the cars pledged when they lend money to motor dealers to fund the inventory purchases.
Lawyer Chua Beng Chye from Rajah & Tann, who specialises in hire purchase and the auto-finance industry, said that vehicle ownership disputes are “more common than we think”.
He estimates that since 2019, there has been around one such case a year – although these are only the ones that actually end up in court.
While in Mr Wang’s case the judge ruled in favour of the finance company, Mr Chua said that there were at least three other cases where the finance companies lost their claims on the cars.
In those cases, the argument was around defining whether the motor dealers were acting as agents selling the cars on behalf of the actual owners, and whether the buyers were acting in good faith.
Mr Chua said that there is currently no way for buyers to independently verify the actual owner of the used car and whether the vehicle is under financing, unlike the Singapore Land Authority’s property title search service that buyers can use.
Still, Mr Parwani Vijai of Parwani Law said that it is crucial to verify that the seller can actually transfer ownership before agreeing to buy the car.
“A few extra questions up front can save you from an expensive lesson later.”
How to protect yourself when buying a used car
- Go to reputable dealerships.
- Ask if the car is under financing, and whether ownership can be transferred immediately. LTA requires the transfer to be completed within seven days of the buyer taking possession of the vehicle.
- Ensure that the vehicle details are correct before accepting the ownership transfer, which is done online using Singpass.
- Upon a successful transfer, log in to the dashboard page on LTA’s OneMotoring website to check that the car is indeed registered in your name.
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