A Repentigny man had to learn the lesson "buyer beware" the hard way, after running into problems buying a used car.

The car of Marcello Salutari's dreams is a black 2000 Mustang GT convertible.

It's in perfect condition, except for one little catch.

When Salutari bought the vehicle, it was collateral for a loan, and a creditor had placed a lien on the vehicle.

Salutari discovered this in January, when he received a notice from a financial institution telling him that one of the car's previous owners had defaulted on a loan.

"The debt attached to the car and it's the car that got passed, on so the debt goes with the car," explained George Iny of the Automobile Protection Association.

As the car's current owner, he was now responsible for the outstanding debt of $2300.

He was shocked, "mad, furious. For sure I didn't like the situation," said Salutari.

Especially because if Salutari had checked up on the vehicle, he would have learned about its financial baggage by looking at the Registry of Personal and Movable Real Rights.

The RDPRM will show which vehicles and other items are currently being used as collateral for loans.

"It has introduced an element of certainty," said Iny. "In other words you now have a place you can really check, but the other side of the coin, you got to really check."

Salutari knew about the RDPRM before buying his Mustang, but decided against checking before buying.

"I figured a nine-year-old car, the debts were paid, but that wasn't the fact," said Salutari.

There is a recourse, namely taking the previous owner to court.

"In law you have a very good claim and it's against your seller," said Iny. "It's a case of leapfrog because in this case that person is also clean," or in other words, they bought the car not knowing there was debt attached to it.

That person will have to make a legal claim against the person who sold them the car, "and it's that person ultimately has to pay off the finance company."

In the end, Salutari decided to pay off the outstanding debt, but was able to negotiate with the financial institution to have it reduced to $1000.

He's not happy about it, but at least now he's debt free.

The Registry of Personal and Movable Real Rights can be contacted at http://www.rdprm.gouv.qc.ca/