Car Ownership

Flora_McDora · 11 December 2017 at 12:30PM

My Mother bought me a 2nd hand car for around £6500 earlier this year. The V5 log book states that I am the keeper as I'm responsible for tax, insurance etc.
The original invoice is in my Mothers name and the 'bankers draft' that paid for it came from her account. is this enough to prove that i don't own the car if I have to declare bankrupcy.
Thanks for your help.

Whalie · 11 December 2017 at 1:19PM

I would think you would be classed as the owner as its your name on the log book.

marliepanda · 11 December 2017 at 1:48PM

Flora_McDora wrote: »

My Mother bought me a 2nd hand car for around £6500 earlier this year. The V5 log book states that I am the keeper as I'm responsible for tax, insurance etc.
The original invoice is in my Mothers name and the 'bankers draft' that paid for it came from her account. is this enough to prove that i don't own the car if I have to declare bankrupcy.
Thanks for your help.

Your mum bought YOU a car. It was a gift to you.

Its your car.

haggis0073 · 11 December 2017 at 3:50PM

The logbook is NOT proof of ownership, The fact that the invoice is in your mothers name would IMO prove that she is the legal owner of the car, who she lets drive it is upto her.

That is only my opinion and i know someone with more experiance in this matter will correct me if i am wrong

You could say that your mum bought a car and you got insured on it so that you can help drive her around for her daily needs maybe?

LincsPaul · 11 December 2017 at 5:19PM

I agree that the logbook is not proof of ownership. It says this in big letters on the front. You will need to show the OR the invoice and they may be happy with that, although they may need some convincing that it wasn't a gift.

Does your insurance policy state that you need to be the legal owner of the car? You may not be insured if, when you took out the insurance, you said that you were the legal owner (i.e. the you believed that car was a gift). The insurers need to be happy for you to be driving someone else's car.

If you need a car for work/care reasons you will be allowed one - and the running costs to go with it - but the OR may look at the Parker's guide value of yours and auction it off, giving you a bit of money from the proceeds to buy a cheap replacement. What a hassle.

If you do not need a car for any particular reason then the OR will not allow you money in your budget to run it so how would you afford to do so, if you get an IPA?

What I did was sell my car (less than a grand) prior to going bankrupt, and use the proceeds to live off of as I was unemployed at the time. You can also use them towards the BR fee. The car was only going to be taken away anyway as I had no need for it, and that way I kept control of the value of the asset as I was not in bankruptcy at the time of selling.

I know nothing of your circumstances, but if the car is 'legally' the property of your mother, why does 'she' not sell it now - keeping all the money, and then buy you a £1k runabout for work? Stress avoided and no money at risk. You will have to declare both vehicles on your BR forms as cars you have used in the last 2 years but you have paperwork to prove they were not yours. Ensure you get a fair market value for any cars you sell just in case.

sourcrates · 11 December 2017 at 5:29PM

Flora_McDora wrote: »

My Mother bought me a 2nd hand car the V5 log book states that I am the keeper as I'm responsible for tax, insurance etc.
The original invoice is in my Mothers name and the 'bankers draft' that paid for it came from her account.

Then your mother is the legal owner of the car, and you are the registered keeper.

The OR would have no interest in it at all.

This would allow you to keep running the car though bankruptcy, if you wished to do so.

sourcrates · 11 December 2017 at 5:31PM

marliepanda wrote: »

Your mum bought YOU a car. It was a gift to you.

Its your car.

Not in the eyes of the law it isn't, its her mothers car.

sourcrates · 11 December 2017 at 5:32PM

Whalie wrote: »

I would think you would be classed as the owner as its your name on the log book.

Not in the eyes of the law no, her mother is the legal owner.

The_Real_Cheddar_Bob · 17 December 2017 at 10:06PM

its not being the owner that is being the issue. It will be the amount and when it was purchased / gifted that will be,
If its within a certain time limit, the OR will want to know where the money has come from for your mother. EG from you to her to you.

LincsPaul · 18 December 2017 at 1:20PM

If his mother has the invoice stating that she paid for it (direct) then it is her car. To prove whether it was subsequently gifted to the OP or not would be difficult and I suspect the OR wouldn't bother.

Imagine if, for example, you bought a house for your son or daughter to live in. All the paperwork is in your name and the son/daughter has paid nothing for it, only bills. How livid would you be if the OR tried to snatch it!! Of course, if the house was registered in the son/daughter's name it would look like a gift, but with cars the registry certificate simply means keeper, not owner.

If the OP goes bankrupt, they will have to consider whether they will be permitted the running costs for the car in the future, depending on need. Also whether their insurance covers them for using someone else's car.

SueLowe65 · 29 December 2017 at 5:56PM

Thank you for your confirmation. I have just become bankrupt; I sold my car to my husband over a year before I became bankrupt because he paid to have the gearbox rebuilt. At the time, I had no idea I was going to become bankrupt. My interview with the OR is in January and I will show them the payment he made and that it came from his bank account and I will also tell them that I need the car for care reasons - I am now his carer. I hope this is going to be enough.

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