car advise

brovahelpa

Hi All. My brother will applying for bankcruptcy in the near future, after a year of putting it off after the collapse of his business.
Apart from all the usual fears he has, loosing his car which is worth about £6000 is one of the bigest. It really is too big for him now the business has gone, so my question is, when the bankcruptcy happens would the OR consider he had sold it if he put it in exchange for a smaller car.? The car is actually registered to his girl friend, as he was concerned some bully boy collectors could trace him if it was in his name, so should he even declare it at all.?

skylight

He must declare it. Its his and I assume the bill of purchase is in his name. Now, if the bill of purchase is in his GFs name then its different.....


(assume here bill of purchase in his name) Is he working now? If so, the OR will sell the car and allow a sum back (£2kish) to get a replacement. Or he can sell it himself before BR and buy himself a smaller car at £2kish for work, use some of the balance for the court fees, a small amount of shopping/groceries/replacement washing machine.... and hand the balance to the OR. As long as the car is not sold for less than its worth, then this course of action is not actually a problem.

brovahelpa

Thanks skylight. If my brother did a deal with a garage for a smaller car putting his present car in exchange would the OR class that as him selling it ?
I suppose im being selfish coz I want him to havea car. He lives 140 miles away from me, I live on my own ( got some health problems) and he is my only relative. If he has his own transport he could get to me quicker and cheaper. Do you think the OR would look on that as a reason for him to keep a car?

brovahelpa

Forgot to say my brother is 69, not working at the moment coz of ill health-he's being treated for servere depression but is begining to come out the other side and is slowly improving. He hopes to get some part time work soon. He needs a purpose in life if you know what i mean.

skylight

Nope. Sorry. The OR is not interested in you at all, only what he can realise from the BRs estate. They have to look at it logically and not emotionally.

A deal with the garage is the same as selling it. Its important the car is not sold for less than its value.

And to keep the car he needs a job. It does not matter what the job is McDonalds or Sainsbury's if needs must; if he needs it for work then he can keep it (a low value one).

tigerfeet2006

If he puts it in for part exchange and gets a smaller car worth less and recieves nothing in return for the balance then he will be seen as getting rid of an assett at undervalue and then could have problems with the OR.

If he sells it privatly for what it is worth. Check the Parkers directory and look at the poor price. Then buys something smaller at less than £2k and can then account for the rest of the money as Sky suggests, then he will be fine.

Is he working?

brovahelpa

Thanks so much for your replies. So if he keeps his present car do you know if I would be allowed to buy the car from the OR and if so I presume it would be valued from Parkers guide ? Also if the OR didn't exempt the car would I have to pay the full price. Could the car be exempt if my brother was looking for work in spite of his age ie69.

JCS1

Does you brother have any medical appointments that need the use of a car? Does he live somewhere where there is public transport? (guess due to his age would have free/reduced travel?)

He needs to show to the OR that he has a need for a vehicle, not that it's conveniant (sp?).

tigerfeet2006

If you have the money then you could buy the car from him but it has to be at the correct price and you could then lend him the car. The OR may or may not allow the related costs on the SoA but if he doesn't then your brother could put a figure for travel which could cover most of it.

As JCS says does he have any medical condition etc?

brovahelpa

Thks. Yes that was my idea to lend him the car. He is being treated for servere depression as he was quite suicidal when his business went down. He's begining to improve a bit now but I know if he lost his wheels he'd go right back and thats the last thing I want to see.

tigerfeet2006

Don't think the OR will allow him to keep it because of depression but as said if you can buy it for a fair market rate then you should be fine.