Advice on keeping the car

sunnymamma

Hi, my husband and I were made bankrupt last month.

I've just had a call from the official receiver and he has said the only thing for me personally to sort out now is my car.

My husband doesn't have a car and we were hoping he would learn to drive and use mine then for work as it is holding him back from applying for better jobs at the moment being unable to drive.

We also really need the car as I am back and forth to the hospital every three - four weeks and where we live means having to get 2-3 buses each way depending on the time of day.

Basically they said 2-3 trips to hospital a month is not enough to qualify to keep the car so I have 14 days from now to make an offer to the official receiver to buy my car and keep it.

The car is a 13 year old golf, body work not in great shape, few scrapes and bumps, rusty corners. But over the last five years I've owned this car I've spent a fortune on new parts and repairs so under the bonet is a pretty new motor! I've checked it's worth to be around £600.

My question is how much should I offer the official receiver? Has anyone else had to do this before? I've no idea where to start but obviously couldn't afford to offer a lot, but do really need to hang into the car. It's Sod's law it runs like a dream now I'm about to lose it after all these years!

PippaGirl_2

You could start with an offer of £400 and see if that would be accepted? It costs about £300 to collect and sell a car so if the OR were to seize it they'd be getting around £300 less than it's value anyway so worth a try. Is the OR happy allowing you expenses of running it on your SOA?

sunnymamma

I assume so, they haven't said otherwise. The costs are low anyway

mattannar

We also really need the car as I am back and forth to the hospital every three - four weeks and where we live means having to get 2-3 buses each way depending on the time of day.

Surely cheaper to use a taxi than run a car for one trip a month.

sunnymamma

It's three trips a month which cost £14 each way, so that's £80 per month in taxis. Compared to £5 each time in petrol plus £2 each time for parking totalling £21 per month. So I'd hardly say getting a taxi was a cheaper option.

arcon5

+ insurance
+ repairs & maintenance
+ road tax
So works out at much more than £5 each time based on such little use.

Has the receiver actually said they want the car?
I'd be very surprised if they took the car worth only £600

Mouse1812

arcon5 wrote: »

I'd be very surprised if they took the car worth only £600

They will; mine was only worth £400 and they wanted that.

kepar

Op how many times a month do you go to the hospital.

In your opening comment , you mention every 3-4 weeks and in Mattannar's post you claim 3 trips a month

Which is it?

Difficult to give advice if you keep changing the facts.

sunnymamma

It's not really difficult to give advice as if you read the whole post you would see it clearly says 2-3 appointments at a time.

And before anyone else feels like being judgemental no I can't arrange all the appointments to be on the same day. I'm under three different consultants for three different issues because well we can't all pop babies out like they're peas and we don't all get a nice easy healthy pregnancy.

I just wanted advice on what sort of offers I should make to keep my car, I didn't ask for bitter twisted sad people who are so angry about their lives to give me grief over my car.

I thought this board was to get help and advice regarding bankruptcy, to learn from other people's experiences. I didn't realise it was for people who have nothing better to do with their lives than sit on a computer trying to pick a fight with people who are stressed out to their eye balls and give them s***.

silvercar

sunnymamma wrote: »

It's three trips a month which cost £14 each way, so that's £80 per month in taxis. Compared to £5 each time in petrol plus £2 each time for parking totalling £21 per month. So I'd hardly say getting a taxi was a cheaper option.

Have you told the OR this? That if they take the car you will need more in your allowance for taxis to hospital?

tigerfeet2006

I am sorry but I did not read anyone's post as judgemental, they are just trying to understand your situation.

If you buy the car from the OR will they allow costs for keeping the car running?

I would probably start at half price and work upwards.