A Car Question.....

Scarlett.1974

betterlatethannever wrote: »

Thanks Squirrel...although thats just gone whoosh, straight over my little dumb, blonde head i still don't get it...:rotfl: anyway thats all beside the point but i didn't want poor Richard buying a car thats over 50 years old

:rotfl:

Short version: it's almost 4 years old now

Richard_S

Scarlett.1974 wrote: »

Evening all

Sorry to bump this one back up but I have more questions

IF the car we have now hasn't been reposessed by the time we go BR (18th Feb) and we buy a cheap runaround AFTER BR is the OR likely to question this You have to declare all asets including cash in hand when you have the meeting with the O.R., so if you haven't declared the cash and then you buy a car it's going to pose the question; where did the money come from? But how would the O.R know you'd bought the car? So, the chances are that you could put the cash to one side, wait for your bankruptcy and meeting with the O.R, then buy the car and nobody would know. IF it happens before our interview? Ie. ask where they money has come from to buy the new car? If you bought it before your bankruptcy, and it was only a cheap car, and you could demonstrate a need for the car, then where the money had come from would be irrelevant. Would we be better off trying to hold onto the current car for as long as possible (while saving the monthly payments for the runaround) and purchase the runaround after our interview?You could, but that would mean not declaring the cash that you'd put to one side to purchase the car. Would we be doing wrong to do this?Technically yes; morally: it depends on your morals. Would we have to tell the OR about this and explain where the money has come from?The O.R is not as interested in where the money came from to buy goods and services prior to your bankruptcy, as he/she is afterwards.



Sorry for the barrage of questions

Hi Scarlett,

If you want a clear conscience, buy the car before you declare bankruptcy and take a chance on whether you'll be able to make a strong enough case to keep it when you have your interview.

If you're not bothered; squirrel the cash away, don't declare it, and then buy a car after your interview. Chances are, there'd be no questions asked.

It does depend on your attitude to risk; play safe or take a chance. Only you can answer that one. Obviously, I know what I would do, but that's a complete irrelevance to what you should do.

Regards

Richard

Scarlett.1974

Thank you Richard, you pretty much confirmed everything I'd suspected.

I'm not really one for 'breaking the rules' and I would much rather do this 'properly', but we physically won't have the money to buy a car before BR

H is happy to 'take the risk' so to speak and squirrel the money away and buy one afterwards, but I have to admit I'm not 100% comfortable with that. Worst case scenario and we DID do it that way and the OR somehow found out - what might the consequences of this be? Am I worrying too much?!!

Just out of interest, what WOULD you do?

tigerfeet2006

Don't forget after BR you won't have the car finance repayment money to squirrel away.

Scarlett.1974

tigerfeet2006 wrote: »

Don't forget after BR you won't have the car finance repayment money to squirrel away.

Yep, very true Oh !!!!!!, we should have done this when we first decided to go BR <slaps self>

Much to think about and more talking to do with H I think

nomoneyprobs

I think your worrying too much ( tis very understanable though ) Just put the money away like I suggested and buy a car when the time comes, If anyone asks your good old dad bought it for you to use BUT it's his car so it's not your asset.

It's very easy to play the " lets see a million and 1 problems game " rather than seeing the solution, I know I played that game pre BR

Ian

tigerfeet2006

betterlatethannever wrote: »

Maybe i'm being predantic, but whats a 54 plate..1954????

quote: It's a Ford Focus CMax, 54 plate, metallic dark blue, very low milage: Quote

This might shed some light for you BLTN

http://www.ukcar.com/features/reg_year_2.htm

Richard_S

Scarlett.1974 wrote: »

Thank you Richard, you pretty much confirmed everything I'd suspected.

I'm not really one for 'breaking the rules' and I would much rather do this 'properly', but we physically won't have the money to buy a car before BR

H is happy to 'take the risk' so to speak and squirrel the money away and buy one afterwards, but I have to admit I'm not 100% comfortable with that. Worst case scenario and we DID do it that way and the OR somehow found out - what might the consequences of this be? Am I worrying too much?!!

Just out of interest, what WOULD you do?

Scarlett,

I have had some remarkably successful businesses over the years, and some unmitigated catastrophes. I've done business with saints and satans, but one thing that sticks in my mind is a quote from one exceedingly wealthy old guy who was more than happy to fund one of my ventures and he said: "Mister, the rules; bend them, bend them double, but don't break them".:D

The rules here are that you're allowed to hold cash for your reasonable living expenses. I considered my reasonable living expenses, and an adequate cash cushion, to be sufficient to buy a runaround vehicle from an auction for a £1k or thereabouts, and of course additional funds for essential outgoings. If I forgot to declare it all, then it was only due to my embarrassment and the stress of being declared bankrupt.;)

If you can't buy the car before you declare bankruptcy then you've got to buy it afterwards. That sort of dictates that you'll need some cash reserves. Do you have friends or family that could have bought you the car? Or lent you the money to buy it? It's difficult to give a really meaningful answer because I don't know your circumstances.

I'll confuse the issue even further, because if I don't somebody else will. If you really do need the car for work or other aceptable reasons, and there's not long left on the finance agreement, then the O.R may well allow you to carry on paying the lease or loan. This only usually happens where the main wage earner needs a reliable car for their job or business, but it is a consideration.

Some things are black and white and others are any number of grey; cars are a murky grey.

Richard

squirrel_pigeon

If you do buy a car before going BR, could you register it in someone else's name? If the V5 isn't in your name, it isn't your asset.

Scarlett.1974

Richard_S wrote: »

Scarlett,

I have had some remarkably successful businesses over the years, and some unmitigated catastrophes. I've done business with saints and satans, but one thing that sticks in my mind is a quote from one exceedingly wealthy old guy who was more than happy to fund one of my ventures and he said: "Mister, the rules; bend them, bend them double, but don't break them".:D

The rules here are that you're allowed to hold cash for your reasonable living expenses. I considered my reasonable living expenses, and an adequate cash cushion, to be sufficient to buy a runaround vehicle from an auction for a £1k or thereabouts, and of course additional funds for essential outgoings. If I forgot to declare it all, then it was only due to my embarrassment and the stress of being declared bankrupt.

If you can't buy the car before you declare bankruptcy then you've got to buy it afterwards. That sort of dictates that you'll need some cash reserves. Do you have friends or family that could have bought you the car? Or lent you the money to buy it? It's difficult to give a really meaningful answer because I don't know your circumstances.

I'll confuse the issue even further, because if I don't somebody else will. If you really do need the car for work or other aceptable reasons, and there's not long left on the finance agreement, then the O.R may well allow you to carry on paying the lease or loan. This only usually happens where the main wage earner needs a reliable car for their job or business, but it is a consideration.

Some things are black and white and others are any number of grey; cars are a murky grey.

Richard

Richard,

Thank you for your helpful and informative reply Am especially loving the bit I've highlighted in bold above :rotfl: To answer a couple of your points:

Yes, absolutely, in theory my very kind mum & dad could have given us the money to purchase an old runaround after BR, they're very generous people

I don't think keeping the lease going is going to be an option because 1. we've only had the car since April so there's well over 3 years left on it, 2. the £135 month payment is just too much and 3. I think we would struggle to convince the OR we need such a high value car - H isn't working due to ill health and I work from home. The reasons we DO need a car are probably different to others, as I mentioned on page 1, the running around with the children and H collecting his son every weekend.

Thank you, all of you, that have taken the trouble to reply to my witterings, you're all fab :T