Buying car

chrissy90

A colleague I am close with is going through a hard time with debt and he said he's going to apply for a DRO in January.

The DRO says he can't have a car over £2,000. He has a relatively new car and mine has had it so, he offered to sell it to me. I think he needs the cash before the DRO.

I'm worried that if I buy the car a bailiff will come and take it from me in January. I don't want to risk it but I need a reliable car. Will the car be safe?

fatbelly

Not sure whether he's working within the rules there but that's not your problem.

There is no seizure of assets in a DRO.

Just check it's HPI-clear* and that you get a receipt from the seller

*It's going to cost you a tenner but it's a tenner well spent

MalMonroe

chrissy90 said:

A colleague I am close with is going through a hard time with debt and he said he's going to apply for a DRO in January.

The DRO says he can't have a car over £2,000. He has a relatively new car and mine has had it so, he offered to sell it to me. I think he needs the cash before the DRO.

I'm worried that if I buy the car a bailiff will come and take it from me in January. I don't want to risk it but I need a reliable car. Will the car be safe?

Your colleague could do worse than contact one of the free debt help agencies for help with a DRO. They will also help to submit a DRO and if one of the agencies is involved, a DRO is more likely to be granted.

I recommend StepChange as they helped me with my DRO and I'm now debt free and past the six year mark. There's also National Debtline and Citizens Advice.

https://www.stepchange.org/debt-info/how-assets-affect-a-debt-relief-order.aspx

As his car is worth more than £2k now he wouldn't be able to get a DRO. If he sells it though he will not be in a better position as then he'd have a lump sum of money. Citizens Advice says : "Any belongings of value you own or savings you have should be worth less than £2,000."

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/debt-and-money/debt-solutions/debt-relief-orders/debt-relief-orders-explained/how-income-debts-and-belongings-are-assessed-for-a-debt-relief-order/

He has some time before he plans to take action and he really would be better advised to double check exactly what his assets are going be - easily done via a debt help agency. They may also be able to suggest an alternative/better debt solution for him. 

fatbelly

He could be OK. A 'relatively new car' could mean anything - relative to  what?

If, for example, he had a car worth 5k he could sell it, buy another warranted one at a premium price from a garage that was only worth <2k on Parkers, pay £90 for the DRO fee, charge up his prepayment meters, stock up the freezer and go for a DRO with <2k cash

Not the OP's problem though.

sourcrates

Its only in Bankruptcy that assets can be seized, your friend is free to do as they wish prior to obtaining a DRO, as long as the car is sold at a fair price, then the IS cannot accuse them of disposing of assets.

If they sell the car for 5k, buy another one for 2k, and do as fatbelly suggests with the remainder, then they are still within the rules.

diystarter7

sourcrates said:

Its only in Bankruptcy that assets can be seized, your friend is free to do as they wish prior to obtaining a DRO, as long as the car is sold at a fair price, then the IS cannot accuse them of disposing of assets.

If they sell the car for 5k, buy another one for 2k, and do as fatbelly suggests with the remainder, then they are still within the rules.

Super post .

OP the fair price is not from the man down the road but some respected website/firm that are experts in car prices for the mode/date of build/mileage/service history etc etc. 

those cr sites that offer to buy cars should be a good start as a genuine guide of a low price