Repossession of Car

[chrissa1]

When a car is repossessed, (not by the Finance Company), how long is it kept before it is sold?

[chrissa1]

It was taken against a ccj unrelated to the car.

[ummmm]

By Bailiffs?

[chrissa1]

Yep.

[Buenchico]

I would normally expect the bailiffs to enter the car into the first available auction. Most vehicle auctioneers (and those which sell general household items, where the bailiffs might also sell the car) hold weekly auctions, with lots being accepted up until a couple of days before the sale. If, for example, the auction is held on a Thursday, any car seized on a Monday or Tuesday might appear in that week's sale but a car seized later in the week would be held over until the following week..

Chris

[Buenchico]

PS: You need to be aware that the sale of goods by bailiffs often results in only a very small amount of debt being paid off.

For example, if a car worth £2000 is seized and then entered into a general auction (rather than a specialist car sale), there might be nobody present who's really interested in buying a car. Further, potential bidders won't have the opportunity to test drive the vehicle so they might assume that it's riddled with faults. The auctioneer might find it hard to get any bidders but, since it will be sold without a 'reserve' on it, he'll accept any bid. So it could go to someone who is prepared to 'take a chance on it' for as little as, say, £150. From that, the auctioneer will take his cut of around £20. The bailiffs will then take their fee, of perhaps £40. So losing a £2000 car might pay off less than £100 of the debt.

Chris