www.iva.co.uk

If i own a car over £5000 will i have to sell it to get an iva as without my car i wouldnt have a job as i rely on my car to get to work as do over 220 miles a week and the car very reliable and eco friendly

Hi there Louise

At the end of the day, the official receiver will always look closely at a car worth more than £1500. You may be able to argue that you require the car you have to keep your other motoring costs down. ie If you were to change, these would increase meaning that your payments to creditors would be lower and in the long run they would be worse off. However, if you go down the bankruptcy route, you need to be prepared that this arguement may not be accepted and you will be asked to sell the car and get a cheaper one.

Hi and welcome.

You need a decent car to last you during an IVA so unless it is a really valuable car you should be able to keep it. My own car was worth £8k when I entered mine and I still have it.

James - the poster is referring to an IVA and not BR so she should be able to keep it.

Sorry Louise

My brain was clearly way off somewhere else just then

As Jan has rightly said, if you need your car you should be able to keep it in an IVA particularly as it is helping keeping your other motoring costs down.

Shouldnt be a problem the cost of my or my wifes car was not even asked.

Louise -

Glad to hear that your car is "eco-friendly".

Which part of the UK do you live in?

I travel a total of nearly 500 miles per week inclusive to and from work (10 journies) but manage this jolly well on public transport with absolutely zero problems. I live in Essex and commute to west London. All this for less than £65 per week on National Rail and London Underground. Don't know where you live but I must say that some people in the London area do seem to have a pointlessly unnecessary and expensive attachment to thier cars when nearly all areas of London have an excellent 24 hour public transport system. Take a look at the TFL website.

Some people prefer their own personal space rather than be in a train, on a bus or on the underground.

I hate public transport and avoid it like the plague!

I don't understand the attraction of public transport either Jan! It's full of people coughing and sneezing and spreading their germs everywhere - give me my car any day!

Not that it's even an option for me - why spend an hour on the bus when I can spend 20 minutes in the car?!?! It's cheaper as well!

It's not an option for me either but I like to be on my own when I travel to work - especially early in the morning!

Same here - music blasting out, singing along in my own little world!

Louise, good luck if you decide to go for an IVA x

Nothing like it! It's Muse for me at moment!

Each to their own - but if public transport is a viable and cheaper option to people in an IVA - is there any reason why they should be allowed to splash out more cash on an unnecessary car when this could go to their creditors? Is personal space and possible smelly people an excuse!!???!!! I like to think that - as a daily public transport user - I am neither sweaty nor smelly - even if my toiletries are by necessity at the cheaper end of the market.

Skippy - are you SURE that your car is cheaper???

I'm sorry Optimist but I don't see why they shouldn't be able to keep a decent car - it's not just about work. Nobody is saying that you should be able to splash out on a car we are talking about keeping the car you already have.

For my journeys yes it is cheaper, and even if it wasn't I wouldn't give it up. The thought of spending 2 hours on the bus each day being sneezed and coughed over is awful! And as well as work there's shopping, visiting my mum etc - public transport is not practical with a fortnight's shopping! Even the OR agreed I needed a car.

The idea of an IVA is to repay as much to your creditors as comfortably possible, not to live for 5 years in sackcloth and ashes, so if a car makes life easier then I don't see a problem.