Client story: selling the car

It was a cold Monday morning when I got a phone call from a lady, we will call her Sandra.  She was due to fly out 48 hours later to leave the country permanently and settle in Europe.  Sandra knew that her ailing aunt was no longer in any position to be living alone and it had all come to a head just the week before.  The retirement village had assessed the situation and decided that she needed to be moved immediately into their dementia unit.  

Sandra’s aunt had no children and she was the closest family and so the phone call was a call for help to be her hands and feet on the ground and assist with the packing up and move of her aunt’s cottage.

We were warned that due to her dementia she regularly hid both keys and jewellery and to look out for both as we sorted.  We were also asked to look specifically for a valuable piece of silver that had been misplaced. 

We spent three days sorting our client’s belongings. We were pleased to come across a number of valuable items of jewellery that were documented and given to the retirement village for safekeeping.  We also finally found a key to a locked cupboard that contained various items of jewellery and silver including the specifically documented piece. 

We then arranged a storage facility and transportation to move her entire home into storage until there is an authorisation from the courts to sell these items.  Our client also had a car that she would no longer be driving but could also not yet be sold.  We arranged to have this vehicle towed to storage, arranged for the updating of its licence disc and that it is regularly started and moved so that it is in its best condition when it can be sold.

Tips on storing and selling a car

If you have a vehicle that is sitting for a length of time the first thing to do is to… 

• Disconnect the battery. 
• Move the vehicle forwards or backwards just half a metre every week or two to avoid getting flat spots on the tyres.  (A tyre that has not been driven for a long period of time gets flat at the bottom and is then no longer properly round which means having to replace the tyres.)
• Start the car every couple of weeks to keep the engine lubricated.

If you are wanting to sell a car you will need 

• The ownership papers and 
• Up-to-date licence disc.  
• It will also need a service on purchase.  
• It helps if you have a record of services done

We are able to assist with all these items if need be as well as facilitate the sale of the vehicle.  

Click here for information about your car.

Click here for another client story.