Impounded car help

Flatlinezor

Hello!

I am unemployed at the moment. My insurance ran out in october last year and I was dumb enough to drive to get my benefits. Garda stopped me, car is impounded obviously.

Now, I'm aware of that I'll have to pay a fine in court as a first offender.

I don't have money though to reclaim the car, it's an old one anyways. If i don't claim it, will they scrap it and no problem anymore and I pay the fine for the offence after court, or how does it go?

I actually made new insurance the day they impounded it, which I cancelled today, since I realized I am very much so in need of paying roadtax as well to get the vehicle. It is economically not viable to pay everything, the car doesn't worth anything compared to it.

So my question is, do I need to go and tell Gardai that I cannot pay for the re-claiming of the vehicle, so they should scrap it? Or should I just go to court and let the car rot?

If they scrap it, will I have to pay more over the fine? I don't really get it what are the options, I don't really have money to claim a car that has 125 per first day and 35 per day storage, with all the tax and new insurance.

Thanks for the help, and before you say, I know it was a mistake to use the car. Hopefully the judge won't see me as a regular offender, since I am not.

Thanks!

goz83

You mean you are not regularly caught. I doubt this is the first time you drove to collect your benefits, but rather the first time you got caught. It wasn't a mistake, it was reckless. Sorry, but I hate people being so laid back about driving a car no insurance. No tax and no nct is one thing, but no insurance is much worse. If you had an accident...my insurance pays for your "mistake".

If you "made" new insurance that day, you would not be writing here, so that is not really true, is it. If it was, you would be able to show an insurance cert to the Gardai.

You'd be better to have this moved to the legal forum anyway.

Flatlinezor

I did not realize there is a legal one, sorry.

goz83

Flatlinezor wrote: »

I did not realize there is a legal one, sorry.

Ask a mod to move thread to legal. And tell them the truth, or the information will be useless to you.

the_syco

Flatlinezor wrote: »

I actually made new insurance the day they impounded it, which I cancelled today

I'm assuming this was done after it got taken off you?

When it goes to court, you may get another fine for not having valid insurance at the time, not displaying tax, and maybe the back tax as well.

Flatlinezor

They have taken it because it did not have insurance, that is how i started. I wanted to get it back, made new insurance but then realized probably it is not worth it to get it, since I was back on tax a bit.

So the real question is, if I cant get the car, are they surely force me to pay the tax as well? That was one part of the question and the second was whether I can just leave the car without communicating or should I tell them to scrap it.

As far as I read, only 30% of people claim their vehicles, since they are kindof in a similar situation. I guess all they pay is the fine (or go to jail), but not everything backtaxed /insurance.

Chippy01

Leave the car where it is. IIRC apart from the fine, it's a mandatory ban for getting caught driving uninsured

corktina

Chippy01 wrote: »

Leave the car where it is. IIRC apart from the fine, it's a mandatory ban for getting caught driving uninsured

I was thinking that was the case. The OP doesn't seem to realise what a serious offence having no insurance is.

Spook_ie

Chippy01 wrote: »

Leave the car where it is. IIRC apart from the fine, it's a mandatory ban for getting caught driving uninsured

Not always but is a distinct possibility

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/travel_and_recreation/motoring_1/motor_tax_and_insurance/motor_insurance.html

Rules

You must have motor insurance to drive a car in your own name or as a named driver on someone else's policy.

Failure to have motor insurance or driving without insurance in Ireland is generally punishable by:

A fine of up to €5,000
5 penalty points and
At the discretion of the court, a term of imprisonment not exceeding six months.

The court may decide that you be disqualified from driving instead of incurring penalty points. In that case, you will be disqualified for 2 years or more for a first offence and 4 years or more in the case of a second offence committed within 3 years of the first.

You should note that where a member of An Garda Síochána (Irish police force) believes that a vehicle registered in Ireland (or outside Ireland) is being used in a public place without insurance, the vehicle may be impounded.

CiniO

I though that cars impounded on the spot from drivers who didn't have tax or insurance were done for purpose of stopping driver from driving vehicle any further there and then.

I don't think though, obtaining insurance and tax is requirement to claim the car back. OP should be easily allowed to come with towing truck and take the car back to his private place without paying any tax and insurance.. In the end it's his car.