Repossessed cars attract large crowds

HUNDREDS of hopeful buyers streamed to Aucor Auctions yesterday, where over 120 mostly bank-repossessed cars went under the hammer.

With the Namibian economy undergoing tough times, many car owners are not able to pay their instalments, forcing banks to repossess the cars. Yesterday's auction saw cars ranging from sedans, hatchbacks, pickups, minibuses to trucks on display. Aucor Namibia owner, Neil Engelbrecht, said while many think that the majority of the cars were repossessed, it was not always the case as some were former fleet vehicles, or belonged to an estate that had to be liquidated. He said quite a number of vehicles auctioned yesterday came from the education ministry's fleet, which had cancelled its fleet lease agreement due to budget cuts. Engelbrecht added that the repossession situation in Namibia was not as bad as popularly thought. “Two hundred and fifty one (vehicles) are currently in stock as repossessed, countrywide, while 100 have been sold to date,” he said. The repossessed vehicles included trucks and buses, while trailers were also seen. The auction went well, according to Engelbrecht, as all vehicles were sold. The VW Polos went for an average N$85 000, buses went for approximately N$190 000, and a much-talked-about 2017 Toyota Land Cruiser V6 (2 943km) was sold for N$410 000, while a 2009 Hummer H3 Adventure was auctioned for a mere N$75 000.