Can a towing company purchase a vehicle for lien amount at its own auction in Florida?

Question

Car was towed by towing company. The vehicle stood there for over 50 days (long story), and the car was set for auction to satisfy towing lien. All formal notice was given, and vehicle was auctioned. The only thing is, the towing company who has a clear interest in the auction, is the one who ultimately bought the vehicle for 700 dollars (the car is a 2005 Audi A4 convertible worth over 30k.)--they were probably the only bidder. The FL statute doesnt have any guidelines for the actual conduct of the auction and doesnt say the towing company running the sale can't bid, but it seems like this is just plain wrong, and reeks of foul play. They probably hid the car and didnt even present it at the auction. It seems unbelieveable to me that noone would bid even that small amount on this beautiful brand new vehicle. Any advice?

Answer 1

Start shopping for another car.
Sad but true.

Answer 2

2 things to consider - if you allowed the towing company to store the car for that amount of time with out paying the bill that's all on you ! and yes they do have the right to bid on that car ! before you call the lending company to inform them that the car was towed and sold and auction for lien price you need to have all the information in front of you to try and get them to go after the towing company for any money owed to them, like when it was towed , where it was towed from , where it was towed to how long it held at the tow yard ,amount they said you needed to pay to reclaim the vehicle and when they said you needed to have it paid by , it would also help you to know when it was auctioned , amount of purchase , name of person or company who purchased the car you always want to make them simpathize with you and it could make the difference between you still having to make a payment without a vehicle to show for it and them having to pay off the amount of the loan .

Answer 3

That does seem very odd, was the auction advertised in your local paper, or do you know if it was advertised at all? I would think the lender on this car would be interested to know of its whereabouts.