“My Car Was Confiscated At A Street Takeover” Now What?
by Alex Lloyd Gross
Imagine being attracted to the street takeover culture where people engage in drifting, drag racing and other reckless activities. At time bottles or rocks are thrown at responding police. This being a night unlike no other night you go to where this is happening and decide to do donuts or help block traffic. You never did that before. In the past, you just parked and watched from the sidewalk. That night, the police come and find you engaged in that kind of activity. Before, you were a spectator. Now spectators are watching you. There is nowhere to run to and you are one of three vehicles boxed in.
Your vehicle winds up being confiscated. For the nearby future, your vehicle is gone. “You have to pay the fines and costs and fees before the car is returned”, said Miguel Torres a spokesperson for the Philadelphia Police.
It’s much worse than that. Should you finance the vehicle, you still would have to pay the car loan every month. Since you are not driving it, you probably will not be paying the loan. Finally, when you go to court, the fees, fines and costs total into the thousands of dollars. If you don’t pay for your car to get out, the city will sell it at auction. That is if it is paid off in full.
If it goes into repossession, the bank will be responsible for paying fees to retrieve your vehicle. They will be passing those fees onto you. The bank will then sell the vehicle at auction, keeping all of the money. The only saving grace is if (let’s say) you owe the city $3800.00 in costs, and the car sells for $5000.00, then the city (or your bank) should refund you the difference.
Should your car loan be co signed by a parent or friend, you just screwed up their credit. The bank wants their money. You want another vehicle and you see finance deals for 0 percent. You go in and you are a bad risk. You do not qualify, but your loan is 18 percent, through a high risk lender. The same for your parent or friend.
According to Torres, you could be fined for just watching the mayhem. Police use security video and license plate readers to track movements of vehicles. You could get jammed up for your participation several months down the road. Police are still making arrests for a SEPT 21,2024 night of carnage.
Alex Lloyd Gross File Photo Delaware Valley News.com A drag race on the Roosevelt Boulevard
Should you borrow a friend’s ( or a parent’s car), your friend or your parents must prove they were not driving. In the meantime, fees and costs add up. Tell your dad his 2019 Mercedes got confiscated due to the fact that you watched a street takeover. Torres said that “It is possible that spectators can lose their cars as well”. At the very least, tickets will come to your home for your dad to pay.
You will have to hire a lawyer. They are not cheap. “Only a court can reduce fines and costs, not the police”, Torres said. Getting payment arrangements is up to the court.
Besides that, driving privileges will be suspended .