In the Polish capital, hundreds of abandoned cars are recognized as unclaimed after a certain procedure to find their owners and are sent to auction. In May, 40 people were competing for some brands and models, and prices doubled.
The May auction attracted more than 300 participants. They fought for 37 cars that had been removed from Warsaw’s yards by the City Roads Department and officially recognized as no one’s property. Only four cars did not show interest.
According to vitrina.pl, all these cars were towed from the streets of the capital and even after six months their owners have not appeared. According to the law, they have now become the property of the city.
At the same time, cars that were parked incorrectly are not offered for sale. Cars without license plates or whose condition indicates that they have not been used and abandoned by their owners are going under the hammer. Some of the cars from that nationalized property set records for demand.
The most popular car at the auction was a 2013 Mazda 6 with a 2.0 liter gasoline engine. It received 44 offers! Initially, this car was going to be sold for PLN 19,500/brutto, i.e. UAH 198,463, but as a result of the auction, Mazda 6 was bought for PLN 34,077, which is UAH 346,829 in our money.
The next place is occupied by the 2008 Toyota RAV4 with a 2.0 liter gasoline engine. Initially, it was valued at 11,800 zł/brutto (120,095 UAH), and was bought for 23,601 zł (240,200 UAH). More than 40 people also fought for this car.
A 2010 Renault Master minibus with a 2.5-liter gasoline engine was supposed to be sold for 4,500 zł/brutto (UAH 45,820), but it was bought for 10,593 zł (UAH 107,816).
For a 2008 Jaguar XF with a 2.7-liter diesel engine, they initially asked for 4,100 zł/brutto (41,730 UAH), but the car was bought for 10,500 zlotys (106,865 UAH).
If all 37 cars are transferred to new owners, the city will receive almost 216,000 zlotys, or UAH 2,198,380.
For the first time, the Warsaw Road Service began selling abandoned cars in the fall of 2021. The list of lots at that auction included eight cars, seven of which found new owners, and one car was no longer of interest. The city was enriched by 92.7 thousand zlotys (UAH 943,329).
Later, there were more such cars. In 2022, 63 abandoned cars were sold (the sale was organized twice). Back then, 45 cars found new owners, and the amount received by the road company for them was PLN 364,600 (UAH 3,710,522).
In March 2023, the biggest sale was announced yet. At that time, the list included 77 cars, including 4 that were put up again. Among them was a motorcycle. As a result, 59 cars and a motorcycle found new owners. The city budget was replenished by more than PLN 400,000 (UAH 4,070,979).
The auction in June 2023 was also successful. Out of 46 vehicles, 31 cars and 1 scooter were sold. The treasury received almost 236,000 zlotys (UAH 2,401,626) from that sale, including 37,000 zlotys (UAH 376,526) for a BMW 5 Series, which was the most expensive car sold at this tender.
In October 2023, the sixth tender was held, in which 48 vehicles were offered, of which 46 were sold. At that time, the city budget received more than 300,000 zlotys from the sale, which corresponds to UAH 3,052,960.
When the next list will be generated and what will be included in the sale lots, no preliminary announcement has been made yet.
