Usually cars for sale – whether following repossession, part exchange or end of contract – are cluttered up only with unwanted rubbish like food wrappers, newspapers or old clothes when they are checked in, valeted and inspected ready to be auctioned.
But occasionally staff find precious, eyebrow-raising or just plain bizarre possessions that they must do their best to return to their rightful owners via the finance companies supplying the vehicle.
Here are some of G3’s most memorable finds during the past decade:
- A live corn snake – as they only eat once a week, this pet didn’t go too hungry before being united with its owner and seemed quite happy curled up on a cosy passenger seat in the meantime.
- A gold wedding ring stashed carefully in a glove compartment – but somehow forgotten about when it came to saying goodbye to the car.
- Blow up dolls … and an inflatable sheep. At least on a couple of occasions! Essential props for a stag or hen weekend, perhaps?
- A slightly squashed but otherwise still serviceable birthday cake, making a change from the bits of old pizza crust or biscuit crumbs that are usually found. Sad that someone didn’t get to blow out their candles, though.
- A boot crammed with boxes of DVDs of the latest blockbuster movies – swiftly collected by the owner who was probably a market trader.
- Drugs! From bags of what appear to be cocaine or pills, to the prescription stuff in proper packaging. Any discovery of street drugs requires a call to the police who take things from there.
- Whips and chains. Possessions don’t often jangle and clang when you remove them from a vehicle but these did.
- A pair of crystal-encrusted Jimmy Choo designer heels that probably cost more than £1,000, happily collected by their presumably barefoot owner.
- A full five-a-side football team’s kit – brand new in its packaging.
- An unmarked box containing an urn of someone’s ashes – which of course were duly reunited with their keeper.
Gareth Jones, Marketing Manager at G3, says: “These finds are a reminder never to leave anything in your car. Always take your valuables with you – whether they be your pet snake or your best shoes.”
