AU$18 million or about US$18.1 million at the current exchange rates. That�s how many Australian dollars some 226 plus Aussies owe BMW�s unimaginatively named financial arm "BMW Finance". The Bavarian automotive giant is now perusing bankruptcy proceedings against these persons in Australia�s Federal Magistrates� Court in an effort to recoup the debt from hundreds of unpaid car loans.
It�s all rather depressing, really, especially in the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis. Take one man who bought an AU$80,000 Lexus on credit shortly before he lost his AU$110,000 job. Or the woman who signed her name on a car loan for her and her husband, only to have him leave her and get stuck with the debt. "They repossessed the car, but they still want [AU]$25,000. I don't know what to do,� said the 34 year-old.
