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Repossed Car Question

Submitted by on Thu, 03/10/2005 - 08:41
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I have a vehicle that has been threatened with re-possession. I am struggling to make payments on this car that is worth less then a third of the amount that I currently owe on it. I am starting to think that re-possession wouldn't be the worst thing ever. If the car were to be repossessed the lender has told me already that they would auction it off and I would still be responsible for paying the difference between the auction price and the remainder of the loan.

If the car is no longer in my possession, but I still owe on the loan, does that then make it an 'un-secure' loan since the collateral is gone? If so, does that mean it qualifies for debt consolidation purposes? Does this sound like a bad way to get myself out of this situation? Any suggestions as to another way to tackle this issue?

Any comments or suggestions are welcome.

Thanks!


Creditors view secured credit payment history very seriously. Anything like a car or home with late pays or repossession is a very serious mark on your credit report.

As you mentioned, the car can be repossessed, sold at auction for a fraction of what you owe, and then you may be billed for the remainder of the current balance on your auto loan. This is a pretty bad situation, for you are then paying on a car you do not own, have a rotten credit history that will make purchasing another car very difficult, and will still need transportation.

Even if a settlement company would take this on, debt settlement on the remainder of this loan may be much more difficult with potentially less than favorable settlement rates than regular unsecured credit.

My advice? Review your budget thoroughly, cut back on whatever you can, make those payments religiously on time, and even get a second job if you have to pay this off. This will be staying on your credit report for the next 7 years - are you sure what will be happening in your life for the next 7 years?

Will you risk needing a car loan, apt. rental or home purchase that may require a healthy credit score? Many folks think credit scores only affect the ability to get credit, but more and more landlords are hesitant to rent to potential tenants who have demonstrated a lack of good payment history. Some jobs also require that you demonstrate good financial management if you have a fiduciary responsibility as part of your job description.

Evaluate carefully, and good luck on improving your cash flow!

Arise, go forth, and Conquer! (Alfred Lord Tennyson) :wink:


Submitted by on Fri, 03/11/2005 - 22:22

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I had files Bankruptcey back in 2001 i just recently lost my job do to a on the job Injury what will happen out of this the vechicle was discharged in the bankruptcey ?


Submitted by on Sun, 07/23/2006 - 20:32

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I was recenlty repossed


Submitted by on Sun, 07/23/2006 - 20:33

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It was recently repossed sorry for the bad spelling


Submitted by on Sun, 07/23/2006 - 20:34

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csp - You would be better off selling the car yourself. You will not get much in their auction and they will take you to court for the balance, perhaps even winning a wage garn on your paycheck.

Its tough spot to be in. I would keep in contact with them and keep begging for extensions. Do whatever you can to get caught up so it does not get to the repo point. Just in case it may not be a bad idea to start parking your car where they can't find it.


Submitted by Glynnie11 on Sun, 07/23/2006 - 23:28

Glynnie11

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I had a car repossed and they want to charge me $50.00 to get my personal property back. Is this legal?


Submitted by on Tue, 08/14/2007 - 17:49

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im going to move,but i am behind on my car payments,the car is owned by a small car lot,what if they cant find the car,and if they do in one year or two years what do they do then?


Submitted by on Tue, 09/11/2007 - 18:46

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Once they find it they will repo it. The car is owned by the bank that made the loan now not the lot. It would be difficult to hide a car I think for 2 years unless you park it in a garage and never use it. No matter where you go you still need to plate the car and you need a driver????????s license. I suppose you could never update that information but you will be forced to if you are ever pulled over for any reason. The longest I have driven with expired plates was 6 months and then I was pulled over for having expired plates (hehe). Expired plates are not a big deal if you get pulled over. To fix the problem you just have to pay the tax and send proof into the DA. I have never had an expired license but I have gone a long time without updating my address when I move. That depends on where you live though. If you move to a new state and get pulled over they will question the fact that your license, plate and proof of insurance do not much via address. If you move across town and never change counties then they can not tell the difference. Officers always ask if the address is correct on your license though so you would have to lie.

Hiding a car will just screw up your credit. You would be better off to either sell it and buy something cheaper or figure out a way to make the payments.


Submitted by DOLLARSandSINCE on Wed, 09/12/2007 - 06:23

DOLLARSandSINCE

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Is the car vital for you to have? Can you travel to work with public transportation? I woldnt recommend hiding the veicle or driving around with expired plates etc. That will bring more problems for sure. If the car is nt so important for your lifestyle, sell it yourself and pay off some of your loans!


Submitted by stefan on Mon, 09/17/2007 - 18:10

stefan

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My car was repossed for not paying two months. I was on deployment during those two monthsd and set up an automatic allotmaent from my bank to the vechicle loan bank. Yesterday after five hours on the phone with the vechicle bank I found out that before I left for deployment, the bank representative I spoke to inputted the wrong checking account number and that is why the vechicle had no payments on it. Anyway I made the payments for the two months and the next four months too. There was no notificatiopn on the banks part regarding late payments. They had my email address. Please I need your advice. Am I the only person who sees this as unfair. My car is still not back with me. I spoke to the bank and told them it was not that I did not want to pay the account info that the bank representative inout was wong. They told me to suck it up and thank my stars that I am getting the car back...in two weeks.


Submitted by on Thu, 10/04/2007 - 20:54

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Whoa!!!! That is BS...this is a bank that holds the loan?

Contact the OCC...The Office of the Comptroller of Currency. They are the government agency that regulates banks. If they cant directly help you, they will point you in the right direction.

Contacting Customer Assistance
You can reach the OCC Customer Assistance by calling our toll free number, 1-800-613-6743, Monday - Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Central Time or by sending an email to Customer.Assistance(at)occ.treas.gov.


And thank you for your service :)


Submitted by volleyballmom on Thu, 10/04/2007 - 21:06

volleyballmom

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That is major b.s. You need do as volley suggested. Since I am assuming by your post that you are in the military perhaps you could go to your commander and discuss this situation with them. There has got to be something that they can do to help you out in this situation since you were an enlisted solider in a deployment status.

ladybug


Submitted by ladybug on Thu, 10/04/2007 - 21:19

ladybug

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so got my car back today. isn't that weird? if your car was repossesed by the bank can you get your car back in less than 24 hours? doesn't the vechicle have to go through some process that takes a couple of days. it's like the bank is hiding something.


Submitted by on Fri, 10/05/2007 - 21:47

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the bank is FIFTHTHIRD. be aware of this bank.


Submitted by on Fri, 10/05/2007 - 21:48

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HI I have a question. my car payment is aeriously delinquent but havent repossessed yet becasue I just moved to a new address..can I still pay this while its still with me..will they consider it?.im almost 3 months delay and i want to pay but imm scared that they wont accept anymore.


Submitted by on Sun, 02/03/2008 - 16:34

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my car was repossed without notification from small car lot, whats the law?


Submitted by on Mon, 08/04/2008 - 19:07

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IF THEY TAKE THE CAR AND WANT THE BALANCE WILL THEY SET UP PAYMENTS BEFORE GARNISHING A CHECK OR IF YOU VOLUNTEER THE CAR BACK AND WANT TO SET UP PAYMENTS DOES IT STILL GO ON YOUR CREDIT


Submitted by on Wed, 09/24/2008 - 16:40

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Either way, it will probably end up on your credit. However, when you voluntarily give the car back it gets reported as a "voluntary surrender" -- which is still a bad mark but doesn't look as bad as a "repossession." It at least shows that you did the honorable thing by giving it back instead of making them come take it by force.

Whatever the remaining balance is, they'd probably rather setup payments than go the legal route. You might be able to negotiate with them that if you eventually pay it off then they will remove it from your credit.


Submitted by DebtCruncher on Wed, 09/24/2008 - 18:25

DebtCruncher

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my car is in repossession for not paying the last few months of my bill ,im am trying to hide it till i get more cash for a new car what will happen if i sell it private and don't care about court charge will the buyer have to hand car over to credit people


Submitted by on Wed, 10/01/2008 - 11:10

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If you find someone that will buy it without a title, they won't be able to register it in their name; the creditor could still repossess it, and the court could ultimately order them to give it back. They could also consider that fraud when you convey interest in property that you have no rights to. Some states also consider conversion of mortgaged property to be a form of theft.


Submitted by DebtCruncher on Wed, 10/01/2008 - 20:54

DebtCruncher

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they repo my car the finance company is telling me i cant get it back because i havent paid 30% of balance accordind to illinois repossesion laws. i will have to pay full balance in order to retrieve it


Submitted by on Mon, 11/03/2008 - 10:31

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they repo my car the finance company is telling me i cant get it back because i havent paid 30% of balance accordind to illinois repossesion laws. i will have to pay full balance in order to retrieve it


Submitted by on Mon, 11/03/2008 - 10:31

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In IL, you always have a right to redeem the vehicle by paying it off. They have to give you 21 days to pay the full balance before they can sell the car.

If you had paid at least 30% of the payments before repossession, you would have a right to reinstate the note by paying only the past-due amount, and get your car back. However, if you did not make 30% of the payments, they don't have to give you that option -- they can demand the full balance.

Unfortunately that's just the way the law is written. You should ask to speak to a manager, explain your situation, and see if they can work something out. In this economy creditors are not wanting to sell repos; they may just let you have the car back if you talk to the right person.


Submitted by DebtCruncher on Mon, 11/03/2008 - 19:03

DebtCruncher

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what happends when they repossed my car do have to still pay?will they put ajugement on me


Submitted by on Thu, 12/04/2008 - 18:22

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the car is alimousine that i do buisiness with and it is always braken down,now i need transmission it will cost $7000 i dont have it, so now i cant work so now i cant pay the payments,i am one month behind,what do i do now?


Submitted by on Thu, 12/04/2008 - 18:28

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i have a car that is in repossesion status....is there a way to hide the car til i can work out payments on it...how do they locste your car if they doint know where it is...is it worth it to hide it s few blocks away from house


Submitted by on Tue, 03/10/2009 - 13:34

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Repo guys are paid on contingency, which means they don't get paid unless they actually get the car. For that reason, they don't give up very easily, and they are very good at what they do.

Believe me, parking it a few blocks away isn't a new trick. They will canvass the whole area and find it. If not, they'll sit in front of your house and wait for you to come out, then they'll follow you to see where you park it.

They'll follow you to work, to the store, to the gym, etc; sooner or later they will grab the car when you're not expecting it.

In worst case, if they absolutely can't find it, the creditor can go file for a replevin order, in which a judge will order you to give them back the car. If you still don't after a judge orders, then you can be held and jailed in contempt of court. Also, keep in mind, if they have to go get a court order they will tack those costs and attorney fees onto your loan balance.

Your best bet is going to be to find some way to either pay them or work out some sort of arrangements with them to stop the repossession.


Submitted by DebtCruncher on Tue, 03/10/2009 - 16:55

DebtCruncher

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THEY REPO MY SON VEHICLE AND I (MOM) CO-SIGN ABOUT 3YEARS AGO AND NOW THEY ARE CALLING ME AT WORK. I WILL NOT PAY FOR IT. MY SON AS NO PHONE AND NO WORK. I KNOW IT WILL MESS MY CREDIT SCORE BUT I AM WILLING TO TAKE THAT RISK.


Submitted by on Thu, 04/09/2009 - 13:09

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I need to know if my car is repo'd, Can they garnish my wages? I live in Michigan,if that makes a difference. Thank You


Submitted by on Mon, 04/20/2009 - 18:19

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if a car has been in repossession for over two years and the repo company can't find it what happens?


Submitted by on Wed, 05/13/2009 - 10:51

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Sometimes the lender will get an order from the judge and you will have to hand the car over.

A friend of mine drove her car for almost 2 years before the repo man caught up with her.

They will either eventually find you or like I said, they can get an order and you will be required by law to hand the car over.


Submitted by sassy_lil_brandy on Wed, 05/13/2009 - 11:07

sassy_lil_brandy

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1) They have to give you a redemption period (usually 21 days, but varies from state to state) to redeem your car before they can sell it. Any time after the redemption period, they are free to sell it to the highest bidder at private or public auction.

2) There is no legal time frame for how quickly they must sell it (just that it should be done within a "commercially reasonable manner"). Albeit they should not be trying to collect on a deficiency balance until they do actually sell it -- so if they want to hold it for a year before they sell it, then they shouldn't be trying to collect during that time. ... although personally I would argue that holding the car for a year is not commercially reasonable since the car depreciated over a year ,and thereby injured you since they had to sell it for less.


Submitted by DebtCruncher on Fri, 06/05/2009 - 09:19

DebtCruncher

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Depends how well they are hiding it. Are they going to keep it hidden and never drive it again?

Repo guys do their job and do it well (because they don't get paid unless they get the car). They will probably stake out work and/or the house to wait and see if the person ever goes to retrieve the car. Then they'll follow it and grab it at the most opportune moment.

When all else fails, they'll go to court and get a replevin order. Then a judge will order surrender of the vehicle, and if the family member doesn't comply they can be jailed for contempt of court. Court costs and attorney fees get added onto the loan balance, if the lender has to go that route.


Submitted by DebtCruncher on Fri, 08/14/2009 - 15:42

DebtCruncher

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My friend cosigned for me to get a car. I fell behind on payments. the car was repossed and I paid the difference a settlement with the loan company. this was in 2007. Now in 2009 my friend gets a letter from the IRS stating, earned income in the price of the settled loan added to her yearly income for 2007 and a tax payment of 989.00 owed on car . Is this correct I thought a settlement meant settlement.


Submitted by on Fri, 09/11/2009 - 18:29

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If you have a car and you cannot make payments on it anymore and you know the car is going to get repossesed, and you will have to pay the difference off, well, look at it like this. At least you don't have to worry about the full car payments anymore and at least you don't have to pay any car insurance anymore. Even though you have to pay off the difference, at least at that time in your life you will have a break, wtih that car payment and the insurance, and you will be able to make a payment plan to pay off the difference, Hey at least it will not be as much money as it was when you were paying the full car payment and the insurance. Hey why suffer.


Submitted by on Sun, 01/03/2010 - 04:32

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