Collection after Repossession

Sorry to say that is the way it works for secured debt.If you do not work a payment arrangement with them they will probably sue for judgement.With all the paperwork that is generated on a secured loan,they should prove their case very easily.

Is there a major discrepancy between what your car was sold for, and "fair market value?"

If so, you may be able to contest the (probable) auction sale of the vehicle.

I know that I owed around $8000 and originally $7107 showed up on my credit report before I started making payments. So, to me that looks like it was sold for about $1000.
Today, that vehicle blue books for about $3200 and this happened in 2004.

"Fair market value" also depends on the condition of the vehicle, which in my experience, most repos do not come back in very good condition. When a car goes to public auction, you can't contest how much it is sold for, since it was a sale held in and among the public -- The public paid what they thought it was worth.

If it was a private sale auction, you can request to see the bids. Lenders are required to obtain at least 3 bids in a private sale, and they must sell the car to the highest bidder.

Also blue book is retail value. A car will generally resell at auction for around black book / rough value.

2-3 years after the fact, I'm not sure how or if you'd still be able to contest that sale.

Cajunbulldog- Any thoughts?

So the basic sentiment I am hearing here is that this is how this situation works and I have to deal with it. Not a problem, but I was just unsure of how this worked. Kind of seemed unfair, but I will deal with it.
On another note.....
I have received a notice from a CA stating that they have purchased the debt, but on my CR it still list the dealership as the creditor. Who do I deal with?

The only way I see that may give you a leg to stand on is to review the laws in you state pertaining to repossesion. You will want look very closely at what and when they were required to notify you. If they did not follow the law properly,it may be enough leverage to win.

DC-thank you for the clarification private versus public auction. I was not aware of that.

Yes generally they need to send a notice of intent, and give you a 21-30 day redemption period to redeem the vehicle before they can sell it. They usually need to mail their notice regular and certified RRR.

Anytime after that redemption period, it is fair game to sell it at either public or private auction. In some states, I think they can even pass the costs of bringing it to auction onto the debtor.

After they sell the vehicle, they also are required to send you an accounting of the sale, showing how much they sold the car for and any deficiency balance you owe. You may have a point of contention if they never mailed you this notice.

You mentioned it was 2-3 years ago. Keep an eye on the statute of limitations as well. They have to sue you and win to keep a judgment alive for the deficiency. If they fail to sue within the time allowed by law in your sate, and sometimes they do, look for the account to be turned over to a third-party debt collector.

Does filing for a bankruptcy helps?

Jobii,
That is difficult to answer openended like you put it.
Please tell us what you are dealing with that makes you want to consider this? No need to post personal info,just amounts and types of debt would suffice.