When a car gets repoed do they have to give you options to get your car back if so how many days do you have to take care of it in Texas?

Answer 1

Well, the repo company takes the repossessed vehicle to a storage lot or auction house, where it's stored for a period of time. Under state law, the repossessed vehicle must be sold in a "commercially reasonable" manner. You must be given reasonable notice of the date, time and place of the sale, which has been interpreted to mean no fewer than 10 days after the date you were given notice of the sale, at the last known address the lienholder had for you. Now, they only have to mail the letter, not see that you get it. So, for this purpose you would always want to pick up your mail, it's usually sent certified mail, so that you know what's going on. The notice is good if mailed, whether or not you pick it up from the post office. The lienholder is also supposed to give notice to anyone else who signed on the contract, such as a co-signer.

Now, this notice of the sale is intended to give you an opportunity to "redeem" the vehicle, that is raise the money to get it back. Almost without exception, a bank or finance company, whoever has repo'd your vehicle,will insist upon you paying the full amount of the debt, plus all expenses of repossessing and storing the car, to get it back. Depending upon your circumstances, you may want to try to borrow the money from a friend or relative to redeem it, have the friend or relative co-sign a new loan for the vehicle for you to get the car back, or find another way to come up with the money. The repossession can be reported on your credit report for 7 years. If you redeem the vehicle, that fact also shows on your credit, and I would think make it look somewhat better.

If you can't (or won't) redeem the vehicle, and you do nothing else, such as file bankruptcy, then the vehicle will be sold, typically at auction, and the proceeds applied to the balance due on the loan, and you still owe the difference between what you owed on the loan, and what the vehicle was auctioned for, and this often is not anywhere near what you could sell it for. Also, the lender tacks on all the costs of repossession, storage and sale fees, etc., etc.