Repossession

When you finance or lease a vehicle, your creditor holds important rights on the vehicle until you've made the last loan payment or fully paid off your lease obligation. These rights are established by the signed contract and by state law. If your payments are late or you default on your contract in any way, your creditor may have the right to repossess your car. Talking with Your Creditor

It is easier to try to prevent a vehicle repossession from taking place than to dispute it afterward. Contact your creditor when you realize you'll be late with a payment. Many creditors will work with you if they believe you'll be able to pay soon, even if slightly late. Sometimes you may be able to negotiate a delay in your payment or a revised schedule of payments. If you reach an agreement to modify your original contract, get it in writing to avoid questions later. Still, your creditor may refuse to accept late payments or make other changes in your contract and may demand that you return the car. By voluntarily agreeing to a repossession, you may reduce your creditor's expenses, which you would be responsible for paying. Remember that even if you return the car voluntarily, you're responsible for paying any deficiency on your credit or lease contract, and your creditor still may report the late payments and/or repossession on your credit report. Seizing the Car

In many states, your creditor has legal authority to seize your vehicle as soon as you default on your loan or lease. Because state laws differ, read your contract to find out what constitutes a "default." In most states, failing to make a payment on time or to meet your other contractual responsibilities are considered defaults. In some states, creditors are allowed on your property to seize your car without letting you know in advance. But creditors aren't usually allowed to "breach the peace" in connection with repossession. In some states, removing your car from a closed garage without your permission may constitute a breach of the peace. Creditors who breach the peace in seizing your car may have to pay you if they harm you or your property. A creditor usually can't keep or sell any personal property found inside. State laws also may require your creditor to use reasonable care to prevent others from removing your property from the repossessed car. If you find that your creditor can't account for articles left in your car, talk to an attorney about whether your state offers a right to compensation. Selling the Car

Once your creditor has repossessed your car, they may decide to sell it in either a public or private sale. In some states, your creditor must let you know what will happen to the car. For example, if a creditor chooses to sell the car at public auction, state law may require that the creditor tells you the date of the sale so that you can attend and participate in the bidding. If the vehicle is to be sold privately, you may have a right to know the date it will be sold. In either of these circumstances, you may be entitled to buy back the vehicle by paying the full amount you owe, plus any expenses connected with its repossession (such as storage and preparation for sale). In some states, the law allows you to reinstate your contract by paying the amount you owe, as well as repossession and related expenses (such as attorney fees). If you reclaim your car, you must make your payments on time and meet the terms of your reinstated or renegotiated contract to avoid another repossession. The creditor must sell a repossessed car in a "commercially reasonable manner" - according to standard custom in a particular business or an established market. The sale price might not be the highest possible price - or even what you may consider a good price. But a sale price far below fair market value may indicate that the sale was not commercially reasonable. Paying the Deficiency

A deficiency is any amount you still owe on your contract after your creditor sells the vehicle and applies the amount received to your unpaid obligation. For example, if you owe $2,500 on the car and your creditor sells the car for $1,500, the deficiency is $1,000 plus any other fees you owe under the contract, such as those related to the repossession and early termination of your lease or early payoff of your financing. In most states, a creditor who has followed the proper procedures for repossession and sale is allowed to sue you for a deficiency judgment to collect the remaining amount owed on your credit or lease contract. Depending on your state's law and other factors, if you are sued for a deficiency judgment, you should be notified of the date of the court hearing. This may be your only opportunity to present any legal defense. If your creditor breached the peace when seizing the vehicle or failed to sell the car in a commercially reasonable manner, you may have a legal defense against a deficiency judgment. An attorney will be able to tell you whether you have grounds to contest a deficiency judgment.

Typically when the cost of repair reaches 80% and for sure at 90% on the initial appraisal.

The lender should let you know, you can contact them and they should tell you.

Cosigning for ANYONE is one big mistake. If the person you cosign for is not making the payments then the person that cosigned is responsible for all payments. I have no idea why anyone would want to do this. Unless there were stipulations in the contract you signed with the buyer, then no, they can't just up and sell the car. Take another look at your contract. Marcy

The finance company will sell the wrecked car and you will be liable for the balance on yourloan less whatever the car sells for which in your case will be almost the total of your outstanding loan.Then they will come after you for the money.

Chances are the finance company will take what they can get from the car at auction even 3-4 thousand at auction beats nothing.Then they can come after youfor the remainder.Even if they sell your debt to a collection agency at 40 centson the dollar that's another $2500.00 giving them roughly what $5,000.00....surebeats the alternative of giving you the car for free.

If they had a judgment and could collect from your bank account or garnish yourwages they would do it and not bother calling you.I suspect the time limit for collections is close to being up and they can renew it with a phone call so don'tanswer their calls.

It all depends on the bank and your credit. Here, with ok to good credit we can go 66 months. And I've seen terms as long as 80 months. But I definitely don't suggest going for more than 60 months on any car, preferable 36 to 48 months on used cars (such as this one).

== == Ask the state of Tennesse, thru it's web site. Look for regulations and state licensing requirements. Unless you have current contacts with banks and loan companies, you won't do much business. The companies that have the work are NOT going to give it to an unknown start up. You should consider working for a established repo company for few years, to learn the business, and make some friends of your own in the banking and loan sectors.

Yes, you can. My father did this. The thing is, you get a really high interest rate. You could try to have someone co-sign to get the interest rate down a little. Yes but why would you want too??save your money and buy a used car outright.Then there are no car payments or paying full coverage insurance.Think of the money you will save.

If it's just the glass, most glass intaller companies can make you a new glass for the mirror for around $15-$25 and glue it back on. If it is the mount where the mirror is attached to the car itself, try visiting your local junk/salvage yard. For a manual mirror expect to pay between $10-$30, for an electric mirror, and or heated mirror, expect to pay around $50-150.

It depends.Once you are one day late they can repo.But they usually wait 30-45 days depending on your payment history.If they call you talk to them they will work with you.

Depends on a few different variables. A) The original finance contract, what it says is what goes. B) Your state's laws. C) Any court proceedings which may dictate how long you have.

Yes I don't know why not.Unless you don't what her too.

They should.You can dispute it with the credit agency.Send the credit agency a dispute letter .

That depends on the lender and how long you've gone without paying. Usually the process is that you are contacted by the dealership. Then it may be turned over to a collections agency and a lawyer. Then you may be sued for payment. If its a small private dealership and you have the car loan in your name and you're not paying for it, it's theft, after all. I'm pretty sure the dealership can't call and have you arrested but after awhile of contacting you for payment and the court trying to get you to pay, if you don't show up for court they can serve you with papers and/or have you arrested, yes. I appreciate your response, Yinzer. The situation is just an unfortunate series of events. I got the car loan at a small bad credit/no credit dealership (I have a history of unfortunate events.) I was struggling to make the payment, but remained more or less caught up. Then I moved across country with the anticipation of a better job. The better job never happened and in 4 months I have been unable to make the payment. My ultimate intention is to return the car to the dealership and face the music, but right now I am unable financially to make the trip back to the state where I came from. They are unaware of the move and I suppose that is how I have managed to avoid actual reposession until this point. I would contact them to be upfront about the situation, but they are going to want the car back and I have no way to get it back to them at this point. That's the story - thought it might help anyone else who has an answer to this question. Thanks again. You cannot be arrested for nonpayment of a car loan period.It is a civil matter between you and the lender.The police handle criminal matters.If you are stopped by the police they don't know and they don't care its not their problem. Indirectly, yes. Not for non-payment, but if the lender goes to court and gets a court order directing you to return the collateral and you still refuse, you can be jailed for contempt of court. But you must have really PO'd the lender if he will go to that trouble and expense.

Contact your Bankruptsy Attorney. Tell him/her what has happened. They will be able to best advise you what avenue to pursue.

Look for place advertising " bad credit" "no credit" accepted. Mind you, they're not diong it out of the goodness of their heart. They're willing to take a chance on you at VERY HIGH INTEREST RATES, and if you default, they take your car in the middle of the night. Unfortunately, this is the only route for people like you, (and me). I had PERFECT credit all my life, and when my wife passed away unexpectedly, I'm in the same boat!! It sucks but if you are faithfull with your truck payments, you may be able to re-finance in a year or two......GOOD LUCK........... As noted, the consumer should use extreme caution when using these lending agencies. Such companies are referred to as "predatory lenders" and include many conditions in the lending agreement. All lenders reserve the right to repossess secured property when the borrower defaults, however lenders such as have been mentioned include clauses that allow them to circumvent the law and seize other property belonging to the borrower without due process needed.

Yes, if there was a deficiency balance owing after the car was sold at auction. Your creditor would have to sue you and obtain judgment in order to garnish your wages.

The most frequent cause of repossession is lack of payment on a note owed to a financing company or bank. The lender can repossess anytime after a payment is missed, but most won't start such proceeding until you've missed two or three payments. Always try to work with the lender before you get too far behind.

the co-signer is just as responsible for the debt as you are, hence the name "co-signer"

If you still owe on the car (whether matured or not), the bank can take it if you don't pay. It belongs to them until the loan is paid and the title is sent to you.

Yes, the original creditor is not bound by the FDCPA. The collection agency must however inform the debtor that they have thirty days to request confirmation of the debt or to dispute same.

The note was called at that point. You can either pay off the rest of the debt and try to get your car back or you are out.