Repossession

Any activity that results in the recovery of the wanted vehicle is legal, provided the peace is maintained and there is a perfected lien-holder, and that lien-holder has issued a legal order for repossession.

There are minor specifics for each state, and some for specific metropolitan areas. These make it difficult to give a succinct answer for such a broad question.

The above is correct, but it doesn't solve your problem.

If you bought it at a "buy here, pay here" lot, TALK TO the people - YOU owe the money and you owe them because they handed over THEIR PROPERTY to you BECAUSE you agreed to pay x amount of dollars on some set schedule. What they DON'T want is to be cold-shouldered by YOU, the person who has THEIR property and who is USING their

property without upholding your portion of the agreement.

REGARDLESS OF WHO YOU OWE TALK TO THEM, DON'T DODGE THEM.

Well, it all depends on the agency and the going rates of your state.

Unless a "repo man" owns his own company he is only making about $70-$100 per car depending on the value. If he DOES own his own company then he may be making as much as $300 - $500 per car. Sound like a lot? Don't count on it. Those who are involved in vehicle recovery usually put in long days (and even longer nights and weekends) just trying to find the car that some loser is hiding because he "can't pay his car payment". Once found the recovery agent often has to deal with being, cussed out, yelled at or physically threatened simply because the buyer wasn't man or woman enough to take on the responsibility of paying for their car. And of course the recovery agent or "repo man" is blamed for taking the car that this person doesn't legally own in the first place. In the end the moral of the story is... if you can't afford it, don't buy it.

A REPO MAN DOES NOT GET ENOUGH MONEY FROM THE REPO'S , HE WORKS 24/7 AND LIVES OUT OF A truck.HE FIGHTS AND ARGUES WITH DEBTORS,CLIENTS AND HIS OWN PEOPLE, NO GLAMOR HERE BOY'S AND GIRLS.GET A REAL JOB WITH REAL MONEY AND 9-5 HOURS . STAY OUT OF THE FIELD YOU MIGHT GET HURT OUT HERE.!!!!!!!!

just for the people who think we enjoy doing this, a local repo (50miles)will pay the truck 150.00 to 200.00 if you want to be competitive.the driver (if not the owner) will clear 30 to 40 percent.the only saveing grace is to pull several cars in a night,that is not always possible.

I'll second that and as a driver I don't make money driving around from address to address looking for a car i only make money on the units that are in the yard the next day when the owners pull in..Then after being up all night i get to make a condition report on the units..After a few (3-4) hours sleep its back to the office to jump on the computer with accounts in hand and search for new info on the debtors..All of this to bring back a car that someone didnt make a payment for..Im a repo man I don't have a salary and ive never had a car repoed!!!!I make my payments even if my stomach is growling...It ain't an easy life ..but it satisfies me its my niche!!

A friend spoke with a repossessor in Chicago and he said he makes $500 per car if they don't have the key and $75 for the car if they give him the key. Anyone in Chicago who can verify?

500 if he does not have keys ?

I don't think so, not a chance.

I am in Chicago and the price you have been given is BS too many companys too much competition for anyone to be getting paid that much. Oh and BTW 75.00 on a car with keys WAY TOO LOW hell I get more than that if the debtor calls the bank and tells them to come get it.

In answer to the original question the amount of money varies from company to company also depends on who's truck your driving and whos paying for the fuel. Lot of variables, Actually too many to take into account basically if you have your own truck and are anygood and are paying for your own fuel you should be making 140.00 to 180.00 a car, this of course is you working for a repo company not for yourself.

I'm a repo man in California and we have always got 100 dollars per car, some companys who don't have skiptracers will pay more if you find an address and get the car (important....get the car) at an address the bank does not have. Bigger companies have there own guys to make keys for the cars after you repo em and remove and inventory the personal property but not all. Ive worked for the last three days for example and haven't repossessed anything...I'm out over 120 dollars for gas.

I own my own repo company in Va and all of my clients pay a diffrent price that was negotiated when I put my bid in for their cars. I get anywhere from 75 to 250 per unit. I don't use a truck I have keys made for each car I go after, that lets me keep my costs down which is good for everyone involved. As for labeling people deadbeats, I try not to judge anyone because you don't know what is going on in someone elses life. I have found that if I treat everyone with respect things go much smoother all the way around. If you have any questions feel free to drop me a line,I am happy to help keep everyone safe, after all its just a car......

I repo for my boss. If I make $100.00, he makes $100.00 If I get sued, he gets sued. Bosses have to be selective on hiring. There are other problems out there. The people @ lien holders act like the repo man sometimes is the enemy. They treat and talk to any repo man that does not perform his duties like he is the problem. Stand up for the correct standards of repoing and the Reps. will not want to use you and you will have more time for better reps to send you more work. I know some repo men give use all bad names, but there are some very good honesty people in this line of work. There are alot of Reps. (lien holders) that by phone threathen customers to a point that the customer wants to cuss the first repo man they see. The repo man does not own the loan company. The people that I repo their vehicles don't always like me, but they know I explained it all correctly to them and gave them a chance to resolve & keep their vehicle. In my four years I have help quite a few people keep their vehicle and I got paid only half my fee for the collection only.

I own a repo company in AZ, my fees vary from client to client, where the vehicle is, what has to be done to find it etc. etc. etc.

A car can be repossessed after one late payment, that is considered default on the aggreement. If a person is still driving after 90 days late, they need to thank God.

As a teen, I once had a car that I was paying about 220 a month for. 7 payments before it was paid off, I quit my job and went back to college. I had one period of 120 days late before I found a way to pay back to being current. The day after I made the payment, my car was repo'ed. The bank said that they weren't able to contact the repo company in time to stop the repo. I got my car back but was charged by the bank for the tow. I am thanking God that it didnt happen sooner. After reading this faq I know that I had a NICE BANK!

I have read that some states require a person to have more than one late payment before the bank can repossess.

No. The bank can repo a car if your payments are a day late, if there is no grace period. (But this wouldn't normally happen.)

Most states don't have specific laws regarding when a repo occurs.You signed a private contract with the bank which spells out the specifics.That is why if you are driving a car that is up for repo and get stopped by the police the police don't care.Its not a crimminal matter it is a civil matter between you and the lender. As for the 120 days with only $1400.00 due it is not in their interest to repo the car.

I was exactly 3months late on my car payments and yes my car was repoed...this morning actually @ 7:00am...I called the bank & I told her I was on my way to pick up my car (of course i was upset) the bank manager told me "oh no, its not that easy hun...theres a loooong process you have to go through" um yes it was that easy I had my car back @9:30 am the same day- and wow it amazes me how the tow company tries to get involved and TRIES to do everything to avoid you getting your car back!! I learned a big lesson today- KEEP UP WITH MY CAR PAYMENTS and no matter how busy i feel my life is..i have an obligation to PAY WHAT I OWE!! oh and by the way i was charged 1100 + 375 for the tow company...what a price to pay for the 2hrs they had my car....good thing i had money on hand!

Better is not the best word, but a chapter 7 could wipe out the car debt and your other debt. If you just to the repo - they can still come after you for the 4500 dollar difference if they sell it for only 4k (most likely it will be sold for 2k or so) which would make the debt higher. Both will hurt your credit so if you are going to take the hit, I recommend you get rid of all of the debt and have some money to pay for things you need. Of course going bankrupt takes money too!

Bankruptcy means that you will lose your home, as does repossession. The only way to stop either is to start repaying your debts and there are many financial solutions companies out there which could help.

If you have mortgage arrears then speak to your mortgage lender ASAP, you may be able to come up with a repayment plan to repay your mortgage arrears along with your future mortgage payments. It is always important that you take action sooner rather than later so that your bankruptcy or repossession can be stopped.

Yes they can take you to court, try to get a judgment, and then try to garnish wages, put leins on property, etc. THis varies by state law but they can't "SUE" you and have a judge force you to pay. They got rid of debter prisions a while back thank goodness.

The finance company will sell your auto wholesale (much cheaper than you could have sold it) and then say you owe them the difference. You can look up the wage garnish laws, and property lien laws of your state online. In most states only the mortgage company can force you to sell your home, but check it out. This debt can also be wiped out by filing bankruptcy successfully.

the finance company won't let you get your name off of it. That way they can keep you on the hook since he can't pay for it. it will hurt your credit, but if you have a car you pay for on your credit and explain in the future what happened, you should be able to get another loan. If your name is on the title, you could possibly force the sale of the car depending on how it reads. you can also stop paying and make sure the finance company knows where the car is so they can go repossess it to sell and lower the amount that is owed. Bottom line is it will hurt your credit, but not as bad if you have your own good credit to off set it. It will deffinatly take you off the A+ list as far as lenders go, but again, not stop you from getting any car loan in the future assuming you have an auto loan you pay now.

First, talk to the lender and find out where they would want the car brought to, Second, before you take it there, make sure the paper work is there and ready for you to sign, third, make sure you clean out the car before you get there and fourth, make sure someone is still in the car when you go in just in case the paperwork isn't ready. If there is not paper work for you to show that you are signing it over, don't leave the car. Please remember--no matter what--this will show up as a repo- voluntary or not on your credit reports, AND your co-signers if you have one. It would be better to try to make arrangements to keep the car unless it was a lemon to begin with. Either way you are going to pay--credit wise and pobably deficit-wise. Meaning that if the car is auctioned or sold off and a balance is remaining, you will have to pay that balance--that is why it may be better to keep the car. Good Luck! Yes. Most of the time if you don't "hide" you car or give it up when the repo-man arrives, you may be able to redeem your car. yes. you can avoid embarrassment by taking it to the dealer nearest you; of course, the same make dealer.rather than allowing some tow truck to get it. Dont ever just drop your vehicle off at a dealer. Some major lienholders will tell you to take it to a dealership to V/S it. Be ware, that works as a V/S (vol./surrender) only if you sign a vol./release/agreement form. No signature, results in an abandonment by you. Costing you the cost $$$ of court paperwork to release your part of the ownership. Now this is in Louisiana. Don't quote me elsewhere. Lienholders can pick up collateral abandoned with proof, and the dealership don't want to be responseable for your vehicle. Faster then a speeding bullet, they call the lienholder to explain the abandonment of collateral. Oh by the way, dealerships are not always the lienholders. Dealerships are "Farmers" selling apples and oranges (maybe some lemons). They got their money in the start from the lienholder.

This could vary by state, but in every one I have lived in only your Mortgage company can take your home. Other's can only place leins on it which would have to be paid to transfer the title, refinance, sell it, etc. The lender on your auto has no legal claim on your home and if he wanted to try to get one he would have to take you to court and get a judgment against you to try to get a lien.

== Repossession== If they are accepting payments - that will reflect negatively on them if they try to take you to court on a deficiency balance, however they have the right to demand full payment of the loan at any time and take the car if you don't pay. Also - if you are just sending in partial payments that doesn't mean they are accepting them. They need to agree to the partial payments and how long it will go on. You can't stop them from repo by sending in some money every month. More input from FAQ Farmers: * Yes, I have found out that if you are in default (even if you are attempting to make payments), the bank at any time, can repo your vehicle...unless otherwise stated in your contract.

Yes - but before you pay it off in full you can try get the finanance company to change what it says on your credit bureau by holding the payoff money up in their face - I would get any promises in writing.After you pay it off - your credit bureau says Repoed then paid off. It could look to another lender like it was paid off by the old company selling the car and you could get no credit for paying it off at all. I bought a 2002 ford focus a couple years ago, i had no credit cause i was only 18 years old. I finally got approved through ford motor credit and about six or so months ago the car out of no where just broke. I pulled over and looked back all i seen was oil and the repair shop said it was a possible bad motor. I have had nothing but problems with the car the entire time i have had it (broken seat belt, cig lighter, ect.) it was just out of warranty so i was pretty much stuck between a rock and a hard place. I decided just to have the car towed to the dealership and tell them i didn't want the car because i didn't have the money to get it fixed and what not. I then bought another vechile from a lady my dad knew and i made little payments til i paid it off and i heard nothing about my car. A couple weeks ago ford motor credit calls and i picked up they say i owe about 3600 and i told them i didn't have that kind of money and no one i knew did either. The lady said i could make a big settlement and take 40 percent off that price to make it 2400 but that still didn't fit in my budget at all. I asked if i could save up and make the 2400 payment they said no. They said i could pay 150 towards the 3600 and when i wanted to settle pay have of what i still owe. That sounded decent. I talked to my friend who is a bit older then me and has had this similar situation happen to him. He told me he didn't pay them a dime back and no matter what my credit is gonna be screwed up for a long time so don't bother paying them back. The ford person said after my credit would be better, so i am not sure what i should really do. Would it be worth paying them or just saying forget you guys you have the car it broke whatever? And boths ways how would my credit look if i did pay or didn't pay? To anyone who replies i thank you very much and appreciate your help i have to the 15th of July to decide. HiI hope I can help you.....The same thing happen to me....I found out that the repo was hurting my credit. I waited three years before I contacted the collection. Six months after I made a settlement on the repo. (Settle for 3000.00, repo was 6100.00) In the mean while I open a secured credit card and a unsecured card. Six months later my creit score jump and it is improving....

One thing to remember is that a collection is a collection , charge off is a charge off and a repo is a repo. Paying these off does not improve your credit and in some case it can hurt because the date of last activity will refresh for every payment is made.

The best thing to do is ask for a pay for deletion. Get it in writing and send all correspondence by certified return receipt and save all green cards you get back. Always remember, that when dealying with these types of issues you need to have the following thought process - if it is not in writing , it is a lie. With out written agreement, they can say they never agreed to what ever and then it is their word against yours. With the writing, you have proof and then can have it enforced in court if needed.

Good luck to you

Good question...how did you find out about the repo fee?? Have you been repoed before?? Are you in default now?? If you're not in default, dont worry about it, hope they repo it so you can sue them.... IF you ARE in default, pay up today

Yes that is what it means. If you were behind on your payments and didn't call the lender to work out a deal before a repossession order was issued, Then you payed before a repo agent picked it up you are responsible to pay the repo fee and the lender is responsible for calling off the repo. If you have payed and the lender failed to call the repo agent and you get repoed you can bring up ''wrongfull repossession charges'' and that falls on the lender. In your signed contract you agreed to this and so did the lenders.

The above response is incorrect THE LENDER CANNOT CHARGE YOU FOR SOMETHING (a repo in this case)WHICH HAS NOT TAKEN PLACE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IF they try too.... SUE them and there "agents"

Read the fine print of your contract carefully. I have never heard of a vehicle leasing/purchasing contract NOT having a first payment default clause.

I don't know what state you are in, but in Illinois the bank by law has to provide you with a calculation of deficiency. We are battling the bank for the same thing. Had a truck repo'd was worth 15K, owed 15K, they sold it for 8K and now say we owe 6800. I want to know how and they keep denying any information saying it's confidential bank information. Write a letter of complaint to whatever agency oversee's this bank and look under your state's statutes for what the bank is liable for and what they have to provide by law.

My car is about to be repossessed. I spoke to the lender who has the second mortgage on our house concerning how bad this would be on my credit report. This particular lender is CitiFinancial. I was told that car payments are not looked at as crucially as credit cards, rent or mortgage payments, and utility bills. If I get my mortgage payments in on time and pay my credit cards down within two years, then I can probably buy just about anything because it will look like the car payments were indeed too high at the time and getting rid of them helped me to get back on track. She said when they are processing a mortgage, car payments are the last thing they look at because people change cars every two to three years and those payments change with the car. She said there is also the possibility of an accident where the car is totaled and ends up being paid off by insurance. There are just too many variables with cars, so they don't pay a lot of attention to the payment pattern or lack of it.

first of all being told by a lender that car payments are not looked at as crucially as credit cards, rent or mortgage payments, and utility bills. Is totally NOT TRUE.....Your lender is feeding you with lies.

My husband has a repo on his credit record and he voluntarily gave the car back thinking the same thing. And Boy was he wrong. 3 years later and he still cant get a car loan, house loan, credit card loan.... his credit is shot just because of the darn repo. We have tried everything.

Finance Co. look at all parts of your credit when going for a loan. and a big part of it is if you have paid your car payment on time... My advice to you is try very hard not toget a repo voluntary or not.... the word "repo" on your credit is not just looked over. Its a big mark that stands-out reguardless how long ago, or if the payments were too high.

Any repo is bad.

yes..

They will have to notify you in writing that they have repossessed your car. They could have made a mistake when someone told you they didn't, or they could not want you to know about it any earlier than they have to. You will be notified before it is sold, you can also check with the police and report it stolen, they always notify the police and the police will check with them if they haven't and they won't lie to them.

Chris, you make some BOLD assumptions about the veracity of banks and repomen. You should at least check the state laws you purport to quote. BTW, have YOU ever repoed a car?? LOL

Yes I managed a Financial Branch that specialized in NON PRIME Auto Paper - the branch had in excess of 7 million of auto loans and I repossessed 1-4 cars a month most months. Seldom did I personally do it, but yes I have repossessed a car from a customer. I can only speak about the laws in Florida, but what I say if fact.

Lenders will tell you anything. But they should tell you if they took the car. Call the police and report it stolen. If the car was repo'd, the police were notified when the tow was enroute to pick up the vehicle. The police, however, do not keep records. If the police weren't notified, (not all repo guys report that they're picking up the vehicle), report it stolen. It's then entered into NCIC and then the lender will have the headache when they try and sell the car that's listed as stolen. Of course when the lender tries to get the title, the DMV will have a hold listed which will tell them the car was reported stolen. It will create a problem for the lender. LOL

Yes. I recently had a vehicle repossessed and the bank told the repo company that I was in default since 05/05. When the repo man showed up and was shown the receipts for payments from 01/05 to the present he refused to take the car. A three way call was made with the bank and the rep told us that the car was in default since 05/05. When the repo man told her that wasn't true her story changed to being in default for 2 months which was also untrue. The bank still ended up taking the vehicle and I'm currenlty in a legal battle with them over it.

It remains for 7 years, from the date of repossession/charge-off, even if you get the vehicle back. However,If you don't pay the loan off, after it was repoed, then the original creditor MAY get a judgment against you, that judgment will stay on your credit report for 10 years. Unless you are able to settle out of court.

It can; however, depend on the lender and the situation. Some might not put a repo on your credit if you redeem the vehicle promptly and stay current from then on. If they have to sell your vehicle at auction, you most definitely will get a repo on your credit. I know of some people who redeemed their car and never had a repo reported, just the lates.

BTW, even if you get a repo on your credit, you have a good chance of disputing it off. You can dispute a lot of things off your reports, even if they are legit. Been there, done that.

Suzette, what are the details on your purchase? Such as what state? One reason for repo before ist payment due is a person didnt qualify for the financing deal offered. Maybe a small detail got left out. Or a large detail. Its obvious that dealers WANT to move cars. So they will do a LOT to make the deal go thru. For them to repo asap, theres about 2 reasons. the obvious, you didnt qualify OR they screwed up. If it's #1. oh well you tried. If #2. OH BOY, call your or any attorney. JACKPOT.

this can vary by state, but in most if they get a judgment against you by taking you to court, then can - but there are rules about this as well that vary by state for example where I live they can't garnish the head of household, can't leave less than a certain amount in the check, etc.

There are a LOT of variables: how much you owe v.s. how much the car is worth... The state you live in...the loan agereement which you have signed..other costs such as towing, storage etc... Generally , if they repo the car and it pays off your debt, and you pay the towing and storage fees and there is no outstanding balance, they have no reason to garnish your wages. But if you don't make a deal with the loan company, and you owe them money and don't set up a payment schedule that they accept, they can garnish your wages until you are even ( you don't owe them anything). If you communicate with the lender and make arrangements to pay so much a week, they will work with you. But if you blow them off, they will get their money one way or another! A negotiated payment plan looks better on your credit record than a garnishment.

yes - as long as she get's them the money to pay it off any way - before they get the car she will be ok - she can trade it in, pay it off with cash, refinance it, etc. The trouble is if she is behind on the payment, other auto lenders are probably not going to want to lend her money on another car. THey will want to know if she can't pay that one, why/how will she pay us.

YES

Yes, you owe them money or yes they owe me the title if it has been written off? Thanks for your help.

if it was me i would ask them to prove that the gauges were working before you bought it. and i am not sure but i think that any changes you make such as a new radio or new rims and such will stay so if you take something off i dont think u have to put it back. but i am not entirely sure. and another thing if it is getting or has already been repossessed i would tell them to get bent. it it was me.