car out for repossession

[lisaflex]

no funds. what to do? do i have to surrender it?

[MomToTwoBoys]

My ex-DH had my car reposessed on me after I moved back to NY. I was told that if I didn't surrender it, I'd be arrested and held liable.

Since you have no funds and there's already an order out, you're legally bound to surrender it.

[lisaflex]

what if it is in the garage and i dont answer the door....trying to come up w/ the money owed

[ladykemma2]

it doesn't belong to you. you can get into a lot of trouble for interfering with them trying to claim their property.

i wouldn't advise it.

[lotsadebt]

How much is owed vs what is it worth? I realize that you will be without transportation. But if you can use public transportation/friends/loved ones (help with gas funds) for awhile you will save on gas, insurance, payments, upkeep. The weather is turning nicer (even in Ohio) got a bike?

Are they payments outrageous and can be made more managable?

[Lady_V]

If your car is on the list, they WILL come get it. It doesn't matter if it's in the garage, or parked outside the grocery store.

When they take it, they take it... with everything in it. Do yourself a favor and remove all your personal items.

It may be too late, but try calling the loan company and ask for a refinance... lower payments, but longer loan.

[MomsaBasketCase]

It's probably too late but try to contact the loan officer and work out refinancing. It's something you should have done before you missed the payments, though but hopefully it's not too late.

When dh lost his job, we tried to work with the bank for lower payments on our truck. They refused so we told them to repossess it. We are still responsible for the amount owing after the bank sold the truck.

When the bank repossesses your car, they will sell it and you will owe the balance. It's in your best interest here to work with the bank.

Don't bother trying to hide the car. They can show up with the police and you will have no choice but to surrender the vehicle or be arrested. Repo's are patient and will wait until you go to work or to the store and take the car in the parking lot. They aren't picky. If you cooperate, you are in a better position to bargain with the bank on remaining loan payments.

Good luck.

[frugalfranny]

Don't bother trying to hide the car. They can show up with the police and you will have no choice but to surrender the vehicle or be arrested. Repo's are patient and will wait until you go to work or to the store and take the car in the parking lot. They aren't picky.
Good luck.

Yeah....that! They WILL get it.

[Greebo]

How much do you owe on the car immediately?

[Missy]

I'll say the same thing to you that I said to my brother in law, understand that I love him as dearly as he were my very own brother, he's a good decade younger than me and I watched him grow from toddler to adult, this is being said with compassion, even if it might not read quite that way....get everything that you own out of there. I don't want to sound harsh, but in the end if you can't finish paying on it , it doesn't belong to you. Call the loan company/officer and see if it's too late to refi it if you are desperatet ot keep it. Don't try to hide it, some places you can be charged with theft for that, it is NOT advisable. Don't try to hide it. Don't fight or argue with the repo man either, let it go.. They have a job to do and the law is on their side. Save the money you'd be making for payments towards this and save to buy a car outright, whether it be a used lot or a private party sale. Then this won't be an issue again.

[lparker]

I had my van re-poed a year ago February. I tried to get the bank to take it the previous October (the first month I didn't make a payment)...They wouldn't touch it until I was 90+ days in default. I stripped it of everything mine and left it in my driveway in plain sight. A sheriff deputy showed up after the bank complained of me hiding an asset. I pointed out my van and he laughed. The re-po guy called me for directions, he came in a couple days and I helped him load it.

Had to wait another couple months for the bank to get back to me with what I owed. They also offered a settlement $ amount that I didn't have. They (5th3rd) turned it into their internal collections...we talked a while and I offered them $100/month until paid for. I think I have around 11 more years to go

You can offer what you think you can afford. If they don't take your offer, they can sue..of course, suing puts them at the mercy of the court and they might get less than you offer. If you are pretty bad off, they won't get more (if you made a fair offer). Just make sure you make your agreed payments and you won't hear from them again.

If they don't take your offer, you might consider bankruptcy..All your financials will be out in the open and the bankruptcy judge will set your payment which will probably be less than your offer.

Take this with a grain of salt...I'm not a lawyer...just the direction I did go and would go if I had to.

[lisaflex]

well, the good news is that it was not repossessed. was frantically trying to get the $1000 back pymnts on it together, when, low and behold, i got a direct deposit from a policy i sold years ago (trailer commissions) for a bit over that. i paid and set up a pymnt plan to repay what is back due. all is well now. thanks for listening and offering advice! all will be fine now as we are VERY MUCH back on track!

[frugalfriend]

Wow, perfect timing! I bet that's a relief!

[wwe11]

That's great!

[Greebo]

I'm glad you're on the right track, but still - keep a close eye on this account. I have friends who were assured by their finance company that their account was fine, then their car got repo'd anyway, because a missed payment from several years ago hadn't been made up after all (so they claimed) and the account was in a perpetual state of being 1 month late (so they claimed).

So just ... pay attention.

Now that the immediate drama is over - how much do you owe on the car, how much is it worth, and why are you keeping it when you clearly can't afford the payments right now?

SELL THE CAR! Buy a clunker for cash that gets you from point A to point B w/o debt!