My Car Is Being Repossessed. What Do I Do?
If you have fallen behind with payments on your car or vehicle, it can be on the repo man's list. Filing for bankruptcy can stop your car from being repossessed!
How to Stop Car Repossession
Federal Laws allow you to keep your car, 100% of the time, if:
- You file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy
- You need the car
- The car is not an unreasonably high priced vehicle
- And you can afford to pay your required Chapter 13 plan payments
Can You Keep Your Car by Filing for Chapter 13 Bankruptcy?
Sometimes, all you need is some help catching up on delinquent payments. Chapter 13 can help with that. Many times, what you need is to lower the amount you owe on the car and possibly also the interest rate on the car loan.
In many if not most cases Chapter 13 can help with that. Sometimes, you just need to stretch out the payments to lower the monthly payment. Chapter 13 can help with that. In Chapter 13 you can have up to 5 years to re-pay a car loan.
It all depends on your situation, but if you are behind on your car or truck, or motorcycle anything is better than doing nothing. But you can’t just sit and wait. You have to act because once the repo man has your vehicle it may be too late.
Our Stockton bankruptcy lawyers can assist you in a free, initial consultation. Contact us online or give us a call at (209) 243-7560.
Bill Collectors Do Not Care About Your Situation
Have you fallen behind with car, truck, van, motorcycle, or RV payments? It happens to the best of us. The problem is trying to explain your situation to the creditor. In reality, most loan companies don’t really care about your personal problems. They are in business for one purpose–to make money.
You made an agreement with them and they want their money or they want your vehicle. The truth of the matter is that the loan company will not tell you your legal rights concerning what you can or can’t do about the situation. They just want their money.
Think about it. Bill collectors are generally paid based on how much money they collect, and that means, in our experience, they will many times say whatever it takes to get you to pay money.
If it takes being nice, on the one hand, they will do that. If it works, they get paid. If not, they will likely tell you things that will scare the hell out of you. In sum, they’ll say anything to separate you from your money. The bottom line is that they want their money or they want your vehicle.
Federal Laws were created to protect you in situations that concern your budget, that cause you deep emotional stress, or that leave you with too many bills to pay. Something happens in your life that you didn’t expect. You need some extra money, but you don’t have it. You don’t want to borrow from friends as it’s too embarrassing and borrowing from family is out of the question.
You start thinking to yourself of ways to come up with the money. Maybe if you put off paying the house or car payment, you can get some other bills paid, and then, hopefully, you can catch up next month and it would only cost you a late charge.
It may start with an unexpected medical bill, a work-related layoff, or some situation that you didn’t plan for and there goes the budget. The next thing you know it doesn’t work out and here come the bill collectors! Send out the Repo-Man!
One Day Late on Scheduled Payment? Your Car May Be Repossessed.
Not all lenders are that bad! As a matter of fact, a few will bend over backward to work with you but…in our experience that is the exception and not the rule. Most people think they are O.K. as long as they are not more than 2 months behind. Nothing could be further from the truth.
The truth is that your car can be repossessed if you are even one day late on a scheduled payment. So why do some bill collectors wait before sending out the Repo Man? Because they really don’t want your car but if they have to when you don’t pay: bam! And your car is gone.
How Many Car Payments Can You Miss Before Being Repossessed?
The short answer is that it depends on a number of factors, including the terms of your loan agreement. Most lenders will allow you to miss up to two payments before beginning repossession proceedings.
However, if the missed payments occur within a certain period, such as back-to-back months, then your lender may begin repossession proceedings sooner. It is important to note that if your car is repossessed, you will still owe the full balance of the loan plus any applicable fees or penalties imposed by the lender. Therefore, it is in your best interest to communicate with your lender if you are having difficulty making payments and try to come to an agreement that works for both parties. If you are ever in doubt about how many car payments you can miss before being repossessed, it is best to contact your lender directly for clarification.
Why Does The Lender Want My Car?
The answer is so that the lender can, under the law, sell it and use the money to pay down some of your debt.
In some cases, however, the whole idea is to resell it over and over to various people and each time to each person, charge plenty of extra fees for:
- The Repo
- The paperwork
- The legal end
- The auctioning of the car
- And any additional fees laid out in your original agreement
And this is in addition to coming back at you for the rest of the money still due on the loan. Some car dealers resell a car several times. Sell it, get paid some money, repo it, resell it, get paid some more, and so forth. Some years ago, the show “20/20” ran a story that told how some car dealers make as much as $27,000.00 on a $5,000.00 car.
How Can The Law Office of John Kyle & Gregory Smith Help You?
We can many times help you keep your vehicle if that is what you want. However, sometimes a car is not worth keeping or the car is an extra car you cannot afford. In these cases using bankruptcy, we can many times dump the car and along with it the entire debt. In other cases, we can help you get rid of the car and substantially lower the amount you still owe on it.
Sometimes, getting rid of one car, especially one where you owe more money on it than it is worth, avoids having to trade it in and carry all that debt over to the next car. This can be a tremendous help and this may be the first step in getting you into another car you can afford.
When we do the calculations, the car you thought you wanted to keep turns out to be a car you want to get rid of when you find out just how much it will cost you to keep it. You do have a choice. One way, or another, we can stop the bill collectors calls and we can STOP the Repo-Man from taking your car and this all happens immediately, as soon as your bankruptcy case is filed.
A Word Of Caution: Until you file there is no protection. So if you are behind on your vehicle act now to find out your options and before your car is repossessed.
Finding Bankruptcy Solutions for the Honest Debtor
We can explain how this negative time in your life might turn out to be a blessing in disguise. You can use Federal Laws to return the car and pay the dealer nothing in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case, or hopefully, very little in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy case.
In addition, with all or much of your unsecured debt gone and your bankruptcy discharge in hand, many car dealers will welcome you with open arms and put you right back into another vehicle. Many times, they just want to know you are free from other debts and that you can afford the payments on the new car.
Sure they will try to hit you for a larger down payment or a higher interest rate, but at least you get wheels to drive and a way to work without having to carry over the debt still due on your last vehicle. What we are discussing is Federal Bankruptcy Law and your rights under those laws! If you are over-burdened with bills and just can’t make it financially, bankruptcy can help!
We can help free you from your debt problems and stop the threat of repossession! Contact our bankruptcy lawyers in Stockton at the Law Office of John Kyle & Gregory Smith via online form or call (209) 243-7560 for a free consultation.