ANSWERS: 4
  • You are lucky they knocked at all. If they are there to repo then they usually just take it without even telling you.
  • The Repo man is right. What they CANNOT do is attempt to take the car away from you while you're operating it. They also cannot confiscate a car if it is parked on private property behind secure or locked gates. Otherwise, they can knock on your door as late or as early as they please.
  • It depends on the state, and the laws change all the time. I used to repo in Cal and here is how it was then. First- here is how a repo works. First your lender will try and contact you and work something out. If that doesn't work, or you avoid them, they will process a repo. The repo request is processed by their legal department to ensure it is valid. If it is valid it will be released to a repo company. Some banks have their own repo company, others use independent repo companies. Your repo is released to ONE company only....there is not some dogfight to see who can get to your car first. You sign MANY rights away when you sign your car loan contract. One of them are certain property rights. I have gone behind fences, in garages, and so forth to get the car. The repo man is licensed and has a Repo license that looks just like a Cal DL. It is even issued from the DMV. He will get paperwork from the Lender that states the information about the car such as VIN, make, model, license, etc. It will also have any, and all contact information they have on you....remember the part about 3 people living closest to you on the credit app? The repo man will have that info. Also there was a couple of check-boxes. One said "Contact" the other said "Repo Only". If the contact box was checked it is UP TO THE REPO MAN whether he wants to contact you and get you communicating with the bank. If he does this he typically gets half the repo fee plus mileage. If it says "Repo Only" he is to take the vehicle. If he cannot easily find the vehicle, and this is not uncommon as many people know they are delinquint and hide the vehicle, he starts calling those phone numbers he has to try and flush you out of the woodwork. In reality I got about 95% of the vehicles I was assigned. When he finds your vehicle he has many options, one of them is to knock on your door and simply ask for the keys. I never bothered with that. I simply brought in a tow truck and we would have the vehicle on the truck and down the block in under 60 seconds. The only thing that would make me knock on the door was a car seat. If I saw one of those I would send the truck down the road and then come knock on the door and give you your seat. Some people try and give you attitude, but hey, I repo'd every night, I was way more prepared for trouble than the average delinquint. Once I got your car down the block I would report the repo to the local police. This is a law. At the same time I would do an external inventory marking any scratches, dents, etc. Once I got to the impound yard it was my option to inventory the interior or not. Often I did this in the company of a Police Officer as there is an amazing amount of contraband that pops up. To clear up a few things, first, I never repo'd a car that wasn't at least 4 months delinquint. Second, you WILL be responsible for the difference between what you owe and what the lender gets for the vehicle in auction. Third, you have a time period, which was 45 days to make good all past due amounts plus the repo fee (which would include the tow truck I called out). I usually was pretty nice about it. But if you played games with me, you suffered. I have taken cars at 2 am, knocked on doors at 4 am, taken cars when someone went into the grocery store, or my favorite, taken cars right out of peoples work parking lot. If you are behing, can't afford the car, just turn it in. You will possibly avoid the repo fee, storage fee, tow truck fee, etc. Now again, this is just pertinent to how things worked in California when I was repo'ing. It is most assuredly somewhat different at this time and in your state.....but probably not by much. Trust me, the repo man puts food on the table by getting your car. The only way you can avoid him is by paying your payment and/or working with your lender. THEY DO NOT WANT YOUR CAR BACK!!! Hope this helps.
  • in most states there is a time frame that any business calling or knocking on your door must stick to. from michigan to the east coast is this.. no busienss or repo man is allowed to knock on your door or call you anytime after 9pm until 8am. they can get in trouble for doing so past that time frame. the only reason they would bother knocking is if a car seat is in the car or it is blocked in all the time or if for some reason they need the keys to your car.. ex.. all wheel drive and they dont feel like taking out a drive shaft.

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