what happens when your car gets repossesed?

Question

i went to get a quote on a car i've been looking at.
i wasn't thinking, & went by myself, even though i was sure they'd take advantage of me (i'm young, naive, never bought a car before, etc etc etc.)

so after getting the quote i needed, i told the salesman that i wanted to go home & let it marinate before making my decision.. but i felt like he wouldn't let me leave until i signed the contract! every excuse i made, he came up with a solution... just so i'd leave that lot with the car.

i was pressured.

i looked over my finaces (and the contract/super-high interest rate) & i know i can't afford it. so about an hour later, i took the car back. told them i made a HUGE mistake. they said they couldn't do a damn thing about it.

i'm stuck.

and i feel that the only way out is to not pay.
let them reposses the car.

i don't want to ruin my credit. & i don't even know if i'd have to pay anything after they take the car from me.

help??

i did speak to the district manager of toyota. tennessee doesn't have a "buyers protection program" so once the contract was signed, things were said and done.

believe me, i've tried pretty much anything i could possibly think of. and i've even considered wrecking the damn thing on purpose, like you said, just so it'll get paid for by my insurance.

but i still want to know the consequences that come if you do get your car repoed.

i really appreciate the input from you guys. i've tried a few different things, but unfortunately i'm going to be making payments on this car for a while. and, aside from the smartass bostonian, i think everyone of you helped me out a bit... even the silly dude that told me to call the excorcist. so, i guess i'll learn my lesson with every extra shift i pick up...



and i'll let you vote for best answer.
thanks again guys!

oh, and by the way... feel free to make a voodoo doll of a dude named james barnes. he was the redheaded salesman.

Answer 1

You allowed yourself to be pressured into signing a contract. You now know that you made a mistake, and are looking to get out of the deal the best way possible.

If you do not pay for the vehicle, they will come and get it. The car will be sold at auction, and any auction, repossession, storage, or other fees will be deducted from the sales price. The remaining amount will be deducted from your balance, and you will be liable for that. They will most likely get a court order attaching your wages. You will have a repossession on your credit for 7 years, so you will not be able to easily qualify for another car, a home, or any sort of credit without problems.

You may be able to get your bank or credit union to finance the car, rather than the finance company that the dealer used. You may be able to get a much better rate, and lower your payments to a point that you can handle them better.

The district office will not be any help to you. You signed the contact of your own free will. You could have said "I am not comfortable making a purchase now, I want to consider my financial situation" and walked out the door. No one held a gun to your head.

You may need to get a second job for a while to pay for the car, but there is no good way out of the deal!!

Answer 2

You signed the contract, so you own the car.

Did the salesman physically restrain you and block you from leaving the room? Did he pull a gun on your and threaten to blow your brains out if you didn't sign the contract? Did they bring a huge, ugly, scar-faced guy named Crusher with a baseball bat in his hands, ready to kneecap you if you didn't sign? Did you call the cops as soon as you got out of there once that happened? No? None of those things happened?

Well, didn't your Mom ever teach you how to say, "No thanks!" and just walk away?

Your only option if you want to keep your credit intact is to make the payments on the car. If it's reposessed your credit is going to take a major hit. And there will certainly be a shortfall on the sales proceeds after it's reposessed along with fees that you're going to have to pay. You're probably looking a a few thousand $$$ and your credit will be trashed.

Don't blame this on the dealer or the sales staff. You signed the contract. If you weren't sure you should have walked away and let it marinate as you said. Why didn't you?

OK, you may have some other options. Go to your bank or credit union and see if you can refinance the car. If your credit is OK, you shouldn't have any trouble doing this and you should get a much lower interest rate. Hopefully this will lower your payments enough that you can pay off the loan without too much trouble. This is really the only intelligent option that you have. You're stuck making payments; at least make them as small as possible.

Don't even think of wrecking the car. That's insurance fraud. And it will leave you in the same situation financially as the insurance is only going to pay book value, not your loan balance. Keep in mind that it takes a tremendous crash to total a brand new vehicle. You could kill yourself or an innocent person in that violent a crash.

Answer 3

Read over your contract terms very carefully especially check if thee is a time period that you can cancel the contract-usually 3 days-if not call a attorney's office and ask for what your consumer rights are-there are no charges for a phone consultation. The contract should also state who you'll be making payments to 0the dealership or a finance co.If there is no legal time to get out of this contract( be suprised if there isn't and this dealer doesn't sound legit esp after you went back and sd you cldn't make payments.) Find out who the manager is of the billing dept that you'll send payments to and again explain your financial situation-if not agreeable to work with you and have dealer take car back then call your local Better Business Bureau-and talk to one of their counselors-it does not seem right that the dealer can do this esp when you were pressured into this buy-you as a consumer have rights. Also contact your County/State Consumer Affairs Office-you should be able to find in the Blue Pages of the phone book-please do all this before you make a payment-hold offon this until you find out your rights and so on. Whatever you do -do not do anything illegal-to purposely wreck car and have insurance pay value is Fraud which is a Federal Offense and Courts have no sympathy as to why only that you broke law. The Dealer-have you talked to the manager/Owner?Also you MUST write a letter to the Dealer-owner/manager explaining the pressure you ere put through to make this buy and how you're afraid you'll default due to financial situation. If you allow then to repossess car it will be on your credit history-why you need to find out your legal rights now from attorney,Consumer Affairs Office-may be possible illegal sales practice going on and Better Business Bureau. Do not wait but act now -1 Better Business Bureau2Consumer Affairs Office3lawyer Good Luck--may not be as bleak as it sounds.

Answer 4

I don't know what state you're in, but there are laws where you can break a contract within a certain time period, usually a few days or so. The statement that "you signed the contract, nobody held a gun to your head" is just BS that salesmen use to defend what they do. You should learn to "just say no" definately, but anyone can make a mistake, and those laws are there to protect citizens. You could also contact your local TV stations; many have a person on staff who helps to resolve problems like yours. Good luck to you, it's a damn shame that buying a car is such a PITA. And, oh yeah, do not let it be repossed. Like some of the other responders have said, the companies will lie, cheat and anything else to tack on as much extra as they can.

Answer 5

First - write up a letter outlining exactly what happened, the sells pressure, the extreme sale tactics used. Send it certified Mail, return receipt requested, to the District Office, addressed to the correct person's name that it should go to - copy your letter to the Better Business Bureau and to your local TV news station - (you know- most TV stations now have a section of the news that helps people out of jams like this - send it to the correct TV dept). The most important thing is to make NOISE - make the public aware of this car dealership hassling people and taking advantage of young and inexperience people (and perhaps older people). Follow-up with the District Sales office, the BBB and the TV station, until someone takes an interest in your situation. In the meantime - if you can - make the payments - you did sign a contract and you're young and don't want your credit messed up. I hope this just recently happened - take action fast.

Answer 6

the best thing you can do is go to the dealership and ask to speak to the owner, plead your case, and ask him to let you out of the contract. let him know that you talked to the finance company and told the finance company you would not be able to afford the vehicle. do not go into the dealership screaming and yelling!!! you will get thrown out. if you dont pay for the car and it gets repo'd, it hurts the dealership as well as you, it looks bad on the dealership portfolio of business and may hurt them in the future, so the dealer does not want to see that happen. if the answer is still no, you have to keep the car, ask the dealer if he would let you out of that car and into something a little less expensive, that you would be able to afford. if the dealer still says no, find a way to pay for the car. do not ruin your credit, it will hurt you now and later. believe me, I know. I have been working for the past 15 years as a special finance manager at a car dealership. do not mess up your credit!!! as far as totalling the vehicle, it was mentioned by another, that's fraud and you could hurt yourself or someone else. go talk to the owner.

Answer 7

Having your car repossessed is not a good idea. Mine was in 1998 and we ended up baying the back car payment plus the repossession fee because we wanted it back. When you leave it, they auction off the car and you get stuck paying the difference. This could be thousands of dollars and you would be making a car payment on something that you weren't driving. Get hold of credit counseling service or attorney if you think you've gotten over your head. This will help protect your credit rating and avoid bankruptcy.

Answer 8

I wouldn't make any payments to start off with, you should have a time lasp to where you can tell them you aren't happy with the situation.. I would take the care back and drop the keys off and say to them " you will be hearing from my attorney" due to I have rights on a time period, you people pressured me into the deal. simple as that.. if they report it as a broken contract, then call an atty in your state and get your legal rights.. most repos will effect your credit.. been there done that..

Answer 9

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Answer 10

They will be looking for the full amount of the contract if they take the car, and will be auctioning it off at about a 1/3 of what the car is worth to their own dealership under a shell company name, and resell the vehicle at FULL Retail, and will be looking to sue you for the amount owed, plus interest, late fees, and legal fees. Try to work out new payment arrangements quickly or HIDE the car until you get on track with your payments on your own.....

Thomas T