What can I do about a van I allowed to be repoed???

Question

I had a loan for a van in 2002. A truck ran a stop sign and crashed into me. The van never ran good after that. I continued to keep it, and payed the $337 a month until it began having more serious issues. I had spent nearly $1000 in repairs and then the van was still having BIG problems w/ transmission.
I had kept it for over two years.
I decided to contact the loan company and have them take it back!
By that time I had paid over $8, 000 for the van.
Once they repoed it they sold it and are charging me now over $7000 for the remainder of the loan and for the towing fees and fee for auction...
I had been sending $10 a month. Now they keep calling and wanting more. It is still drawing interist!!!
A friend had told me that there is nothing they can do, just stop paying all together!
Can they garnish my wages?
Any opinions?
I would file bankruptcy but, I really hate to.
Can they really come after me for the rest of this loan?

Any suggestions?

THANKS

Answer 1

You can stop paying, but that won't stop them from trying to collect. Your credit is going to go down the tubes and getting another loan for anything is going to be next to impossible. I think if or not they can garnish your wages depends on what state you live in. There is no limit on how log they can continue trying to collect and they can make life miserable. No one likes bankruptcy, but with debt that large, it's worth consideration. Your slate is clean of all debt.

Answer 2

Yah...allowing the van to be repoed was a really really bad move. You could have sold the van and paid off the loan instead. By having it repoed, you have seriously hurt your credit and harmed your ability to borrow for another car or even buy a house.

Think about it this way. You loaned your friend $100 for a radio. He used it and paid you back $10 so far. After a week he no longer wants it and gives you the radio. You don't want it. You just want your money. So you sell it for $50. You now only have $60 from your original $100. You go after your friend for the remaining $40.

The worst part is that you still owe the bank for the car. The reason is simple. The bank loaned you the money for the van. If you stop paying on it, you still owe them the money. They sell the van and get less money, but that doesn't erase your obligation. Do not walk away from this one again. If you do, you are pretty much never going to be able to borrow again. They can legally garnish your wages and eventually sue you if you don't pay up. At that point, they will almost certainly get a judgement against you and be able to confiscate property and even assets.

Answer 3

They can keep coming after you for the balance. They can't garnish your wages.

They can also sue you for the balance if the statute of limitations is still in effect. That's different for each state so you'd have to look it up. It can go anywhere from 4 years to 10 years from the last payment you made.

It'll also be on your credit report for 7 years from the date of last payment.

It's going to be a nightmare for some time to come, especially if you turn your back on it so be prepared.

Answer 4

Bad move... you should have sold it and used the money to pay off the remainder of the loan. You are still responsible for the loan until it's paid off or you declare bankruptcy and get the loan discharged through the court.

Answer 5

yes they can and will keep coming after you until the remainder of the loan is satisfied on there behalf they practically gave it away and charged you whatwas left over on the balance you had owed just keep sending them what you have and if they don t like that so thatyou dont completelyscrew up your credit history forever

Answer 6

Your best bet would be to call them up and rework the payment plan, try to pay a little bit more, $10 a month is nothing compared to the interest that's being racked up