Repo question?

[bournesto33]

Good afternoon all,

I am at a crossroad and am having a lot of trouble trying to figure out what steps to take.   I pulled out a high interest load though santander back in Aug 2012 for about 14,000, and to date still owe 13,000, my transmission went out and the car is work apx 2000.00...  I do not want to invest the money in the vehicle anymore but have never had a repo how bad will it be?  How will it affect me in the future, or....Do I still pay on the vehicle, it would cost me more to fix it that it is worth.  I am currently rebuilding my credit, but I have a lot of late pays on this vehicle and only these last couple of years have I been able pay it  regularly.  Advice?

[Anonymous]

A repo is going to destroy your FICO AUTO scores for sure -- and for up to 7 years that it reports.  If you had trouble getting this loan, expect to never get one again as long as it reports, except from shady "buy here pay here" lenders.

It will also destroy your FICO 08 scores because a repo is just as bad as a BK or foreclosure or judgment.

It's unfortunate that your car has failed while you carry such a high balance, but your best bet is to find a mechanic friend and have them help you buy a $1000 used car for cash.  These ARE available if you do your homework.  Then keep paying the auto loan until it's paid off and don't make that mistake again.

Everyone can ALWAYS find a $1500 used car that will drive for 2-3 years just fine, but most people prefer the "easy" way of getting financed with a terrible interest rate on a car that is not worth what they paid for.  I made this mistake in my 20s but thankfully I was able to pay off that auto loan in 6 months, not many years.

I would not take a repo on my credit report even if it meant I had to work 2 part time jobs extra to pay off the note.

On another note, if you join a car owners forum for your car type, I bet you can find a tree shade mechanic who would be happy to fix your problems for cheap.  I had a very expensive transmission problem on a Land Rover ($6000 repair) and I found a local shade tree mechanic who did it all for $1000 over 6 weeks.  Did a great job, too -- the transmission went at least 60,000 more miles before I traded it in.

[StartingOver10]

^^^Excellent advice from ABCD above.

Besides, if you do decide to go the repo route (not recommended) - you still owe the money on the loan even if you don't have the vehicle.

This is what happens:

1. You stop payments on the vehicle loan
2. Lender picks up the vehicle
3. Lender sells at auction for pennies on the dollar
4. The lender adds the cost of repossession to your amount owed + default interest and other items allowed by your contract. These costs ae usuallly large and the credit from the sale is generally very small.
5. You are notified of the amount you owe by the lender
6. If you fail to pay it, then the lender can (and usually will) go out and get a judgment against you for the deficiency balance.
7. The judgment continues to accrue interest as long as it remains unpaid. This judgment can last 10 to 20 years depending upon your jurisdiction and can be renewed for the same term if it remains unpaid and the judgment lienholder chooses to renew,

As you can see, this is a very long and expensive process. Why would you want to go through it when there are alternatives around?

[cjane1]

I have a repo from Santander that was sent to a collection agency. I owed approx 7700.00 and they came after me for the balance and had to settle before they sued me for the full amount. The amount of money you owe I don't think they are just going to let it go.

              The collection will be on my credit report for another 2 yrs, Santander will not remove it because they didn't get the money, a collection agency did. I have tried everything to get my score over 700 but because of the repo I am stuck at 680. 

[Anonymous]

14000 loan in 2012
Owe 13000 today
In about five years you paid off $1000
Going to need more details.

Btw is the car a Acura TL (2004-2008)?

[Anonymous]

HELL NO! DON'T DO IT! This advice is coming from someone who has 2 repos on her credit report (thank God they're falling off this year). It's not worth it. Please try to find other alternatives besides a repo.

[Anonymous]

Im so confused by this because i had a car repo'd in 2015 by Exeter finance. The balance was like $16k, they sold it at auction shortly there after for $6500... sent me the letter that the balance was due... and not gonna lie, i just buried my head in the sand and ignored it and (knock on wood) ive never heard anything else about it. It's on my credit report as a collection/chargeoff with a $0 balance... it doesnt actually say repo anywhere? Im cleaning my credit up and obviously this is my largest baddie.. im torn on if i should approach them or at this point just kinda let sleeping dogs lie? 

[cjane1]

The collection agency that handled my repo only sent me maybe 2 letters in 3 1/2 years. When the SOL was going to expire I started receiving letters and calls from them, I read that the agency has sued before so I decided to pay before it got to that point with a settlement for half. The collection was removed from the agency without asking but Santander is still reporting.

[Anonymous]

Then honestly i might wait until that point. When did the collection agency start reporting? there is no CA on my report for that debt and i have yet to be contacted.... 

[cjane1]

I'm not sure, I wasn't worried about my credit until a couple of years ago, it was reporting at that time.