Auto Title Loan

[Anonymous]

My ex-wife made the HUGE mistake of taking one out and cannot now pay her way out of it. From what I can find, a BK won't cover it. Any suggestions I can relay to her?

[thornback]

Nope. Unfortunately, if she can't pay it they will take the car and there is nothing she can do to stop it.   Her only option is to pay it.  She can try calling them in an attempt to work out an arrangement... but, bottom line, they own the car, she signed over the title.  They don't have to work with her at all.   

I went through this with a friend.  We tried everything (short of my paying the debt for him)...  no dice.    He even moved to a different town after defaulting  (not becuase of the default tho) .. and he thought maybe if they didn't have an updated address, that they wouldn't be able to find / repo the car.  Welp.  He ended up getting a speeding ticket one day (about 4 months later) and gave the officer an updated address.. which apparently alerted the title loan co. of the new address.  Two days later, the car was gone - disappeared from his driveway in the middle of the night.  His first thought was that it was stolen... but no, the title loan company came and took their car, and that was the end of that. 

I think some companies may allow a "grace period" after repo to get the car back before they sell it off, if you pay the debt in full.  But I think it's only 15-30 days. 

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wrote:

My ex-wife made the HUGE mistake of taking one out and cannot now pay her way out of it. From what I can find, a BK won't cover it. Any suggestions I can relay to her?

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[RobertEG]

Securing an auto loan by way of a lien on the title is not a huge mistake, it is a common way that lendors secure a large loan against possbiel losses, and are thus able to offer substantial sums at lower rates to consumers than they can normally obtain for unsecured loans.

The consumer should recognize that default provides the creditor with the right to repo the vehicle.

Each state has their own consumer statutes or regs that protect consumers during a repo process, such as setting periods for the consumer to pay after the vehicle is taken, and requiring a full accounting of the net loss after any disposition (auction) of the vehicle.

I would suggest consulting the state agency that regulates repos, and making sure she is aware of any and all requirments for your state in the repo process.

[Anonymous]

I had her offer to surrender the vehicle, and they’ll take it and then sue her for the remainder. If they’d just agree to take the car and wipe out the rest she could recover. As is, it’s a never-ending money-pit.

[Anonymous]

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wrote:

Securing an auto loan by way of a lien on the title is not a huge mistake

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This wasn't just a loan secured by an automobile. These "title loan" places are similar to the payday loan places. Instead of having you write a check, they put a lien on your car title. Instead of bouncing a check when you can't pay the 390% interest, they take your car.

In most cases, they are a huge mistake.

[Kree]

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wrote:

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wrote:

Securing an auto loan by way of a lien on the title is not a huge mistake

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This wasn't just a loan secured by an automobile. These "title loan" places are similar to the payday loan places. Instead of having you write a check, they put a lien on your car title. Instead of bouncing a check when you can't pay the 390% interest, they take your car.

In most cases, they are a huge mistake.

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I like states where they are illegal. Should be a federal law.

EDIT: the interest I mean, not the title loan. I got a lovely 4ish percent title loan offer from DCU last week.

[BurgeoningHope]

Early in his rebuild hubby was getting those offers. I'd never heard of them. The first one I did some research, and came back with "HOW IS THIS NOT ILLEGAL???!?"

I've seen nothing to prompt a re-appraisal of my reaction.

My easy screener is, if the credit offer comes with verbiage along the lines of "if you are in the military this offer is not being made to you" or "...doesn't qualify under the Military Lending Law..." (I didn't memorize chapter and verse, but there's new legislation protective of our underpaid servicemen and servicewomen) - if the offer says anything like that, it's wise to consider it unsuitable for you too.

[Anonymous]

I did one, once.  About two years ago.  Ended up getting lucky, finding a buyer for the car that was willing to go through the steps needed to pay me first, so I could go reclaim the title, remove the lien, and mail it to him.

That's the only way I could ever imagine getting out of one of these things in a timely manner.  It's crazy to me that these loans are still allowed in their current form.