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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    Texas
    Posts
    19

    Default Late on Payment, How Long Before They Take My Car

    My question involves an auto loan or repossession in the State of: MI/TX

    I bought my car in November of 2013. The car was in great condition. The only thing I had to do was replace the back shock and get new tires. I have paid all my payments on time and in full or more than the minimum. Since then the car has been nearly destroyed by my old roommate. He got in an accident and kept backing into things, rammed the side of it into the garage denting and scraping the side and tearing off the mirror, and for some reason he thought it would be a good idea to stand on the roof to look in the attic in the garage so the roof is dented so the sunroof leaks. Also he drove like an idiot so the engine is misfiring on 4 cylinders. Anyway, I was unable to make my payment in March and my payment was due on the 2nd of April. I called my loan company and told them I had moved from Michigan to Texas and needed to change my address and apologized for not paying them and said I didn't know when I was going to be able to make my next payment. I should be able to pay them by the end of this month. She said it was ok and I just had to send to them in writing my change address. I did. I'm just worried that someone is going to show up and take my car. I tried looking up what the laws were on repossessions and really didn't find an answer. I've always had insurance on it (full coverage). Can someone explain how long I have before my car is taken away?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Toledo, OH
    Posts
    16,307

    Default Re: Late on Payment, How Long Before They Take My Car

    Can someone explain how long I have before my car is taken away?
    Generally speaking, they can show up the day after your payment is due. Most won't, but some will.

    Call your lender and make more concrete payment arrangements. If you've never been late before, it's pretty likely that they'll work something out with you, especially if your problem is temporary.

    You might also consider suing your idiot roommate for the cost of the repairs.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    Texas
    Posts
    19

    Default Re: Late on Payment, How Long Before They Take My Car

    I would sue him...he owes me to the tune of $15,000. Plus whatever if I do sue him for the repairs. It's just he's 1300 miles away in Michigan and he messaged me the other day asking for our landlords number because he is moving. The guy is a dead beat. I really have no proof that he damaged my car or that he owes me the money. The only proof I have for the car is half a text message about the garage thing and the insurance claim for the accident. I got $1300 for the accident. I wasn't able to fix my car with the money because I had to pay everyone's rent and the rest of mine and his bills (I know, I'm an idiot.) I did get the police involved on some of my property but because I have little proof of the things and the last time I contacted them they said it was a civil matter not a police matter (despite telling me if I came up with the receipt for my tv that I bought that I could take it. I got it and they refused to help me).

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Behind a Desk
    Posts
    98,846

    Default Re: Late on Payment, How Long Before They Take My Car

    If your car is repossessed, the lien holder is going to attempt to get all of that damage repaired through the insurance you're contractually obligated to carry on the car as a condition of your loan.

  5. #5

    Default Re: Late on Payment, How Long Before They Take My Car

    Due to the level of damage you should file a police report for vandalizm and theft. In some states it is easier to do than others. The police don't want to get involved because you know the person. This problem can be a nightmare in certain states. Does your town allow you to swear out a warrant to a magistrate. Think of the police as an insurance company. You say one wrong word then they don't want to pay your claim or in your case file charges.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
    Location
    OH10
    Posts
    17,019

    Default Re: Late on Payment, How Long Before They Take My Car

    At some point, OP bares the responsibility also. Apparently they kept lending the car aware it was being damaged each time.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Posts
    7,056

    Default Re: Late on Payment, How Long Before They Take My Car

    Quote Quoting map0824
    View Post
    Due to the level of damage you should file a police report for vandalizm and theft.
    But wouldn't that be a crime, the filling of a false police report? He has possession of the car so there is no theft.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    Texas
    Posts
    19

    Default Re: Late on Payment, How Long Before They Take My Car

    The first time the car was damaged was while I was out of town for Christmas and he decided he was lonely and needed a friend so he drove an hour and a half to pick up some chick he met on a dating site. When he went to take her home there was a snowstorm and he took the highway and ended up in a ditch. With the roof, this happened the same week I was out of town. One of the guys that was living with us put my cats outside in the sub zero temps because I guess one of them nibbled a cord in his room. So, my roommate thought he was in the attic in the garage and stood on my car to get up there. Then in January I came to Texas for a month and everyday he would call or text me to say something (sometimes about the car, sometimes about other drama that he caused). Usually it was that he was stuck in the driveway. He kept hitting the snowbanks so the back bumper is destroyed. I don't know how he managed to hit the side of the garage. Yes, he had permission to use the car (he did NOT have permission over Christmas to go "get a friend." He was to go to work and the store if he needed to). But, I was never even in the state when any of this happened. In March the power steering went out and on the engine you have to take off a plastic cover that is held on by the oil cap to get to it. Well, I guess the oil cap was on tight so he thought it would be a good idea to just try and bend it (I fail to understand his logic). Well, he snapped the tube that leads to the oil well, so now the cover just floats and the cap is screwed directly into the engine and is very difficult to get off. The police in that town are not fond of him. The only thing is I have no idea where he is. A week and a half ago he messaged me on facebook asking for the landlords number because he was moving downstate for a job he might not have and needed it for a potential landlord and his phone was broken. I don't know why I gave in. But, two days ago I spoke to a friend and she said he just showed up on her doorstep asking to use her phone. I guess he worked one day and was fired and had walked and hitchhiked back up there (this is at least a three hour drive). And she doesn't know where he is now.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Location
    WV
    Posts
    230

    Default Re: Late on Payment, How Long Before They Take My Car

    The only thing I see that might be construed as criminal would be the repeated ramming of the snow drift and that would be stretching it based on the prior permission to use the vehicle. The time to address the joyriding situation would have been back around Christmas, not four months later and after having collected insurance money.

    The question you need to ask yourself is whether or not it is worth it to try and file a civil action against him for the $15k you said he owes you. It would take time and money to try and win a judgement you might not ever be able to collect.

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