Impact of car reposession in Nevada?

June 29, 2015 2:39 PM

Hello, We have a car we can no longer afford, but we owe about $3K more than we could potentially sell it for and we cannot come up with that difference. We are in Nevada and I want to know if we turn the car over to the bank and they sell it, can they come after us for the difference in the balance and what they sell it for. Thank you.
posted by harrietthespy to Work & Money (4 answers total)

This is called a voluntary repossession or turn-in and you will owe the difference. What's more, the bank will likely sell your car at a wholesale auction, meaning you'll get a lot less for it than if you traded it in. Also, the hit to your credit score is almost as significant as a regular repossession because it's still a repossession.

I would look at what you can get for it via private sale (which will be the highest value since you don't have to pay middlemen) and see if you can narrow that gap.
posted by kindall at 2:45 PM on June 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: A private sale is what would net us the smallest difference of about $3K. Thank you.
posted by harrietthespy at 2:47 PM on June 29, 2015

Look at it this way: best case scenario, you lose $3k that you don't have and set up a structured payment plan for slowly paying it back.

Worst case scenario, the car is voluntarily or involuntarily repossessed and you owe a very significant amount more than $3k.

Wash the car, make it look gorgeous, take fantastic pictures and write a compelling description, sell it on craigslist, and create a structured loan repayment plan. Good luck.
posted by arnicae at 4:31 PM on June 29, 2015

Best answer: If you have a car loan, the car most likely can't be sold without the bank signing the title to release their interest. They're not going to do that unless you are paying the loan off in full. Unfortunately, this means that you can't actually sell the car to a private buyer, unless you are able to add in your own funds to pay off the bank at the same time so that they will release the title.
posted by dacoit at 4:36 PM on June 29, 2015 [2 favorites]