How can we avoid not getting our car repo'd?
May 24, 2012 5:25 AM   Subscribe

I have managed to bungle my bil's car loan, and I fear it will be repossessed. Can someone give me some advice? YANAL, YANML, this is not legal advice, etc, etc.

This whole mess could have been avoided if all the parties involved were not socially anxious, stupid about money and temporarily poor.

A few years ago, my bil received an annuity settlement. For reasons I'm not entirely sure (maybe poor credit?), instead of buying a car directly, he paid off a friends car and his friend financed a car for him. I'm not sure of all of the details, except the car loan and car title are entirely in his friends name.

His friend now lives in a different country and my bil has taken over the loan payments. My bil moved in with me and his brother in a city 100 miles from where the friend who holds the loan used to live. For the past six months, our household have been in financial trouble; I went back to school and I only work part time and my bil is making much less money then he thought he would. All of our income has been going to paying bills and rent, subsequently his loan is now two or more months late. This is my fault, I said that I would handle all of the finances and my priority has been keeping the lights on and the food on the table.

This is where the social awkwardness comes in. I know we should have gone and talked to the bank the first month we were going to be late. We didn't. Tomorrow we will be able to pay $600 towards the loan (payment is usually $300/month). In 36 days my bil will receive the last payment from an annuity that will more than cover the loan amount for the car.

Sorry this is so long and unnecessarily detailed, I just don't want to leave anything out because it is annon. Tomorrow when we go to the bank, what should we say? "Sorry this loan that none of our names is on is default, can we please pay some now and please don't repossess the car?" My bil is more afraid of ruining his friends credit and friendship than getting the car repossessed.

Should we take out a title loan on my car to throw more money at the situation? A payday loan? I am willing to look at things that I would normally consider a bad idea financially due to the fact that in little more than a month we will be able to amply cover any debts.

Additional details: this is in AZ, we know that we have 10 days after repossession to pay off the car, he thinks he still owes around $8k, we are, collectively, idiots

We will seek financial advice for the annuity that he and my husband are receiving...we already know we're bad with money
posted by anonymous to Law & Government (6 answers total)
 
You have the answer, but the stress/anxiety is clouding it for you. Send them a check for $600. Or two checks for $300 with the payment stubs for each payment, depending on your preference. Then, next month, pay off the car if that's what you want to do.

However, your problem is that the title will be in this other person's name. You are really going to want to figure out a way to have that person sign the title over to your brother in law.
posted by gjc at 5:46 AM on May 24, 2012 [2 favorites]


You reaching out to the bank is half the battle - if they've been dunning you with no response, the machine kicks in and there will be nothing they are willing to do about it.

If the arrears are met, and a solid future payment plan is offered, they would much rather work with you, I promise. They don't need another repo on the books, especially these days.
posted by halfbuckaroo at 5:47 AM on May 24, 2012


You should get in touch with the friend whose name is on the loan, and let him know what's going on. They may be able to float you the cash to get things under control while you make a plan. The friend won't be happy but, like you said, this has the potential to cause them real long-term problems. They deserve to know about it sooner rather than later.


If the car's value is close to the balance of the loan, it might make sense to sell it and get something he can actually afford. Might not, though -- if bil has been paying $300/mo for a few years and still owes $8k, I'm guessing he might've bought a new car with a long loan term, which would mean it has depreciated quite a bit.
posted by jon1270 at 5:51 AM on May 24, 2012


You're over thinking this. Pay the $600 immediately. The bank will probably not give you any information, including pay off amount, because the loan is not in your name but they can make a note in the file that a payoff is pending.

Contact the friend whose name is on the loan, tell him the payments got behind but that you're nearly caught up and you're paying off the loan on x-date.

Also, it doesn't appear that the bank knows where the car is, which works in your favor. Pay with a money order or cash instead of checks with your address on them. But you usually have to be pretty far behind to get repossessed unless you're dealing with shady car lot but it sounds like you're dealing with a real bank. Paying the $600 now should give you the breathing room you need while you wait out the 36 days.
posted by shoesietart at 6:22 AM on May 24, 2012 [2 favorites]


Pay what you can immediately. Email your bil's friend and let him know what's up.

Call the bank, say you're calling for X, and provide all the loan info. Most of the time that's enough for them to make the necessary notes on the account.

Most banks have a direct pay/auto pay provision, where you can get your money instantly credited to the account. If your bank is out of state, pay the extra (it might be something like a Western Union wire transfer) to get the cash posted ASAP. If the bank is local, go in and pay in person.

This is not the end of the world, but this is the dumbest thing your BIL's friend could have done.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 6:31 AM on May 24, 2012


This is my fault, I said that I would handle all of the finances and my priority has been keeping the lights on and the food on the table.

This ISN'T your fault. Your BIL was not giving you enough money to cover his room/board AND a 300 car payment. Plus, he clearly has not been forthright in giving you necessary information. You think he owes two months, maybe more? Can your BIL find out exactly? Since you are paying 600 tomorrow that covers the two months. It is unlikely they will repossess if there is only a month owing and you can give them a post-dated cheque for the remaining amount.

I think a lot of your understandable anxiety comes from having so little information and not being able to find the information due to your BIL and his his friend. This is not your responsibility, they are adults and they can look after their own finances. If they can't look after their own finances they are not in a position to then criticise YOU for not suffering more hardship on their behalf. Do NOT get a title loan, or payday loan (on your paycheque), to give cash to people that have a history of poor money management and enmeshing their friends in their financial troubles.

Can you look into improving your financial literacy? There are books (like Dave Ramsey) you can get from the library and their may be some free/low cost courses offered near you. Working with money is a skill, if you haven't been taught then there is nothing productive about beating yourself up about what you you haven't had a chance to learn.
posted by saucysault at 8:50 AM on May 24, 2012 [1 favorite]


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