Even though your car is sitting in your driveway, if you are making payments on it, the real owner of that vehicle is the lender. If you look at the vehicle title, you�ll notice that the �lien holder� section will contain the name and address of the bank you borrowed money from in order to purchase your car. This means that until you make your final payment and receive a �release of lien� letter from the bank, that car parked in your driveway really doesn�t belong to you.
If you�re having financial problems, especially if you financed your car with a bad credit car loan, it�s important to keep the bank informed of your situation. Otherwise, you could be involved with repossessions and
bad credit car leasing. By calling them and explaining the problem, you might be able to set up special payment arrangements. Depending on the way your finance contract is worded, the bank could have the right to repossess your car if they receive the payment even one day late. The bank also has the right to take the car without a court order, so if you do fall behind, repossessions and bad credit car loans means that you shouldn�t expect to see a letter in the mail beforehand.
With repossessions and
car loans for bad credit, an involuntary repossession means that the bank sent someone to seize your car. In an involuntary repossession, you take the car back, yourself. By taking it back yourself, you may avoid certain fees the lender will charge you if it has to send someone out to physically take your car. But even it you bring the car to the bank, yourself, the effect is the same and a voluntary repossession does not look any better on your credit report than an involuntary one.
In repossessions and bad credit car loans, once your vehicle has been repossessed and, depending on the state in which you live, the bank must notify you within a certain number of days when the car will be sold. During this time, it may also be possible to buy back the vehicle for the balance owed plus any expenses incurred by the bank. You also may be able to reinstate the loan by paying the amount you are delinquent, plus expenses, but this is entirely up to the lender and the way the contract was worded.
Under the terms of most repossessions and bad credit car loans, if the bank sells the vehicle for more than the amount owed, plus expenses, you are entitled to the difference. If the vehicle sells at auction for less than the contract balance, the bank has a right to go to court and seek a judgment against you for the balance of the loan.
The bottom line to all of this is that if you�re having problems paying your loan, you should do all that you can to avoid what will happen with repossessions and bad credit car loans. You should start by calling the bank and explaining your situation. Remember that a repossession is a black mark on your credit history and can prevent you from getting a car loan � any type of car loan, from any type of legitimate lender � for at least a year.