Anyone have experience with car repo?

splotch716 · March 2016

My mom's vehicle was repossessed last Tuesday, March 1st. She was three months behind, had a payment to send them and just never did. The vehicle's monthly payment was almost $600. I had talked to her before about potentially selling the vehicle and finding a way to pay off the rest of the loan. She has no idea what the interest rate is or the loan term.

She called them on the 2nd and was told she only needed $1921 plus the storage fees to get it back and that she had 21 days. She almost had it. Then she called on the 8th to verify they would only take a wire transfer from Western Union. They then told her she needed to pay almost $2500 plus storage fees and only had 10 business days. The 10th business day is this coming Monday. I advised her to call them and ask for something in writing stating how much she would need to pay in order to get GM to release the vehicle to her. They told her they would have to get supervisor approval for that and never got back to her.

Then today she received a letter dated March 3rd, that she would need to pay the balance in full of just over $21,000. She called to have me authorized to speak with them since she is in no state to have a rational conversation about it, with them. However, I have not been able to get someone on the phone, just a voicemail.

I know she shouldn't have taken out the loan for the car, or purchased a new vehicle when she did. She has no savings. She is unable to take the bus due to her chronic pain. I threw out the idea of finding a beater car with the money that she has to get hers back, but she was not open to that idea. She also suffers from debilitating anxiety and depression.

I guess my question is how to move forward? If it is the $2500 amount then she won't let it go. However, if it is the $21,000 amount she won't have a choice.

als1982 · March 2016

Your mom has no business owning this car. Why is she opposed to spending the $2,500 on a paid in cash car?

ETA: Could you pose it as not having a car payment being helpful to relieve some of her anxiety?

splotch716 · March 2016

Her and I have had this conversation so many times about this vehicle. It comes back to being the only nice thing that she owns. There is a lot of emotion tied up in it as we are both survivors of domestic violence and having something new wasn't allowed before.

We have had a conversation about getting a $2500 cash car, but right now she won't entertain the idea. But I keep bringing it up.

Her finances are so out of wack that if the car did break down or need any work she wouldn't be able to afford to fix it.

als1982 · March 2016

splotch716 said:

Her and I have had this conversation so many times about this vehicle. It comes back to being the only nice thing that she owns. There is a lot of emotion tied up in it as we are both survivors of domestic violence and having something new wasn't allowed before.
We have had a conversation about getting a $2500 cash car, but right now she won't entertain the idea. But I keep bringing it up.
Her finances are so out of wack that if the car did break down or need any work she wouldn't be able to afford to fix it.

I would just keep working to convince her that getting rid of this car is taking control back and giving her the power over herself and her own life.

short+sassy · March 2016

Oooofff, I'm sorry to hear this. If the remainder due on the loan is $21K, what is the car's value? Unless the car is worth a lot more than the loan value, I don't think she should even try to get it back. A $600 car payment is an enormous amount that she apparently couldn't afford anyway. What would be different about that even if she got the car back? She'd probably just fall behind again and it would be repo'ed again.

I apologize for being harsh about your mother's situation, though I suspect I'm preaching to the choir, but she just needs to get over herself and use the money she has collected to buy a car she can afford without a monthly payment. I'm sure it will be a big bummer to go from driving whatever fancy new car comes with a $600/month payment to whatever she can buy for $2500 cash but, in the long run, she'll be doing herself a big favor.

For the future, are you willing to manage your mother's finances and would she allow that? Or at least let you work on a budget with her? Again, I hate to be harsh, but she sounds childlike in how she manages her money. I may not be able to tell someone the exact amount of my interest rate for a loan or the exact month/year I'll be done paying, but I could at least answer those questions within a fairly small range. And, unless something happened within the last few months or so that really changed her financial situation, there really isn't an excuse to be 3 months behind on a car unless she bought something she couldn't remotely afford to begin with.

short+sassy · March 2016

splotch716 said:

Her and I have had this conversation so many times about this vehicle. It comes back to being the only nice thing that she owns. There is a lot of emotion tied up in it as we are both survivors of domestic violence and having something new wasn't allowed before.
We have had a conversation about getting a $2500 cash car, but right now she won't entertain the idea. But I keep bringing it up.
Her finances are so out of wack that if the car did break down or need any work she wouldn't be able to afford to fix it.

Sorry! I posted before this post popped up.

I'm so sorry to hear about what you and your mom went through. It gives a little perspective. But there are a lot of nice things she can do for herself and buy for herself without putting herself into such a financial pickle. Unfortunately, the ship has sailed on that. She has already destroyed her credit for the next 7 years with the 3 missed payments and a repo.

You don't need to answer this but, if she spent much of her life in an abusive relationship, I'm wondering if she wasn't allowed to manage money and so never learned those skills?

It's hard to see someone you love flailing and my heart goes out to you.

splotch716 · March 2016

Thanks guys! The car is a 2013 Hyundai Elantra, purchased in November of 2013. I don't know if it was the base model or not. The letter she received from GM has a payoff balance of just over $21,000. I agree completely it is not a car that she can afford and have been trying to get her to get rid of it.

I've also tried to help her with her finances. We've met to go over her budget but she feels so overwhelmed with debt that it is hard to get the whole picture in just one sitting. She has always been bad with her money, no budget or anything, ever. Up until a few months ago she would use the overdraft protection on her bank account every payday.

We have discussed me managing her finances. I am willing to do it, but I don't think she will like it. It was her idea but I am somewhat hesitant. I have been a payee at my job before and having control of someone's money flips the power differential and changes the relationship.

Bottom line is that she is going to have to experience some pain (financially) before it will get better. I want to take her through FPU but I haven't been myself.

short+sassy · March 2016

I'm surprised her car payment is so high! And it sounds like she has barely touched the principal, even though she has been paying for at least 2-3 years. I suspect she might have a really high interest rate.

Does she at least earn more than what her bills are? Or could with some discipline? Maybe if she could see a light at the end of the tunnel...even if it is many years away...that could give her hope to at least start chipping away at it.

It's like the old joke. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

smetter04 · March 2016

@splotch716, I don't have any advice about the car, but I just want to say that my heart goes out to you, too.

My MIL has similar financial issues as well as a history of emotional & financial abuse from her spouse, so I know how difficult it is to convince a loved one that figuring out their finances will give them more control over their life. H and I have been wanting to do a budget with her for some time, but it won't happen until she's ready, and unfortunately sometimes people don't know they're ready until they've hit rock bottom. In the last couple years problems have been snowballing for my MIL, and we've been giving financial 'hints' for years, and now she is starting to come to us for advice.

I don't mean to be pessimistic about your situation, of course every situation is different, but if she doesn't take your help to turn around her finances right now, if you continue offering smaller doses of support, maybe she'll come to you willingly.

brij2006 · March 2016

splotch716 said:

Thanks guys! The car is a 2013 Hyundai Elantra, purchased in November of 2013. I don't know if it was the base model or not. The letter she received from GM has a payoff balance of just over $21,000. I agree completely it is not a car that she can afford and have been trying to get her to get rid of it.
I've also tried to help her with her finances. We've met to go over her budget but she feels so overwhelmed with debt that it is hard to get the whole picture in just one sitting. She has always been bad with her money, no budget or anything, ever. Up until a few months ago she would use the overdraft protection on her bank account every payday.
We have discussed me managing her finances. I am willing to do it, but I don't think she will like it. It was her idea but I am somewhat hesitant. I have been a payee at my job before and having control of someone's money flips the power differential and changes the relationship.
Bottom line is that she is going to have to experience some pain (financially) before it will get better. I want to take her through FPU but I haven't been myself.

See if she will go with you as your guest. Or offer to pay for her to go through it while you and your H go through it as well. In a situation like this, FPU can make a drastic change in a persons' life like hers. It will give her some hope, a plan, and the tools to tackle that plan.

brij2006 · March 2016

As for the repo'd car. If she turns it over to GM, they will sell it for auction price rather than market price, then come after her for the difference for a very very long time. It will be a debt that she still owes them, even though she no longer owns the car and they have sold it.

If she has the money to get it out, that is her best option and then she needs to turn around and sell it for as much as she possibly can then buy herself a beater.

formerlyGDaisy09 · March 2016

I'm so sorry for what your mother has go through, but @short+sassy is right, getting the car back is going to create more problems than it solves.

This makes terrible money sense, but imaging the nice/new things or perhaps pampering experiences your mother could afford if her finances weren't tied up in a $600/month car payment?

I'd convince her that for now she needs to suck it up and buy a $2500 car in cash, stash half that $600 payment aside every month, that money is for any repairs and maintanence the cash car might need and for saving for a HUGE downpayment (I assume if she got approved for that kind of loan she must have close to that amount in her budget everymonth that could be dedicated to a car). In 2-3 years she'll have $7,000-10,000 to spend on a nicer car (I would never buy a brand new car). PLUS that's only putting $300 in savings a month, assuming the other $300 from the carpayment is in her budget she now has $300 a month that can be spent/saved for other things. so lets say she decides that she's going to take half of that and spend it on herself, so maybe she gets a mani/pedi, or buys a new pair of shoes, or goes out to dinner a couple times a month with friends. then she has $150 a month to stick aside in an emergency fund so she doesn't end up in this $#!tty situation again.

Sell it to her with all the things she is going to be able to do by unburdening herself from this car and buying something in cash.

ETA: I typed most of this and walked away before posting. I think others here are giving good advice. it does sound like she needs some outside help, and things are going to get worse before they get better.

JoanE2012 · March 2016

She might want nice things, but she can't afford a $600 car payment. I'm not even sure how that's even possible? Figuring 24 months of payments that she already made, that's over $14k. I looked at the top model and it's just under $23k. How does she still owe $21k?? Like others mentioned, she's got to buy a cheap car for cash for now. I hope you can talk her so she can turn things around. Good luck!

jtmh2012 · March 2016

JoanE2012 said:

She might want nice things, but she can't afford a $600 car payment. I'm not even sure how that's even possible? Figuring 24 months of payments that she already made, that's over $14k. I looked at the top model and it's just under $23k. How does she still owe $21k??

My guess is her credit wasn't good (or non-existent) before she purchased it, so they gave her a sky high interest rate.

Erikan73 · March 2016

Instead of trying to take over finances or budget, ask her if you can have all her bills so that you can put them into order for her because that will help reduce her stress and anxiety. Maybe you can create a filing system for her.

Then once you know what her expenses are, sit down with her and review them and what her income is. Then continue to sit down with her maybe every two weeks, like right before she gets paid, to help her with the finances for the next month. Then you aren't controlling her finances, she still is, but with your help. Then hopefully after time, you can reduce the amount of times you go over her budget with her. I think this would be more beneficial for her because she will learn how to control her finances and work a budget herself. That may help to give her confidence too because then she can do something she hasn't been able to do for herself. Also, god forbid something happens to you or you move out of the area, you have taught her some life skills and won't have to worry about her as much.

Maybe go food shopping together to help her learn how to eat good but save money. Basically you become the teacher/parent teaching her different life skills, but it will give you both freedom down the road as she will be able to better take care of herself and you won't need to worry so much about her. Also consider this some great mother/daughter time too.

I would recommend as part of her budget to see if any utilities she has will do a budget plan for her. This way she will know exactly how much the bill will be each month. Then see what bills she has that can be automatically deducted from a checking account. This part may seem out there, have her open 2 checking accounts. One that all the money for bills goes into, and she doesn't get a debit card for this account. Then all the automatic payments would come from this account and you would know that those bills are being taken care of each month. And for her, it would hopefully reduce stress because then she would know hey, if I have x amount direct deposited into this account, I won't have to think about paying bills a, b c. This account should either be a joint account so you can see activity or set up so at least you can log in and monitor the activity for this account online.

The second account is for things she needs cash for, like grocery shopping, gas/transportation, hair cut, personal expenses. I'm thinking the Dave Ramsey envelope system, or something similar to it might be helpful for her.

I'm sorry to hear what you and your mom have gone through and what she is currently going through with her car. I get why she doesn't want to give her car up and doesn't want to get an older car. Maybe tell her that turning the car in & getting something older & less expensive is a temporary thing until she gets into a better place financially and then once she is, she can buy herself a brand new car, that fits better into her budget.

splotch716 · March 2016

She was able to get her car back on Friday after many calls to GM. She was able to come up with enough money through aflack and flex spending claims. We then went over her monthly bills. The interest rate on her car is 19.9% and is a 72 month loan. I am assuming her credit wasn't very good when she purchased the vehicle. She also has a significant amount of debt that we didn't really get into yet.

We discussed doing direct deposit for all of her monthly bills to be automatically paid. It is going to be a lot of work and take some time but hopefully she will stick with it. She did call me from the library later Friday night asking me what the name of Dave Ramsey's book was!

Side note: After the way that GM Financial treated me while on the phone, I will never purchase a GM product/car or use GM financial. I know they are trying to collect debt but all we were trying to do was figure out how to get it to them. The representative was extremely rude and demeaning.

Erikan73 · March 2016

So happy to hear that things worked out with your mom's car. Sounds like this may have been a wake up call for her. It will take time, and it's going to be overwhelming for her at times I'm sure, it has been and still is sometimes for me. But she's got a great support system with you on her side. Thanks for the update & wishes for continued success for you and your mom.

brij2006 · March 2016

splotch716 said:

She was able to get her car back on Friday after many calls to GM. She was able to come up with enough money through aflack and flex spending claims. We then went over her monthly bills. The interest rate on her car is 19.9% and is a 72 month loan. I am assuming her credit wasn't very good when she purchased the vehicle. She also has a significant amount of debt that we didn't really get into yet.

We discussed doing direct deposit for all of her monthly bills to be automatically paid. It is going to be a lot of work and take some time but hopefully she will stick with it. She did call me from the library later Friday night asking me what the name of Dave Ramsey's book was!

Side note: After the way that GM Financial treated me while on the phone, I will never purchase a GM product/car or use GM financial. I know they are trying to collect debt but all we were trying to do was figure out how to get it to them. The representative was extremely rude and demeaning.

I'm an avid DR follower, and this is a huge huge step for someone who hasn't been in charge with their finances.

Also, that interest rate, payment, and vehicle in general is completely out of her realm. It would be a good time to sit down with her and discuss getting some good pictures of the vehicle and get it listed for sale on a few sites.

formerlyGDaisy09 · March 2016

brij2006 said:

splotch716 said:

She was able to get her car back on Friday after many calls to GM. She was able to come up with enough money through aflack and flex spending claims. We then went over her monthly bills. The interest rate on her car is 19.9% and is a 72 month loan. I am assuming her credit wasn't very good when she purchased the vehicle. She also has a significant amount of debt that we didn't really get into yet.

We discussed doing direct deposit for all of her monthly bills to be automatically paid. It is going to be a lot of work and take some time but hopefully she will stick with it. She did call me from the library later Friday night asking me what the name of Dave Ramsey's book was!

Side note: After the way that GM Financial treated me while on the phone, I will never purchase a GM product/car or use GM financial. I know they are trying to collect debt but all we were trying to do was figure out how to get it to them. The representative was extremely rude and demeaning.

I'm an avid DR follower, and this is a huge huge step for someone who hasn't been in charge with their finances.

Also, that interest rate, payment, and vehicle in general is completely out of her realm. It would be a good time to sit down with her and discuss getting some good pictures of the vehicle and get it listed for sale on a few sites.

This.

Anyone have experience with car repo?

Re: Anyone have experience with car repo?

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