Car got towed yesterday .. would appreciate some insights

So she didn't make payments and the car got towed? What's the problem?

She signed legal documents saying she agreed to repay the loan and the car is collateral. She stopped paying, they took the car. End of story.

I'm guessing the legal docs would probably trump a clerical error in court.

 

I used to work for a car leasing firm, and we would repo cars all the time. The first thing to remember is that the repo guys (tow truck driver) is an agent of the lienholder...he is doing what he was contracted to do and is not liable for what his client (the lienholder) has represented. His only responsibility is to ensure via a VIN check that he is repossessing the right vehicle (people switch plates with their neighbor's near-identical vehicle often!). So you're probably barking up the wrong tree with the repo man.

Any reputable repo guy (often a contradiction in terms) will file with the police/sheriff that they were contracted to repo the car, preventing a "stolen vehicle" report from being filed and/or him being prosecuted.

A lienholder does not have to be on the title in order for the lien to be in effect. There is a legally binding contract between the loan company and your sister with the vehicle as collateral. So the error on the title does not release the lien, or prevent the lienholder from taking action for non-payment.

In short, your sister didn't meet the terms of her finance contract, and the lienholder took a "default remedy". (It is fairly common practice to repo a car after just 2 missed payments, sometimes 3). You can try the BBB, that is probably your best course of action, but given the facts of the case, I would not expect much.

Sorry I can't give you better news...

 

Maybe just a CYA move on their part. or they could be hoping they get to repo it again...

That is a very interesting revenue source...I'd ask for the list of fees from the city/county on that one.

 

If I understood the OP correctly, he's looking to find a way out of a situation because of a technicality (clerical error). Sorry, won't win my sympathy. If your sis has defaulted on a loan where the repossession terms have been clearly drawn up beforehand, then she deserves to lose the car. Whether or not the 'i's were dotted or the 't's were crossed, the end result was a fair one.

 

Dude, your sister would not have these problems if she made the payments. What is so hard for you to understand? So what if her name is the only one on the title. One quick statement of facts by the loan company and that will be fixed. You thought a little technical error would allow her to keep the car, or somehow enable you to demand that the tow company bring it back to you for free? It is clear your sister KNEW about the error beforehand, and sat tight, hoping that this technicality would allow her to hang on to the car. Really, she should have gotten on the phone to the loan company and pointed out the mistake.

It is beyond stupid for you to expect the tow truck operator to have any interest in this. And no, you can't have random cars towed. There is a specific set of paperwork and legal procedures...none of which involve inspection of the title. Whether the lienholder's name is on the title or not, there are plenty of other documents that prove the car was collateral for the loan. If your sister had sold the car, she would be guilty of conversion... don't assume you can screw over lenders because of simple paperwork errors. If the title has an error, it can and will be corrected. You don't have a leg to stand on.

Nice family.

 

In a word, no.

 

My guess is the tow truck driver did NOT hang around for his safety. She could easily be going for a gun, knife, or other weapon instead of title.... I don't blame him a bit.

Count her lucky that the car is released to her. I foresee many legal problems for her in the future unless she gets caught up in her payments.

Wonder if this thread will get to 100+ pages like the Lambo one.

 

Maybe I'm ignorant, but when you have a loan for something, do you really own it?

 

It depends on the loan, I think.

 

You own it until you stop paying for it. Then the collateral is seized to satisfy the loan.

 

Basically my point is, until you have paid for something 100%, it isn't truly yours. It may be sitting in your garage, but the fact that a couple missed payments mean it gets the hook says you are merely the custodian.

 

That's what I've always thought and learned. Until you have paid off that loan, you are more or less renting the car from the financial institution.

 

True enough. Technically you own it unless you miss payments, but in reality you don't really own it until it's paid off.

 

Maybe with cars. I think most auto loans are set up as secured loans with the car as collateral. With a home it is different, at least in Florida. You own the home when you buy it, even with a mortgage. The home is still security for the note, but it's far more difficult to foreclose on a home than repo'ing a car. Couple well-publicized cases down here where mortgage companies couldn't produce proper documentation and so they owners skated on foreclosure. I don't think that happens with cars (or boats, motorcycles, etc) where the banks generally hold the title.

 

Funny how every once in a while we get these guys who are indignant their little 'scheme' isnt going their way and they expect sympathy/support from us.

Seriously...the fact that you felt a clerical error on her title voided the rest of the loan paperwork she signed shows you have a lot of maturing to do.

 

I agree 100%. Personal responsibility is sorely lacking in this country today. His sister didn't pay, so the car gets towed. I'm still not sure why he's so indignant about that. This is not on the tow company, or the company that made the clerical error on the title. It's on his sister for not paying her bills, or for buying a car she cannot afford.

 

Agree. Further, do you really think your sister's objection is unique? I seriously doubt it would be the first time he's heard, "oh wait! You're wrong, you're NOT supposed to tow my car".

Tell her to pay her bills or liquidate assets she can no longer afford PRIOR to this point in the future.

Sadly, not even then. Try not paying your property taxes. We're all just renting from the Gov.

 

Cars and homes are slightly different in this respect.

 

Most of the time on a car repossesion the bank goes in the tank anyhow. They are on the hook for the amount that the person negotiatied with the selling party. They then go get a rapidly depreciating asset from the debtor and sell it at wholesale prices at auction. Add in all of the reposession fees and such and you can see that it is a losing proposition for the banks to be out repoing cars. They just want to get as much back from those deadbeats as possible...Oh, yeah, to the original poster, that's right I called your sister a deadbeat. It is people with these attitudes as to why this country is in the financial state that it is. People overbuy and take little to no personal responsibility for their own actions. These are the same people that trash their houses when faced with forclosure and overheat the engines of their boats when faced with reposession. It makes me sick.