Expert: Bennie719 - 7/11/2009

Question
QUESTION: I had a car I purchased from a buy here pay here, I tried to get them to change my due date, because it interfered with my insurance due date. Well long story short, my car payments are up to date, but the insurance had been lapsed for about 45 days till i had some money to re-insure the vehicle, but they did not have written in there contract that they can repossess my vehicle without notice, nor did they send me a notice until after they repossessed the vehicle. Is this legal

ANSWER: Hi Ken,
Different laws apply in different states.  I have never before
heard of a repossession based solely on the fact that your car
insurance lapsed.

Since you state that your vehicle was financed with a "buy here.
pay here" then I assume that you were making payments to the used car lot.  Since they are not a recognized financial lending institution,
they don't have access to a VSI carrier that would protect them
for the balance owed on the loan and had no choice but to repossess
before you had an accident or the car was stolen.

No one is ever forewarned of a repossession because the majority
would simply hide the vehicle to avoid the repossession.

You need to talk to the dealer and work out terms to retrieve
your car.

Sincerely,
Bennie
San Francisco Bay Area



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: We live in Fla., and the contract we signed, was a generic contract, and the letter that was sent after the repossession, stated that it was a default of payments that was being used as a basis for the repossession. If the contract only asks that you get insurance, but not maintain insurance or what the penalty would be if you did not have insurance. the only thing on the contract about repossession is due to default of payments. Then how could this be legal?

Answer
Hi Ken,
If the letter stated that the repossession was due to a default
in payment and you state that your payments were up to date,
then you need to immediately get in contact with the firm that sent you the repossession after the fact letter.

If your records are in order and they have made a mistake, this is
something that you should be able to easily resolve.

If you need help, contact the local Better Business Bureau for
advice and referral to the proper state agency.

Bennie