surrendering a car currently in the body shop

[free2ride]

I have an appt to meet the lawyer tomorrow to convert our 13 to a 7. I will be paying him to file the case tomorrow as well.

Can someone describe for me what will happen in the conversion. I'm just curious about what the process is like, what papers we may have to have available and what the time frame is like too.

We will be surrendering two vehicles. One is our car which is in the body shop being repaired from a car accident. It is supposed to be ready the end of this week. Our portion of the repairs will be our deductible of $250. Should we pay the deductible and get the car out & drive it until it's picked up by the finance company or will the process move so quickly it won't be worth paying the deductible for to drive it?

Thanks for your advice.

[bobertthecat]

It depends on the bank that has the title. I had a similar situation where my car died a final death and I did not have the $3000+ to repair it.
I called my credit union's bankruptcy department. It took several phone calls, but the bank ended up coming and repossesing it right from the mechanic's shop within 4 business days of my first call. You can save yourself the deductible if your finance company will do this for you.
However, if you want to be able to drive around for awhile, I imagine it would at least take you being 30 days late before they repossess. Hopefully another, more expert, memeber can speak to that.
Good luck!
~Heather

[tcreegan]

Hi free2ride,

Have you been over to the repossession forum? Might be some folks over there with some experience w/ your lender

Tom in Colo

[free2ride]

Good idea, thanks! :-)