Once discharged, am I still responsible for car??

[poorpoorpoor]

Just still feeling out my options... if I do not reaffirm my car, I understand that the bank can repossess/collect it at any time.
Can I still drive it? Am I still responsible for it? Do I need to keep insurance on it after the BK discharge?

Just trying to figure out when/where my responsibility ends.

It's not with a local bank, so I have no idea how long it would be before they would arrange to pick it up.

[LadyInTheRed]

You can drive it until they take it. But, don't keep anything in it and be prepared for it to be repo'd at anytime. You could come out of the grocery store and find it gone.

I wouldn't worry about liaiblity for damage to the car, but you are liable for damages to other people and property while the car is in your name. So, maintain liability insurance until it is repo'd.

[hmsmith]

We did not reaffirm our car and once we were discharged we still had the car and drove it for another 3 weeks or so. I had to tell the bank where I lived and where the car would be, but if I needed to go somewhere I took it. I kept insurance on it until they took it. And I made sure to clean out the car of anything valuable that I wanted to keep.

And just so you know, they took my car during the night!

[tobee43]

we voluntarily surrendered one of cars and kept insurance on it until the moment we dropped it off. the problem we had was it was with a credit union so they had to find a place to take it where we could drop it off. we did, signed the paper and on the way home in our rental car called the insurance and dropped it. they even sent us a check for the pre paid amount on both our car and our homeowners insurance...over $1000. it was great.

also just so you know, it shows up on our credit reports as "voluntarily surrendered" as opposed to repo'ed. not that that means a hill of beans.

[AngelinaCatHub]

Just still feeling out my options... if I do not reaffirm my car, I understand that the bank can repossess/collect it at any time.
Can I still drive it? Am I still responsible for it? Do I need to keep insurance on it after the BK discharge?

Just trying to figure out when/where my responsibility ends.

It's not with a local bank, so I have no idea how long it would be before they would arrange to pick it up.

A common option that no one mentioned is: You can "ride through" if you wish to keep the car. You must keep every payment up to date. They cannot legally repo the car if you are fulfilling your obligation of the contract. Otherwise if you do not wish to keep the car insure it until they pick it up. 'Hub

[bcohen]

A common option that no one mentioned is: You can "ride through" if you wish to keep the car. You must keep every payment up to date. They cannot legally repo the car if you are fulfilling your obligation of the contract. Otherwise if you do not wish to keep the car insure it until they pick it up. 'Hub

Unless you live in certain states (Massachusetts comes to mind), this advice is NOT CORRECT. Many lenders have a policy of repossessing--even if all payments are kept current--unless the debtor reaffirms the loan. This is done as an attempt to extort people into reaffirming, which is generally not in the debtor's best interest. A good example of a lender who does this is Ford Motor Credit.

[poorpoorpoor]

Great info. Thanks, guys! This forum has been so helpful.

I think I'm going to try and reaffirm. My attorney suggested I get an offer from Carmax to see what the car is worth and that is what he will provide to the Court to help determine the reaffirmation amount. I don't know how likely the C.U. will agree to it, but I guess it's worth the $500 filing fee to find out as I'd love to be able to keep the car if possible.

Carmax offered $7500; I owe approx. $11,500 on the car plus an additional $15,000 in unsecured debt to the same C.U. (which is located across the country).

Longshot??

[poorpoorpoor]

You can drive it until they take it. But, don't keep anything in it and be prepared for it to be repo'd at anytime. You could come out of the grocery store and find it gone.

I wouldn't worry about liaiblity for damage to the car, but you are liable for damages to other people and property while the car is in your name. So, maintain liability insurance until it is repo'd.

So, just out of curiosity, how do they manage to repo a car when you are out and about? Do they follow you around? If so, why wouldn't they just repo from the house? How do they locate the car?

[goon]

So, just out of curiosity, how do they manage to repo a car when you are out and about? Do they follow you around? If so, why wouldn't they just repo from the house? How do they locate the car?

From what I have been told that may happen if you keep the car in a garage or something. They might stake you out (during a time when they think it is likely for you to go somewhere) and then follow you and grab it while you are in a store.

Also if the repo guy has a number of cars he is looking for in a certain area he may cruise the parking lots of the grocery stores in that area from time to time, checking his list... everyone's gotta eat, right? Some of the more sophisticated outfits have software that groups vehicles and can give them a checklist for people within proximity of various stores, if there are enough on any given list it is worth hitting the parking lot as they are "making their rounds".

[poorpoorpoor]

From what I have been told that may happen if you keep the car in a garage or something. They might stake you out (during a time when they think it is likely for you to go somewhere) and then follow you and grab it while you are in a store.

Also if the repo guy has a number of cars he is looking for in a certain area he may cruise the parking lots of the grocery stores in that area from time to time, checking his list... everyone's gotta eat, right? Some of the more sophisticated outfits have software that groups vehicles and can give them a checklist for people within proximity of various stores, if there are enough on any given list it is worth hitting the parking lot as they are "making their rounds".

Thanks, Goon. That makes total sense now. I didn't even consider the garage issue in the repo business. Mine is not garage, so I guess I may wake up one morning less one vehicle.

[goon]

If the opportunity arises they would actually rather take it after seeing you walk into a store, than from your house. They know you will be in there for at least a few minutes, so less chance of a confrontation.

[malf1204]

My state requires valid insurance as long as the vehicle is licensed if not the state will fine you for the time the car is licensed so make sure if you cancel the insurance you turn in the plates if your state has such a rule. A tree could fall on the car and you are not liable but if you were to have an accident you would be personally liable if you are at fault and had no insurance plus you would receive a ticket for no insurance.

[poorpoorpoor]

My state requires valid insurance as long as the vehicle is licensed if not the state will fine you for the time the car is licensed so make sure if you cancel the insurance you turn in the plates if your state has such a rule. A tree could fall on the car and you are not liable but if you were to have an accident you would be personally liable if you are at fault and had no insurance plus you would receive a ticket for no insurance.

Great info. Thank you.
Will remember to remove the plates and turn them in. So much to think about.