# Vehicle Repossession



## brokeandhungry (Jun 9, 2011)

Hey I have a question if anyone can help me.

I had a van which I made payments on for 2 years out of my 4 year contract, I lost my job and stopped making payments on the vehicle about 4 or 5 months ago. I called the finance company about 3 months ago to tell them to come pick it up since Im unemployed. The finance company should have repossessed it months ago but it is still sitting in my driveway. 

Why havent they picked it up yet? 

Is it possible they wont bother since the vehicle isnt worth hardly anything?

How long is a lien valid in ontario? Can I eventually get title of the vehicle if they dont pick it up within a certain time period?


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## marina628 (Dec 14, 2010)

My friend had her car repossessed in 2010 ,she made last payment in February and they did not come to get it until September.Incidentally she now has a collection agency after her for $9000.


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## GOB (Feb 15, 2011)

I don't help cheaters, especially not cheaters who brag about it and show no remorse.


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## Karen (Jul 24, 2010)

I think you're being unduly harsh, GOB. I didn't read into the OPs post any indication that he intends to cheat or that he's bragging, and no suggestion about whether he feels remorse or whether he doesn't. I read his post as an attempt to find out what his legal rights are, and that's a valid question, if he doesn't know. I do think, though, that the answers to his questions can best be found in the contract he signed when he bought the car.


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## the-royal-mail (Dec 11, 2009)

Yes, I agree with Karen. Sounds like the OP has fallen on hard times. For that, I am really sorry. I would have taken a different approach, but at this point the OP may want to contact his lawyer or lender to get a status update. I'm not sure how much help we can be at this point.

What happens to the 2 yrs worth of pmts the OP has made? Does he forfeit those? I would have attempted to sell the car on my own to pay back the lender, but that's just me. I couldn't stand not knowing when they were going to come and seize "my" property.


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## MoneyGal (Apr 24, 2009)

http://www.canadianmoneyforum.com/showthread.php?t=7602


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## the-royal-mail (Dec 11, 2009)

Whoa, good detective work MG. Seems the OP has had some financial trouble before. Their approach in this thread was quite different, so Karen and I didn't spot any flags. Interesting.


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## kcowan (Jul 1, 2010)

I agree that selling the van might have been the best approach while getting a buyout quote from the lessor. It might have ended as a short sale but that would be better than having an agency after me. I had a car on lease and did that. I made $1400 on the transaction and the car was 2 years old.

I would never have just left the car in the driveway and stopped paying.

(I purchased the car outright as soon as I realized what people were willing to pay for it. The money came for my HELOC.)


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## MoneyGal (Apr 24, 2009)

Well, if the original posts are at all true, any cash he would have made on the sale (actually, any cash arising from the sale) would have been seized by CRA.


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## jamesbe (May 8, 2010)

You can't really sell a leased vehicle until you first buy it. So if you don't have cash to buy it then sell it. You're kind of SOL. Unless you make a deal with the lender to allow someone else to buy it, but then profit is not going to happen either.

Leases are bad because of this, your options are very limited.


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## Karen (Jul 24, 2010)

> http://www.canadianmoneyforum.com/showthread.php?t=7602


Oops - I hadn't made the connection to that earlier post either! However, it doesn't seem that GOB had made the connection either, so, in that sense, he *was* being unduly harsh.


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## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

the-royal-mail said:


> What happens to the 2 yrs worth of pmts the OP has made? Does he forfeit those? I would have attempted to sell the car on my own to pay back the lender, but that's just me. I couldn't stand not knowing when they were going to come and seize "my" property.


Vehicle leases are nasty contracts. 
Anytime you lease a vehicle (or buy one on payments) from a car leasing company (manufacturers included), there is a legal contract and a lien registered against the vehicle that only the lien holder can clear.

*You cannot sell the car *because there is a lien registered against it, and you would have to supply the buyer with the MOT (lien package), even if the
vehicle is free of liens, so the lien would have to
be cleared first. Any payments made already are considered payments for the use of the vehicle.

Leases can particularly nasty, because they don't care if you fall on hard times and can't make your payments..they don't care about your personal finances.
They can arrange for bailiff (or is sherriff's?) order to seize the vehicle from your property.

Then they can come after you for the balance of the lease, depreciation and any maintenance work (brakes/tires/scratches etc), on the vehicle to make it sellable again.

It's a very nasty trap to get into..generally the working person should not even consider leasing..there are just too many pitfalls to consider..having an accident
is one, because that automatically devalues the normal depreciation even further, and there could be nasty consequences from that.


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## sags (May 15, 2010)

The lender is in no hurry.

The longer it takes to collect the debt....the more the late fees, interest and other charges add up.

When they do get around to writing off the debt, it will be for a much higher amount than what was actually owed. They get a nice tax deduction that way.


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## Square Root (Jan 30, 2010)

wow read the old thread -a real piece of work. i would have thought this guy would have been banned by now.


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## brokeandhungry (Jun 9, 2011)

*Not yet*

Im gonna take the vehicle to another province and hide it at my uncles for about a year or so then see about getting a different VIN.


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## financialnoob (Feb 26, 2011)

I thought GOB was being overly harsh, but on second thought, maybe not...


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## GOB (Feb 15, 2011)

Karen said:


> I think you're being unduly harsh, GOB. I didn't read into the OPs post any indication that he intends to cheat or that he's bragging, and no suggestion about whether he feels remorse or whether he doesn't. I read his post as an attempt to find out what his legal rights are, and that's a valid question, if he doesn't know. I do think, though, that the answers to his questions can best be found in the contract he signed when he bought the car.


I was referring to his other thread, and I don't believe I'm being harsh at all. For further evidence, see this snippet from some of our PM correspondence: 

"If the government cheats me and I cheat them back it evens out so there for I am not a cheater, hope that answers your question.."

"Governments cheatin us so lets cheat em back "

The title of the message? "Im not a cheater"...and those a exact quotes.

So according to this guy, if someone murders his mother, he's allowed to murder mine and not be labelled a murderer. Nope, not someone I'd like to help. There are very few people I cannot tolerate and this guy is one of them.


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## marina628 (Dec 14, 2010)

This guy has to be pulling our leg , WTF is he in this forum if all he wants to do is rip everyone off.Think we had enough of this clown and just ban him.


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## Karen (Jul 24, 2010)

> I was referring to his other thread, and I don't believe I'm being harsh at all.


But you didn't tell us you were referring to his other thread and most of us didn't know about it - nor did we know anything about his PMs. I was judging by this thread, and that's why I thought you were being unduly harsh. In any case, I think Marina's right - he's toying with us now, and I don't think we should give him any further attention.


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## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

sags said:


> The lender is in no hurry.
> 
> The longer it takes to collect the debt....the more the late fees, interest and other charges add up.
> 
> When they do get around to writing off the debt, it will be for a much higher amount than what was actually owed. They get a nice tax deduction that way.


I forgot to mention that the lease holder (lender) can also add legal costs to seizing the vehicle..
lawyer/court costs/tow costs/storage costs at
impound yard, cleaning costs, restoration of any scratches/dings..during towing (if any damage occurs)

So that vehicle lease is going to cost a lot more than originally anticipated, and if you choose to walk away..gone is your credit rating. 

They can also tack on a garnishee against future wages or any current income to recover what they are owed,
they choose to go that route.

As mentioned, vehicle leases can be very nasty. 
They make very easy to get into, but since they own the vehicle, they call the shots.


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## kcowan (Jul 1, 2010)

A tax cheat and now a car thief. Yup. Ban him.


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## CanadianCapitalist (Mar 31, 2009)

kcowan said:


> A tax cheat and now a car thief. Yup. Ban him.


Done.


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## MoneyGal (Apr 24, 2009)

Thank you for all that you do, CC and MDJ. I suspect that moderating this forum may sometimes seem like a thankless task, so I want to let you know how much I appreciate what you do.


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