How Does a Repo Man Find Your Car?


Having a car and being late on payments can get a bit confusing and sometimes costly. The repossession process (or repo process) can often have you to end up with a headache of complications.  What if it gets damaged? What if it gets lost? Will you or an agent be able to reobtain it back?

How does a repo man find your car? Typically, a repo agent comes with a tow truck to tow your car to your home, or place of occupation. With that in mind, you might be thinking; can you hide your car from repossession? Surprisingly, no. Repo agents typically put in onboard GPS to their repossessed cars to avoid the car from being stolen, whether that’s due to debt or not.

Well why can’t you avoid a repo agent from getting to you? Simple, repo agents use skip tracing. What is skip tracing? Skip tracing is the process of finding a debtor who has relocated, or disappeared to avoid doing any type of legal responsibility, such as debt payments. Skip tracing also includes finding out the debtor’s information, public records, and getting in contact with those who know the debtor.

With no access to the debtor or the car, what exactly would happen next? Your auto lender will most likely legal action against you, and will issue an order that will force you to return your car to the auto lender.

* Great Article to Read: Can a Repo Man Go In Your Backyard?

Now with the information of skip tracing in mind, how can you avoid it? Here are some tips and ideas you should keep in mind when having a car lent to you.

  • Be aware of your payment fee deadlines.
  • Keep a low profile on social media or online in general.
  • Read the contract before signing the loan.
  • To keep the loan documents available, as to avoid being skip traced.

* For More Tips: Where To Hide Your Car, Car Hiding Tips That Work!

Keep in mind, the repo-man has all the incentive to search for your car for as long as it takes. What usually happens is the car loan company will add the cost of trying to find and retrieve your car when and if the car is successfully repossessed. So this charge is added to the outstanding balance of your car loan. 

If or not the repo car is sold, and the amount that is paid at the sale is less than the amount owed, the repossession company can legally pass on the cost of recovering your vehicle to you. 

What is the likelihood the repo-man will find your car? Well, from all the research, they most often find what they are looking for. Why is this? Because they are like private investigators.  The repo expert may follow you, to learn your routines. with the hopes that you will one day break down and take your car out for a ride. When you do, and you leave your car unattended, they recover your car as they planned. 

What if you do not pay the cost of repossession? Well, the repo company or car loan owner can take you to court, and if they prove you tried to hide your car, you can not only be forced to pay repossession fees but also be fined a hefty sum for committing fraud.  When you signed your car loan, somewhere in the fine print, there is usually a clause that you promise not to hide your car if you fail to pay your car note. 

Be aware the car dealer may have another option to recover the vehicle. The process is called Replevin. The dealer goes through the courts to pursue a hearing whereby you will be notified to appear at this hearing. If the car dealer proves you are in default on the car loan, you may be forced to return the car back to the lender. Once the car is recovered, it will most likely be sold at auction. If there is a remaining balance (including repo fees), you will be expected to pay the deficiency balance. 

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