this is kinda complicated... bank one has the title to dads car, a 93 saturn, which is really worthless. it does however have a lot of memories. and he left it to me in his will. i come to find out that since his oct97 bankruptcy, the car has remained unpaid. we live in PA and i know the statute is like 4-6 years. I have contacted bank one, and they don't seem to want the car, as they have made no effort to contact or repo or anything else for that matter, since early in 97. what are my options here. should i take the car and register it out of state? and then re-register it here, or what to do. i really like the little car, and its all i have left of dad. please help me here, i'd appreciate it shawn pat9100@home.com
Shawn: Youâ??re pretty accurate; the lender has a diminished concern for the collateral. Nonetheless, Bank One still has a secured lien/interest and could repo the auto were it not for the fact that they canâ??t pursue for deficiency. After all, your father is deceased (my condolences) and if the auto is among limited assets..? Well, letâ??s just say itâ??s not cost-effective to repossess as thatâ??s like throwing good money after bad. What Iâ??d suggest you do, if keeping the car is REALLY worth it to you (and it may very well be), is to make a retention offer. First obtain the current wholesale book value of the vehicle, preferably from a used car wholesaler or other auto professional. If the car is market â??softâ? â?? meaning the market value (what others are currently paying wholesale) is less than book â?? take this into consideration. Next, obtain an accurate payoff balance from Bank One. Then deduct the vehicle value and offer Bank One about 25% of the remaining balance, to be paid in a lump sum. Make the offer contingent upon the lender agreeing to provide clear title, and specify a time limit for response (say, 30 days or so). Adjust your offer if Bank One gripes at the 25% according to what itâ??s (personally) worth to you, correlated to actual market value. Lastly, but certainly not least to consider, is not divulging the vehicleâ??s exact whereabouts. Simply indicate if asked, that youâ??re aware of the vehicle location â?? nothing more. This will prevent Bank One from using a threat that they could â??claim and deliverâ? for possession, even though the likelihood is they probably wouldnâ??t due to expense involved. A claim & delivery is a lawsuit to recover property, generally held by someone other than the original borrower. So submit all offers verbally. Hope this addresses your concern, good luck.
Good question - and I really don't know what would happen. I don't think you can register it anywhere unless you have the title......and I doubt Bank One will give you the title unless the account is paid in full. I would ask them what it would take to get the title from them - or if it has to go through any estate/attorney. I don't know anything about DMV stuff in other states, but I'm sure they have Bank One's lien listed on the records of your dad's car - so I think you'd have a hard time doing anything with it without the released title. Do you have to re-register it at all? Maybe you don't - then you won't have to worry about it. I'd be curious to know how it all turns out. Sorry for your loss........
