Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in California

In California can a car that was repossessed and charged off by the finance company still have the loan reinstated?

My mother was supposed to co sign on a car for a friend, but ended up being the sole purchaser. This person did not make any payments and we could not find them. Mom never spoke to the finance co...she is 74 and was too stressed to deal with it. I finally found the car brought it to her house and we were going to make plans to pay or sell the car but it was repo'd. We found out that Toyota financial charged off the account. Can this loan still be reinstated? Or is it soley up to the finance company?


Asked on 2/27/10, 8:12 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

David Gibbs The Gibbs Law Firm, APC

Reinstating the loan is entirely up to the lender at this point, and if the car has been wholesale auctioned, it is too late. Repossessions move very quickly, and without much notice, so it is entirely her responsibility to deal with it early, well before the vehicle was actually repossessed. I fully understand her age and stress over this, however, it is still her responsibility even though she was not in possession of the car. The sad part is that by bringing the car back to her house, you did the lender a huge favor because they might not have found it at the other person's house, and might not have been able to repossess it so easily, which might have bought her more time to deal with this. Sadly, it is probably only good as a lesson in what not to do - never cosign or take out a loan on a vehicle, home or any other debt for that matter for someone else. These kinds of "favors" almost always come back to bite the person who tried to do the right thing, as the person for whom the "favor" was done has no real consequence if they stop making payments and lose the vehicle. I am sorry I can't give your mother better news, but unless Toyota still has the vehicle and voluntarily agrees to allow her to reinstate the loan, its too late and she will have to now face a deficiency for the car's sale at auction.

*Due to the limitations of the LawGuru Forums, The Gibbs Law Firm, APC's (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided is general and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.

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Answered on 3/05/10, 8:19 am


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