Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Georgia

They can take as long as they want.

And let me add that there is NOTHING more foolish than a voluntary repo. (There's no such thing as it's treated as a repo). That destroys your credit for seven years and you'll end up getting sued, often for the whole balance and fees, so you'll owe money, in a lump sum, but won't have the car.

Instead of doing something that foolish, see a lawyer about bankruptcy and real options that will avoid future garnishments and suits.

I would agree with Attorney Ashman. A repo should be avoided if possible as you may be able to save the car with a bankruptcy by either modifying the loan terms in a chapter 13 or buying some time with a chapter 7.

However, if this is your only debt, I would not file bankruptcy but try to work on some other way to get the car current if possible.

Unfortunately, without knowing much about what the car is worth and what you owe, its not really possible to give specific advice. There may be situations where far more is owed on the car than its worth and in such case, it may be worth it to let them take the car and deal with trying to settle any deficiency later.

When a car is repo'd, as noted by Attorney Ashman, it does not matter if it is surrendered voluntarily or not. Its still treated as a repo on your credit report and while you might be able to minimize collection costs, the lender will probably still charge you for these. The car will then be taken to an auction and sold. Cars sold at auction never bring in what they are worth. The sale proceeds will be applied to the balance owing and collection costs and you are liable for the deficiency. If you don't make arrangements to resolve, then the lender or any junk debt buyer can sue you. If the creditor gets a judgment, your wages can be garnished if you are still in Georgia or other assets seized.

In answer to your question, the car lender can come and get your car even if you are one day late on a payment. There is no grace period and the lender does not have to wait. I have encountered this situation with some of my clients. However, most lenders may wait 60-90 days before repo'ing. Still others may decline to repo at all. I have other clients in this boat as the lender does not want the headaches. Howevere, the lender probably will not release their lien on the title to the vehicle either unless the debt is resolved in some way.

It just depends on how much is owed and what the car is worth.