How Does The Repo Man Find Your Car?

What Is Repossession?

Repossession happens when a lender takes back a vehicle because the borrower has fallen behind on car loan payments. When you buy a car with an auto loan, the lender technically owns the car until you finish paying off the loan. Because of this, the lender has the right to take the car if you don’t keep up with the payments.

In most cases, lenders don’t need a court order to repossess a car. This is called self-help repossession. As soon as you’re behind on your payments — sometimes even after missing just one payment — your lender may send a repo company to take your vehicle. Repo agents can seize your car from public places like a parking lot or the street. However, there are rules they must follow, like not entering locked or gated property.

Once the lender repossesses the car, they’ll typically sell it to recover the money you owe. If the sale doesn’t cover your remaining loan balance, you may still owe the lender the difference, called a deficiency balance. Repossession can also hurt your credit score and lead to additional costs, like towing and storage fees.

While repossession is stressful, understanding how it works can help you take steps to avoid it and make informed decisions if you’re at risk of losing your car.

How Do Repo Agents Find Your Car?

If you fall behind on car loan payments, the lender may hire a repossession company to take back your car. Repo agents, sometimes called “repo men,” have numerous ways of tracking down vehicles for repossession. They're typically relentless in their efforts and have access to a surprising amount of information about car owners.

When you take out a car loan, the lender collects personal information, such as your home address, work address, and phone number. Repo agents use this information to search for your car in these locations using good old fashioned physical surveillance. If they don’t find your car at home or work, they may search the surrounding areas, like your neighborhood or nearby parking lots.

Repo agents also use public information from various sources to track down vehicles. This includes anything you or others share online. For example, if you post a picture of your car at a restaurant or a friend tags you at an event on social media, repo agents might monitor these posts to figure out where your car is parked.

How Is Technology Used To Track Vehicles in the Repo Process?

Technology plays a crucial role in helping today's repo agents locate cars quickly. Many vehicles sold by dealerships come with GPS trackers installed. If your car has a tracker, repo agents can pinpoint its exact location at any time, which makes repossession faster and easier for them.

License plate scanners are another tool repo agents use. These devices quickly scan license plates while cars drive through neighborhoods, parking lots, or other public spaces. Once they match your plate to a car flagged for repossession, they’ll seize it if it’s in an open, public area.

Where Can Repo Agents Take Your Car?

Repo agents can legally repossess your car from any public space, such as the parking lot of a restaurant, grocery store, or even a park. However, they generally can’t enter locked or gated private property to retrieve your car without permission.

If you’re behind on car payments, it’s important to know that repossession can happen without warning as long as your car is parked somewhere public. To avoid the stress of losing your car, take steps to address your loan situation as soon as possible. Contacting your lender, making a payment plan, and understanding consumer rights can help you handle the situation better.

What The Repo Man Isn’t Allowed To Do

As you can see, the repo man can do a lot of things to track your car down and repossess it. But repo men don’t have unlimited power. Federal and state laws limit the ways repo agents can track and take your car.

For example, it’s usually illegal for repo men to take a car from a locked garage or gated property. Also, repo companies aren’t entitled to keep the owner’s personal property left in the car. They must give the car owner an opportunity to get their belongings back. Note that this rule applies to portable property, like car seats and books. If you’ve made improvements to the car that are now “part” of the car (upgraded stereo equipment, etc.) you aren’t generally entitled to take your improvements back.

Has the repo man violated any of these rules? Do you feel like your car has been illegally repossessed? If so, you should report the incident to your local law enforcement, as well as the state attorney general's office. You should also consider contacting a private attorney.

What Happens After the Repo Man Takes Your Car?

You still have some rights after a repo man repossesses your car. After repossession, you should receive notices that inform you of where your car is being held and how much you still owe for the car. The lender is also required to notify you if they decide to sell the car in a public or private auction.

In many states, if the lender decides to sell your car in a public auction, they must tell you the time and place of the auction, so you have an opportunity to bid on the car. In most public auctions, you can get your car back if you offer the highest bid. If the car is sold in a private auction, the lender usually has to notify you of the date of the sale.

You are responsible for any outstanding debt that the car sale doesn't cover. These costs include the remaining balance on the car loan, unpaid interest, towing fees, storage fees, auction fees, and other fees. If the auction sale doesn’t pay for all of those costs, the lender can take legal action to try to collect the leftover amount (the deficiency) and receive a judgment for the deficiency.

In many states, you can redeem the car by making a large payment to the lender or by reinstating the loan. This process is called redemption. States have different rules for redemption. You should make sure that you understand your state's specific rules before making any big payments. You should also be realistic about the decision to redeem. If you still can't afford the car payments, reinstating the loan might put you in another stressful financial situation.

What To Do When You’re Worried About Car Repossession

If you're experiencing financial hardship and having trouble keeping up with your car payments, you should contact your lender as soon as possible to discuss your options. Your lender might agree to create a new payment plan, defer payments, or refinance the loan so that you don’t miss any payments and risk repossession. You can also consider selling your car to pay off the debt and avoid repossession costs.

Bankruptcy could also be an option if you’re worried about missing car payments. If you file for bankruptcy, you’ll still owe whatever the car is worth, but this action will stop your car from being repossessed. Bankruptcy will also give you more freedom from other debts so you can focus on your car payments.

Whatever you decide to do, you shouldn’t miss payments without first contacting the lender. You also shouldn’t try to hide the car from the repo man because doing so will only increase the amount of debt you owe. Before your car is repossessed, upcoming loan payments add to the loan balance and interest continues to increase the total amount owed.

How Does a Repo Affect Your Credit Score?

When a car is repossessed, the impact on your credit score can be severe and long-lasting. This is because repossession signals to credit bureaus that you weren’t able to fulfill the financial commitment you made with your lender. Credit scores are used to predict your reliability as a borrower, so a repossession is seen as a major red flag to lenders, landlords, and even some employers.

First, when you miss payments leading up to a repossession, those late or missed payments are reported to the credit bureaus. Payment history accounts for the largest part of your credit score—about 35%. Each missed payment will lower your score. If your car is ultimately repossessed, the lender will report this to the credit bureaus, and it will appear on your credit report as a negative mark.

A repossession stays on your credit report for seven years from the date of your first missed payment. This means it will continue to impact your creditworthiness for a long time. During this period, it may be more difficult to qualify for loans, credit cards, or favorable interest rates. Some landlords and utility companies may also hesitate to work with someone who has a repossession on their credit report.

Repossession can also lead to a "deficiency balance," which is the amount you still owe after the lender sells your car at auction. If the car sells for less than the remaining loan balance plus fees, you’ll be responsible for paying the difference. If you can’t pay this deficiency balance, the lender may send the account to collections or sue you for the balance. Either of these actions will also hurt your credit score.

Rebuilding Your Credit After a Repo

The good news is that while a repossession is a serious financial setback, you can rebuild your credit over time. Start by focusing on making all future payments—on credit cards, loans, and other bills—on time. Consider working with a credit counselor or looking into secured credit cards to help rebuild your credit responsibly. It’s also important to monitor your credit report for accuracy. If there’s an error, like a missed payment that wasn’t actually late, you have the right to dispute it with the credit bureau.

Although a repossession can feel like a low point, you have options to get back on track. With time and good financial habits, you can repair your credit and regain financial stability.

Let’s Summarize...

Car repossession is not easy to deal with. Anticipating a repossession can also be very stressful. It’s always best to contact your lender about missing a payment or past-due payments before you resort to other options. You also shouldn’t hide your car from the repo man. If you’re in danger of losing your car to repossession, contact a local lawyer to help you figure out what your options are.