Late on a car payment? Beware. Delinquencies are rising, and im...

WOW! Are we in a recession yet?

Maybe, maybe not. But i don't think i would use the fact that people are spending beyond their means as a basis for determining a recession.

Just like the housing market, people extended themselves way beyond their means, and now the chickens are coming home to roost.

It's pretty clear we need a program where people can request that the government pay off their car loans.

It was a simple fix wrote:

Just like the housing market, people extended themselves way beyond their means, and now the chickens are coming home to roost.

I agree 100%. If gas would be 2 dollars a gallon, maybe this wouldn't be happening. But there are no sure things other than death and taxes. Many people have lost homes,cars, and other things over the years. This will not be the last time this happens.

If people would learn to live within THIER means,this s**t would not happen. What wrong with driving a car that YOU can afford? Its all about keeping up with the Jones's. If you removed all the cars from the road that were not paid for there would be very few cars on the road.

It's so easy to judge. I wish the article had been more clear about how far behind these people are when they are getting repo'd. My first car loan was co-signed by a friend, and when I inadvertently missed a payment, my friend got a call (not me, they never bothered calling me at all - if they had, I would have realized that I had forgotten to pay it and paid it right there over the phone!), demanding payment or they would ruin his credit, repo the car, etc. This was 3 weeks late. On a 5 year loan, that was the only time I was ever late, and it simply was a mistake on my part. I wasn't not living within my means. I didn't not have the money. I just plain forgot. If they had just called me, I would have taken care of it. Instead they barge in shooting, scaring the crap out of everyone involved. It was really distasteful. Lenders are generally evil and almost never give people the benefit of the doubt. They should. Most people are inherently good and want to do right.

in the "just wondering" department... when the repo business slows down, who repos the tow trucks?

This is to the poster Mark, Do you honestly think that our government has the ability to just start PAYING OFF peoples loans? Where is this money supposed to come from? More taxes for me?

I say to hell with the people who have had their auto's repoed. I banked with a small credit union and had a loan out with them for a new car. I decided to not make a monthly payment so I could help my mother pay her rent (so she wouldnt end up living with me even though later on she did). I then ended up having the car repoed. I was left with $5000 of the loan left over after they sold the car that I STILL had to pay off. Well, guess what... 4 years later I have a car which was 1 year newer then my original car and the same make and model and it only has 5 more payments on it.

If you get yourself in a position where you lose something because you cant pay for it then its nobodys fault but your own. I supported my mother for 5 years while she recovered from her addiction and subsequent health problems. I also supported my brother for 2 years after he lost his job and apt. I had 3 people, 3 cats all living in a 1 BR apt. Your family is there to help you out, and if you dont get along with your family well enough for them to help out, once again ITS YOUR PROBLEM NOT MINE. Health problems happen, people losing their jobs happen, accidents happen.... but just because those things happen to you dont expect me to pay even MORE in taxes so someone can get away without ANY RESPONSBILITY FOR THEMSELVES.

To end this, Mark.. you are EXACTLY what is WRONG with this country. You want nothing but bailouts for someone who didnt deserve the car in the first place. You only deserve the car if you can pay for it.

Grr!!

Ummm...Ever heard of sarcasm?

Tim - St Paul wrote:

This is to the poster Mark, Do you honestly think that our government has the ability to just start PAYING OFF peoples loans? Where is this money supposed to come from? More taxes for me?

Mid 50's I graduated from college and went to work for GMAC. In those days, we, the employees did the repossessions, mostly during the 1AM to 5AM window. The customer rec'd a mailed notice as a reminder their payment had come due 7 days earlier About 7-10 days later they received another past due notice. About the 25th day of deliquency, the account was issued to the entry level employee such as myself. The customer would be personally contacted and arrangements would be enacted to cure the past due status of the account. By collecting it or accepting promised payment date within a period usually not longer than 10 days away. If the account had equity, it could be rewritten at the same interest rate stretched out over a longer period or the customer could pay a relatively small fee to move the past due payment to the end of the contract. Of course back then the underwriting of auto loans was up to 36 months and a minimum of 10% down payment. Failing to accomplish any of the three solutions to a past due account resulted in the customer being asked for the keys to their car.For the non cooperative customer; it became necessary to find the car and repossess it when located be it at work, at some location away from the customers home or from their home then usually early AM. The customer in most cases could redeem the vehicle for past due payments(we hardily ever let them get more than two payments in arrears), late charges and a repossession fee up to $5.00 to cover taking a taxi back to our car. Deliquencies were held to under 1%. A far cry from today because of lax credit standards which includes financing people in more expensive vehicles than they can handle.

Other than to support our economy, I see no reason why anyone would ever need to purchase a new vehicle.

Let all the rental companies and large corporations that purchase fleets buy the new cars, then we'll buy them when they are two years old.

Pay cash for a car is so much smarter. Do not borrow money for a depreciating asset as its stupid.(of course not for semi-trucks or other vehicles that are used for your self-employed business like trucking, truckers need good trucks).
I have the money and credit for a new car loan but I choose to by an old car. I paid $900 for it more than 4 years ago, and its still running well. Of course I had to put some money into it, but much less than any car loan would ever be even for the cheapest car.

[QUOTE who="white city girlIts all about keeping up with the Jones's.[/QUOTE]

Who do the Joneses keep up with?

Tim - St Paul wrote:

This is to the poster Mark, Do you honestly think that our government has the ability to just start PAYING OFF peoples loans? Where is this money supposed to come from? More taxes for me?
I say to hell with the people who have had their auto's repoed. I banked with a small credit union and had a loan out with them for a new car. I decided to not make a monthly payment so I could help my mother pay her rent (so she wouldnt end up living with me even though later on she did). I then ended up having the car repoed. I was left with $5000 of the loan left over after they sold the car that I STILL had to pay off. Well, guess what... 4 years later I have a car which was 1 year newer then my original car and the same make and model and it only has 5 more payments on it.
If you get yourself in a position where you lose something because you cant pay for it then its nobodys fault but your own. I supported my mother for 5 years while she recovered from her addiction and subsequent health problems. I also supported my brother for 2 years after he lost his job and apt. I had 3 people, 3 cats all living in a 1 BR apt. Your family is there to help you out, and if you dont get along with your family well enough for them to help out, once again ITS YOUR PROBLEM NOT MINE. Health problems happen, people losing their jobs happen, accidents happen.... but just because those things happen to you dont expect me to pay even MORE in taxes so someone can get away without ANY RESPONSBILITY FOR THEMSELVES.
To end this, Mark.. you are EXACTLY what is WRONG with this country. You want nothing but bailouts for someone who didnt deserve the car in the first place. You only deserve the car if you can pay for it.

There are bailouts that are totally unjustified, such as for vehicles mentioned here; and there are some somewhat justified, as subprime home loans that were the result of unscrupulous tactics by over-aggressive lenders. I agree totally that I don't want tax dollars spent bailing out folks whose commitment to Looking Good in a nice ride was stronger than their commitment to live within their means. This is why I drive older vehicles that don't require loans: 100% down, and $0.00/month for life!

I acknowledge you for the great generousity you have shown your family, putting up with rather crowded quarters to be your brother's (and mother's) keeper. While that is awesome, keep in mind that not every family has generous, giving members like you in it. I know, I know: they Should. In Reality, many do not. I still don't want any taxpayer-funded bailouts of car loans for folks who had Mommie Dearest for a mother or Norman Bates for a son!

Bottom line here is that too many people don't plan for rainy days. I grew up 30 years ago when they didn't hand out credit cards like candy to young people and people who have already claimed bankruptcy. If you want to buy a big ticket item and you have to say, "I don't know how I'm going to pay for it, I'll worry about that later," you've already made your first mistake. There are so many people who look like they're doing well but are barely hanging on due to credit card debt and monthly bills that anything that comes along sends them over the edge. Don't worry, there will be more when people over at Northwest Airlines start losing their high-buck jobs when Delta eliminates them.

Serves all you keep-up-with-the-Jones' types right, not to mention all the idiots who drive their Escalades into work solo. HAHAHAHAHA!!!

I lost huge sums of money when the stock market crashed in 2000 - much more than the value of a house. I was listening to unscrupulous analysts who said "it's different this time, don't pull your money out of the market - it's not overpriced". Because of them, I will have considerably less money for retirement. Up until now, I accepted the blame for being greedy, but now, based on the mortgage bailouts, I think the government should reimburse me for my losses.