Question

So this is a CRAPPY, long situation and if you do take the time to read all of it, thank you in advance. Our car (we have 1) was repossessed Sunday night. We fell behind on one payment but I believe this was done because we had bad payment history on it before I received my VA disability. Tuesday of last week 2/4 we sent in a $800 check to cover the past due and upcoming payments. Because we mailed it, the check did not get there before they repossessed the car and was officially posted to our account yesterday. Now we must pay the remaining reinstatement fee of $1, 590 plus any lot fees before the 20th or our car can be sold at auction. It is no where near worth what is left on the loan. Currently the loan is at $16, 000, trade-in would be $12, 000 but it is damaged so it’s worth less. We filed our taxes on Jan 27 but do claim the earned income and child care credits. We were hoping that we would get our tax return end of this week or early next week so we can pay all the fees and have it back by the 20th. Now I’m reading on IRS site that because of our credits it may be delayed till the first week of March. We’re getting paid $3, 100 tomorrow but can only put a max of $800 toward this with moving things around. We just started really being careful with our finances last month so our EF is only $100 at the moment. What should we do? We are both full time with this one car. We have great friends who have been helping but their ability to help runs out Friday. We moved more things around so we can have a rental car to get to work/continue making money. And due to my purse/driver license being in the car we need to pay $150 to the lot just to get the purse! I need to rent the car because I’m 25 and hubs is 24 so we avoid “underage” fees. YALL I’m stressing way too much for being 4-5 months pregnant.  

Answer 1

Get the car out. Do whatever it takes to pay the reinstatement fee. If it goes to auction, you will owe the difference between what they sell it for and the loan amount of the car. And you will still have no car. Personally, I would try to get one of those crappy high interest loans to get the car out asap. You need transportation to get to your job to make money. I'm sorry you are going thru all this. Just take one problem at a time and solve the most pressing one first. Which is getting the car out.  

Answer 2

We received our taxes this am into our account and we have the same child credit but it came earlier than we expected. Not much help but hopefully it’ll come sooner than later. We filed on January 30

Comments

Returns with earned income credit and the additional child tax credit will not be released until after 2/15 - probably more like 2/21 or 2/26. you must not have had either of this credits.  

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@unmarked that is good to hear, maybe I’ll get mine soon!  

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@sound yes we had the child tax credit.  

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@sound they say that but sometimes they do release earlier. I do not qualify for the EIC anymore but when I did the return was never quite as late as they said it would be. I think they set people up for the worst case scenario so they aren’t all asking where their refund is.  

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Child tax credit is not the same as additional child tax credit. they don't release them early, i have had both for years. i just dont want the op to count on it to come early when it wont.  

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@sound Child tax credit is not but EIC and additional child tax credit are both things that cause a hold and I’m just telling you from my own experience that I have had mine released early in the past. I am not guaranteeing the OP she will get her refund just speaking from personal experience that it’s not unheard of.  

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@sunburn  

Answer 3

Talk to the bank see if you can come down to a settlement. My car got repossessed about 3 weeks ago still owing about $16, 000 on it and the bank offered me a settlement of $5, 000 with the title of the car in hand so I would own the car

Answer 4

When my car was repossessed with the kids car seats in it, we didn’t have to pay them anything because it was necessary items. I think they said purses would be included in that. I’d definitely call back and ask them.  

Comments

@surface0 do not mention you have two. Just mention your child’s car seat is in the car and you need it because it’s a saftey issue and you are aware of your rights. Don’t offer to much info.  

Answer 5

As someone else stated, do whatever you can to get money to pay to reinstate the vehicle. By law they have to give you a certain amount of days to find the money and pay to get the car out. Once that day passes they WILL sell your car at auction. The finance company i work for will let you use your credit card to make a payment, but that's only when it's a certain amount of days past due. You're already at at at least 60 days if they repossessed your car unless it's a first payment default. Do you have a credit card? If so, you can use the cash you have and pay that and add the rest to the card and just pay it when you get your taxes. Again, it will depend on your financial institution and if you have a credit card to charge.  

Comments

@surface0 awww that sucks. Well the next step would be to pay the 800 and get a loan from a small local place. Just search personal loans in your area. They will give you a loan but the interest rates are really high. But if you pay it off when you get your taxes you will be good. Ive had to do that before and hated it, but it got me through that moment and i paid it off asap. I'm sorry you're going through this and wish u the best of luck!  

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Also, is your husband currently in the military?