Walk It Through: The Tow Truck At Night
A repossessed car, from the driveway to the deficiency letter.
A buyer falls behind on a car bought under an installment sale contract, and a tow truck backs into the driveway at night.
Two things a person in this spot might do. Picking one shows what the law says about it.
One car and one installment contract. Leases, title loans, reinstating the contract and bankruptcy are not worked through here.
A practice walkthrough, not a prediction of how any real one will go. Legal information, not legal advice.
Words this turns on
Terms with a legal meaning that is narrower than the everyday one. Each links to the definition and the authority behind it.
- Breach of the peaceThe line a repossession without legal process may not cross: unless a vehicle can be retaken without a breach of the peace, it is retaken by legal process.
- DeficiencyWhat is still owed when the resale of a repossessed vehicle does not cover the debt. The holder credits the higher of the resale price or the vehicle's reasonable value, and within 30 days after the sale sends a notice with the sale price, the itemized costs and the amount claimed.
- NecessaryThe finding a court makes before allowing alimony to either party after a divorce decree: alimony only if it is necessary, with the duration set and the reasons stated.