Question:
Dear Steve,
August 2006 my step-father bought outright with cash a car for my mother. He passed away September 2006. In March 2009 my mother took the title to the credit union for a $10,000 loan.
2 different times the car was repo’d. Both times her granddaughter paid $2,500 to get the loan caught up and get the car back.
2 years ago my mother passed away. My brother was executor of her estate. he contacted the credit union. 2 weeks later took them the death certificate. they said 1 loan was taken care of but still owed $4,700 on the car. Brother told them go get the car. they never came.
I contacted the credit union to find out why they hadn’t come for the car. 3 e-mails later I spoke to a collections officer. I said again come for the car it’s been 8 months. She said great. would get back to me.
1 week later she said transportaion would not come to personal property she had to hire a repo company. She stated it wasnt worth it. I offered to take it to the store a few blocks away. Great would call back. 3 days later she called to say transportation said I needed to take it to the branch. I told her tags were expired would they pay the ticket if i got one. She said that would not be possible.
I again told her come get it themselves. It has now been 19 months since my mother passed away. I send an e-mail and then a registered letter stating they were now being charged storage. since the car isn’t worth their effort to get back what is my next step to get the title.
Cheryl
Answer:
Dear Cheryl,
I’m assuming the car really isn’t worth much and you have little desire to keep it.
I expect the car still has a lien against it and it’s not worth paying off, or you would have. It does not sound like the estate satisfied the lien either.
I have a question that I ask myself in situations like this. Do you want to be done with this or do you want to be right? Sometimes it’s not possible to be both.
My personal opinion is that if a credit union branch is not ridiculously far away that you should call the credit union, come to an agreement to do a voluntary repossession, and pay the cheapest tow truck you can to tow the damn thing there and leave it. Ask the tow truck company to give you a receipt or proof they left it and who they gave the keys to.
The cost of a tow would be far less expensive than all the aggravation and inconvenience you’ve been through.

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