How many days late can you be before your car can be repossessed?

How many days late can you be before your car can be repossessed?
It depends on where you are. Some states require that a defaultnotice must be sent, and the borrower must be given at least 11days to "make good' on the payment. Others don't require any noticeat all, and theoretically a lienholder could repossess the vehiclethe day after the payment was due.

No lender actually would do such a thing; repossession is a pain inthe rear for them, too. But you can't count on 60 days, or 90 days,or whatever. The best thing to do if you know you're late on yourpayments is to talk to the lender; they're more likely to "cut yousome slack" if you're communicating with them than if you appear tojust be ignoring the fact that you're behind on your payments.

It's also a lot easier to negotiate with the bank beforethey've gone to the hassle of actually sending someone out to takethe car back than it is afterward. By the time the car isrepossessed, the lender has more or less given up on the hope ofgetting paid any other way.