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View Full Version : Unrepairable vehicle question.



Clarence Martin
10-03-2014, 3:29 PM
What is a person supposed to do or can do, if their mechanic has told them that their vehicle is unrepairable due to underframe rust through ? Mechanic says to junk it, but if there is still a couple of years left on the car payments, will the Bank do anything to help out ??? Mechanic said it can't be repaired , won't pass inspection and to junk it. From what I can tell, it will cost more to fix it, than it is worth on the Bluebook. There are 2 holes in the subframe on the left and right front sides , up near the wheels, about a foot or so behind them. Can put your fist through each one.


Would it be better to just explain the situation to the car dealer, the car is out of warranty, and to let the bank take the car back ?
Note: this is NOT my vehicle.

Thanks,

Clarence.

David Weaver
10-03-2014, 3:38 PM
I would take the car to a small-time body man (those are the guys who are constantly seeing those types of cars - the ones that need a couple of hundred bucks of body work to limp along a little further) and see if they think there is anything that can be done to make the car last another year or two. If it's mechanical, they'll likely know a guy who can do the mechanical work for a lot less than a dealer, as those are the guys that used car dealers go to for the auction cars and such to get them ready to sell cosmetically and mechanically. With some of the crap they work on and at the low rates they charge, if they tell you it's not worth it, then I think you (or whoever it belongs to) go shopping for another car hoping that you can find a loan to roll your balance into.

And then take the catalytic converter off the car, the battery out and haul it to scrap. Should net about $300.

Phil Thien
10-03-2014, 4:13 PM
I doubt any bank that would finance a car old enough to develop serious subframe rust is going to care much about the owner's predicament.

They (bank) are going to want the signer to continue paying as agreed.

But you may as well try them.

Kent A Bathurst
10-03-2014, 4:17 PM
That's a bad place to be in.

Car to share location, make, model, and year? I would not have thought htis to be possible in modern-day vehicles.

Clarence Martin
10-03-2014, 4:30 PM
That's a bad place to be in.

Car to share location, make, model, and year? I would not have thought htis to be possible in modern-day vehicles.


It's a 2004 Buick LeSabre with just under 87,000 miles. The Senior Citizen that owns the vehicle, has owned it for just under 3 years. Put only 7,000 miles on it. Car Dealer sold it to them as a "Value car". It was fine when they first bought it, but started rusting last year. Dealer talked them into buying an Extended Service Contract when they bought the car, which it turns out didn't cover much of anything.


As it is now, if they can't get it repaired reasonably, they are thinking of just telling the bank to take it back, because it is unrepairable and can't pass inspection.

Chris Padilla
10-03-2014, 5:00 PM
A sub-frame rusting through that quickly doesn't sound right to my ears. Either something was done to it or it was on its way out well before they bought it. Are they in the winter salt capitol, Minneapolis/St. Paul, by chance? They could just stop payment on it and get it repossessed and deal with the credit backlash but perhaps the bank might be willing to work with them on it? Will the insurance company do anything?

Stephen Tashiro
10-03-2014, 5:05 PM
vehicle is unrepairable due to underframe rust




won't pass inspection


Will it fail inspection because of the rust and holes in the subframe? Or is the mechanic refusing to fix some other inspection related problem not directly related to the holes?

David Weaver
10-03-2014, 5:05 PM
Cars can rust through that fast in upstate new york or northwest PA where the salt is on the road often in winter (due to lake effect snow).

Ken Fitzgerald
10-03-2014, 5:35 PM
While living in Oregon, I had '74 Scout that got hit by a neighbor while parked on the street in front of our home. Their insurance company paid to replace an entire quarter panel. Later that year I was promoted and moved to Chicago. Less than 2 years later that new quarter panel rusted through in several places. They used a lot of salt in the Chicago areas in those days.

Chris Padilla
10-03-2014, 6:32 PM
I was poking around California's DMV site as I was curious what to do if my car will not pass the smog test and it isn't financially feasible to repair it. I guess there is a program where you can "retire" the car and get some form of compensation for it. I don't know the details of the compensation, however.

Myk Rian
10-03-2014, 7:06 PM
Sounds like the car spent some of its life on calcium chloride dirt roads.
Taking a hit to the credit rating, letting the bank take it back may be the best option. Buy another car first.
Or, taking it apart as a parts car, might generate a good chunk of money.

Brad Adams
10-03-2014, 7:07 PM
A sub-frame rusting through that quickly doesn't sound right to my ears.
You must have never been to Iowa. They use so much salt and brine here, i sometimes think I can hear my car rusting!

thomas hsieh
10-04-2014, 1:00 AM
You are better off getting a new car.

Jim Matthews
10-04-2014, 8:09 AM
Senior citizen?

Payments in excess of the car's value?
Let the bank repo - they will be on the hook for disposition.

It's an investment, not a solemn vow.
At the owner's age, what's the worst that can happen to their credit score?

Stop making the payments.

Steve Rozmiarek
10-04-2014, 10:03 AM
There is no such thing as an unrepairable car. There is a financial feasibility limit though. A car that new should have pretty good value as a parts car. Get a second opinion like some of the others said.

Rick Potter
10-04-2014, 1:53 PM
I had no idea that newer cars could rust that fast. I realize salt is still being used, but thought manufacturers had pretty much licked the problem. I remember going to Chicago in the '70s, and seeing cars with the fenders rusted completely off. We were shocked then, as the cars were not that old.



Rick Potter

Ed Aumiller
10-06-2014, 8:52 PM
Do not let the bank repo it... credit ratings are important and besides that, the bank will sell it for a little bit of nothing and they will still owe the bank the difference of what it is sold for and the amount left on the loan AND any costs the bank incurs to sell it, legal fees, etc....

Find someone to fix it or just eat the loss...

Scott T Smith
10-11-2014, 10:37 AM
Do not let the bank repo it... credit ratings are important and besides that, the bank will sell it for a little bit of nothing and they will still owe the bank the difference of what it is sold for and the amount left on the loan AND any costs the bank incurs to sell it, legal fees, etc....

Find someone to fix it or just eat the loss...

^^^ This.

What did the bank do to get stiffed with the car? Your friend asked them in good faith to loan them the money. It doesn't seem to me that the bank did anything wrong...

Additionally, the bank will sue them for the difference in what is owed, plus legal and disposal fees, less whatever they get for the car. "Turning it into the bank" is a losing proposition for your friends.

Erik Loza
10-11-2014, 1:33 PM
What a crappy situation. I agree: Don't go delinquent on it. Not worth the financial fallout.

Any more details about what specifically is rusted out that "won't pass inspection"? I would say that I know quite a bit about working on cars and am trying to imagine what specifically this could refer to. Like, bumper falling off or???

A thought: Find a place that will pass it. In my experience, there are all different levels of "inspection" that inspection stations do. Maybe take the car to a diferent part of town? Just thinking out loud. Hope they get some resolution on it.

Erik Loza
Minimax USA

Jim Matthews
10-11-2014, 3:02 PM
I remind our gentle readers of the background to the original post:

"The Senior Citizen that owns the vehicle, has owned it for just under 3 years."

Unless the Senior Citizen is intent on purchasing another car on credit, or buy a home -
the amount of damage that can be done in forfeiting the vehicle is small.

Why are borrowers put to a different standard than a larger business?
- They're not incorporated, and debts are viewed as personal, rather than professional liabilities.

It's the same idea behind any strategic default.

If you're upside down on a depreciating asset - dump it.

It's not a moral question, it's about money.

Greg R Bradley
10-11-2014, 6:11 PM
No, it IS a moral question.

Matt Day
10-11-2014, 8:08 PM
I'd get a second opinion from more of a private body shop, like others have said.

Jim Matthews
10-11-2014, 8:40 PM
No, it IS a moral question.

Money has no morals.
Hire a lawyer.
Start bankruptcy proceedings.
Stop paying the note on an depreciating asset.

Commercial contracts are broken, every day.
Are those immoral acts?

By what measure?
Certainly not by the one that matters - in civil court.

http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/can-car-lender-collect-deficiency-after-repo.html

Duane Meadows
10-11-2014, 10:04 PM
They have paid 3 years on a used 7 year old(now 10 year old) vehicle and still owe money on it? Don't know what the terms were, but think I'd just take the loss. Sounds like it was a bit of a gamble to begin with. Bankruptcy seems a bit extreme.

Brian Elfert
10-11-2014, 11:46 PM
A sub-frame rusting through that quickly doesn't sound right to my ears. Either something was done to it or it was on its way out well before they bought it. Are they in the winter salt capitol, Minneapolis/St. Paul, by chance? They could just stop payment on it and get it repossessed and deal with the credit backlash but perhaps the bank might be willing to work with them on it? Will the insurance company do anything?

I live in Minneapolis/St. Paul area and there are plenty of cars driven in the winter older than 2004 still on the road. My parents have a 2000 Dodge Grand Caravan that is still going strong although it is starting to rust badly at the top of one of the front strut mounts. When that eventually breaks it will be the end of the vehicle. A lot of work has been done in Minnesota to reduce salt usage because a lot of salt in the past was just wasted.

Alan Bienlein
10-12-2014, 12:07 AM
I wouldn't be surprised if the car was totaled in a wreck and was repaired and resold.