The American Repossessor

5. Creditor collection departments are “cost centers,” not “profit centers.”

6. During the ’90s, the increase in sub-prime lenders, no money down loans, 0% financing, etc, resulted in the ability of less credit worthy purchasers to get financing, which led to the proliferation of recovery businesses to keep up with the demand for repossessions.

7. When initiating a collateral repossession, 45 percent of customers said they return to the same repossession company they previously hired.

8. If struggling borrowers make regular contact with their financial institution and actively take steps towards bringing their account current, they should have little trouble avoiding repossession.

9. When you face repossession of your auto or other personal property on which creditors have a valid lien, filing bankruptcy will temporarily cease repossession activities. Should your property have already been repossessed, you could get it back, if you file immediately.

10. It has recently been reported in Automotive News, that nearly 30% of all new car buyers who walk into a dealer’s showroom owe more on their existing vehicle than its trade-in value.

11. According to a 1999 study by the Public Interest Research Group, 70 percent of credit reports contain at least one mistake.

12. “Since the beginning of the recession (fourth quarter 2007) and through 2009, TransUnion projects 60-day auto loan delinquencies to rise 41 percent,” said the automotive vice president in TransUnion’s financial services group.

13. “In contrast, in our current recession which began in December of 2007, we see that the auto delinquency rate has already increased by 25 percent — more than double what occurred in the last recession, with an endgame that is still uncertain,” explained Pete Turek, automotive vice president in TransUnion’s financial services group.

14. The lowest auto debt for the first quarter of 2008 came in for Michigan, which posted average debt of $10,610.

15. Comerica Bank Auto Affordability index found that the purchase of an average-price, new vehicle took 22.8 weeks of median family income. Reflecting a sharp rise in the average interest rate paid on car loans, the total cost of buying an average-priced light vehicle was $27,700, up from $27,160 in the prior quarter. “In the latest quarter, car buyers had to put down bigger down payments, pay higher interest rates and limit the maturity of their loans,” said Dana Johnson, chief economist at Comerica Bank.