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Neighbors cars repossessed: What would you do?

Ronnie

Jetboaters Fleet Admiral
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Location
SF Bay Area
Boat Make
Yamaha
Year
2010
Boat Model
Limited S
Boat Length
24
Not boat related at all but over the last week I saw two different neighbors’ cars repossessed.

I did not do anything but watch but am wondering if I should have done something more.

For context: The first one I witnessed while mowing my lawn early in the morning (around 6:30). A white F250 rolled up and backed into the court across the street from my house. He backed up to a car in the driveway of a neighbor I know. Within a minute the hidden hitch was deployed from the bed of the truck, less than a minute later, the truck with car in tow was pulling out of the court. He stopped in front of my house to do a quick inspection before driving down the street to tie the towed vehicle down.

The second repo I saw just this morning while on my run/workout at between 6 and 6:30. This time I didn’t know my neighbor but watched as a tow truck with the company name on the side quickly pulled up, backed in and lifted his car in the driveway. I ran by as this was happening and as I completed my loop I saw the guy pull his rig into a local shopping center where he tied everything down before leaving town.

Should I have knocked on either neighbors doors to tell them what I saw or was seeing? I didn’t do so for several reasons the first being it’s none of my business, the second being I didn’t see what good could come out of giving anyone notice that their car is being or has been repossessed. I also wanted to avoid the awkward and possibly embarrassing conversation with a neighbor I know or one I just met.

Did I do the right thing by doing nothing at at all? What would you do?

Side Notes:
I lived in a less affluent neighborhood for over 20 years and never witnessed a repossession. I’ve been at my current location, a much more affluent neighborhood, for about two years and have now seen two repos in less than a week.

I thought the best time to repo a car was at night when most people are sleeping after a long day. These guys came in the early morning which seems riskier to me since traffic gets bad quickly so to beat it many people leave early, as in 5a to be at work by 7.

I could tell these were repos because the cars owners were not around, the tow truck driver didn’t knock on the doors and moreover they lifted the cars as is, both times the front wheels were turned and not strapped down to the forks initially. It looked a lot like what a shop lifter would do. Take possession quickly but don’t check out what they got until they are out of the owners sight.
 
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I certainly don't think you did anything wrong,

I guess it would depend on how well I knew my neighbors and if they had financial issues,
If they're not having problems maybe you're stopping a car theft ??

I guess best case scenario would have been to call 911 and report the trucks plate number and let police take it from there,
that way you did something and not getting involved in a fist fight or worse,
 
They were notified by the bank let the repo man do his job. Motor vehicles evaporate more wealth than probably all of the recessions combined. They are needed but are designed to fail causing immense waste of natural resources . Change this to cars that can easily be repaired and the manufactures have to stand behind them to 200k miles. Then everyone could afford boats
 
Morning is the best time for repo and warrants. There are few people awake at 6am AND on a substance that leads to big ego trips.
 
Fyi- the first one happened so fast I didn’t think to take a picture. The second one happened while I was on a run so I did not have my phone with me.
 
There is no way I would ever get involved in that other than maybe make a phone call if I was close friends with the person getting repossessed. They should have paid their bills and it wouldn’t have happened to them.
 
If the neighbor never talked to me about their financial issues, I would continue operating under the assumption that they wouldn't want me to bring up the fact that they have gotten themselves into a situation where they couldn't afford the vehicle that got repossessed. If they asked me about it after the fact, I would tell them what you saw, but you didn't know what was going on, and play dumb. Nobody knows what another person's behavior can escalate to, when faced with financial hardship, so a LOT of situational awareness on your part would start with simply taking note.

Remember:

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I took a lot of mental notes while basically minding my own business. I bet those guys wish they lived in the nearby gated community but I would also bet that an experienced repo guy wouldn’t have much of a problem getting in anyway.

This reminds me of a friend way back, he invited me boating but when I got there he told me his boat was just stolen, it wasn’t until a few days later I found out through a mutual friend that it was repossessed. I still talk to the guy, over 25 years since this happened but we have never talked about “it”.
 
......it’s none of my business.

......avoid the awkward and possibly embarrassing conversation with a neighbor I know or one I just met.

I think you did the right thing for the reasons you listed above.
 
Out of curiosity, what were the cars?

Nothing good can come from you making a scene or getting involved. They know their cars are gonna get repo'd, they get served notices and they haven't been paying for their cars.

Repos are on their way up right now, lots of people were living beyond their means the past few years due to COVID money and student loan deferrals, and now thats over with and theyre stuck.

I'm surprised more repos don't happen during business hours. The banks know where you worked at one point, and it wouldn't be hard to get an employer to verify the work address. Most people can't see their cars from their works, or get outside in time if they did see it. Especially if you're talking about a large employer, would be a piece of cake to grab the cars.
 
Out of curiosity, what were the cars?
The first was about a a 2021 jaguar, entry level I think. Surprised it hasn’t been paid off. I did see them use the day before maybe it was a farewell trip.

The second was a new or newer Lexus IS (I think) 350. That family just moved in about 6 months ago.

office parking lots seem like the perfect place to repo cars. That is where I would focus my time if I was a repo guy.
 
Minding your own business is always good policy. Maybe get a couple of pics of the tow rig and driver on the sly in case you later learn it was just plain ol' theft. Then you'd be in a position to help your neighbor and no awkward conversations exist.
 
The first was about a a 2021 jaguar, entry level I think. Surprised it hasn’t been paid off. I did see them use the day before maybe it was a farewell trip.

The second was a new or newer Lexus IS (I think) 350. That family just moved in about 6 months ago.

office parking lots seem like the perfect place to repo cars. That is where I would focus my time if I was a repo guy.

I suspected as much. Nice cars, but not too nice. The kind of car someone who is really reaching to give off an image of success buys, or more likely leases.

There's sadly a lot of that these days. People feel pressured to show success and wealth. Gotta have that new luxury car, regardless of if it's too much.

I really think people should have to pass a financial literacy test before they graduate high school. It would help a lot.
 
We live in a weird system. On one hand we need people to push the limits of borrowing to keep a strong influx of money into the economy, and we need repo men to keep them in check when they don't pay the bills. It annoys the hell out of me that everything I buy is a little more expensive because some people don't pay.
 
I wouldn't get involved - that's a personal issue.
 
I really think people should have to pass a financial literacy test before they graduate high school. It would help a lot.
Funny should should mention financial literacy requirements. I just read about what CA is doing a few days ago. I learned how to balance a check book as a sophomore in high school home economics class, sadly I only took the class because there were always a lot of girls in it and you got to eat what you and they cooked.

IMG_6193.png
 
Florida is/was doing it as well. Gotta say, I find it funny to see CA doing it. CA as a state doesn't even understand it, lol.

But yeah, I think there's a lot of kids that get out of HS without understanding how credit cards work, or compound interest, or stocks, or amy of it. A lot of these people are in their 30s and 40s and are still clueeless.
 
Shit splatters….. stay away.
 
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