How to Recover a Repossessed Vehicle in Pennsylvania
If you act quickly, you can recover your repossessed vehicle in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The state's Motor Vehicle Sales Finance Act (MVSFA) grants consumers the right to regain a vehicle but limits the time that they have to do so. The costs to recover your vehicle can be excessive, so it is imperative that you contact the financier for the vehicle as soon as you realize that you cannot make a payment to avoid repossession if you want to keep the vehicle.
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Instructions
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1
Read your Notice of Repossession carefully. Your creditor must send this notice immediately after repossessing your vehicle. The notice contains instructions for whom you are to contact regarding the repossession, how much you must pay and where the lender is holding your vehicle.
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2
Visit the vehicle's holder to collect your personal property from the vehicle. Pennsylvania law states that you have 30 days to retrieve any personal property in the vehicle at the time of its repossession.
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3
Read your credit contract to determine if it gives you the chance to pay your past-due payments and repossession costs to recover your vehicle or if you must pay the full balance of the loan before you can retrieve your vehicle.
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Contact your lender to make arrangements to pay the amount due. Some of the fees you owe include fees for the repossession, storage and any administrative fees charged by the lender.
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5
Obtain a release form from your lender and give it to the vehicle holder to recover your vehicle.
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Tips & Warnings
In Pennsylvania, the lender does not need a court order to repossess your vehicle unless doing so creates an unnecessary disturbance in the peace of the community where you live.
Lenders can require that you pay any amounts due by certified check or cash before sending you the release form.
If you do not recover your vehicle, the lender can sue you for the remaining balance of your contract and fees associated with the repossession.
