Buying a Repo?
 

I'm buying a car from a dealer in California. Car is a repo. Obviously the previous owner did not/could not release his interest in the car by signing the title. In place of his signature the word 'REPOSSESSION' appears. After a repo there is always a redemption period or some sort of mechanism allowing recourse to a borrower who has defaulted.

Car was bought through Manheim car auction. Am I right to assume that Manheim would only auction a clear title car?

A repo does not effect the title status at least in FL. It will show up on a carfax which can hinder resale.

I would think the bank would have to sign off on the lien (as noted on the title).

We repo cars all the time. Here it doesn't show up on a title, and has no effect on resale value, assuming there's nothing wrong with the car. Sometimes repos are treated poorly - think of the type of person who gets their car repo'd. So that's one thing to watch out for. But so long as it passes inspection (if it came through Manheim ask to see inspection report - all locations offer it, and many/most purchases go through it, so dealer would likely have one) and it's clean, it should be fine. If it went through Manheim, title will be clear or clear-able.

Thanks for the responses.

The dealer did assure me that the car passed through the auction with a clear title. Manheim also confirmed this. Once I import the car the repo will not show on title. I plan on keeping the car at least 10 years anyway so I'm not concerned about resale.

A lot of repos are hammered pieces of crap when i take them back. The detailers will clean them up and make them look good, but remember, the car was taken cause the dude wasn't paying for it, and 99% of the time that means it was being neglected mechanically as well.

Good luck.

What snipe says is true. The upshot of that is that, at least at my work, the vast majority of cars are repo'd in between 4 and 8 months into the contract (literally, about 80%) so there's not much time for neglect. It's the abused ones you really need to watch out for. A good independent PPI is even more important here.

FWIW, we'll be driving a repo'd 99 Golf for a winter car this year, so long as it checks out. We don't have much into it and the market is soft right now, so it makes sense to drive it for free now and sell it in the spring, when the market is better. It'll go through a full detail but I'll probably skip the mechanical inspection - no point, really, because the company already owns it.

The car was a 'soft repo' - owner brought the car to the bank on his own volition and turned in the keys. It only has 19K miles and passed a PPI with no issues other than 30% front brakes which the dealer is replacing. All books records, 3 sets of keys, nav disc, floor mats etc included.

You'd be stunned how fast a scumbag can turn a new car into a maggot infested filthy piece of crap.