Got no job? We don't care.
Got a bad credit rating? We don't care.
Got a prison record? We don't care.
Don't expect to pay us? THAT'S when we care!
Posted on 09/24/2014 7:15:32 PM PDT by blam
Michael Corkery and Jessica Silver-Greenberg
September 24, 2014
The thermometer showed a 103.5-degree fever, and her 10-year-old’s asthma was flaring up. Mary Bolender, who lives in Las Vegas, needed to get her daughter to an emergency room, but her 2005 Chrysler van would not start.
The cause was not a mechanical problem — it was her lender.
Ms. Bolender was three days behind on her monthly car payment. Her lender, C.A.G. Acceptance of Mesa, Ariz., remotely activated a device in her car’s dashboard that prevented her car from starting. Before she could get back on the road, she had to pay more than $389, money she did not have that morning in March.
“I felt absolutely helpless,” said Ms. Bolender, a single mother who stopped working to care for her daughter. It was not the only time this happened: Her car was shut down that March, once in April and again in June.
This new technology is bringing auto loans — and Wall Street’s version of Big Brother — into the lives of people with credit scores battered by the financial downturn.
Auto loans to borrowers considered subprime, those with credit scores at or below 640, have spiked in the last five years. The jump has been driven in large part by the demand among investors for securities backed by the loans, which offer high returns at a time of low interest rates. Roughly 25 percent of all new auto loans made last year were subprime, and the volume of subprime auto loans reached more than $145 billion in the first three months of this year.
But before they can drive off the lot, many subprime borrowers like Ms. Bolender must have their car outfitted with a so-called starter interrupt device
(snip)
(Excerpt) Read more at dealbook.nytimes.com ...
Back off on this company love crap. Friend of mine makes a good deal of money and had his power turned off. His wife and him crossed signals on if the bill was paid or not. We just had smart meters installed after decades of the old ones. They gave him no warning.
What would prevent dbag Clymer hackers from shutting off many cars to to prove that they can do it?
Here’s my favorite part: While the devices make life easier for lenders, their ability to track drivers’ movements has struck a nerve with a number of borrowers and some government authorities, who say they are a particularly troubling example of personal-data gathering and surveillance..
The GOVERNMENT is concerned about personal data gathering and surveillance? That’s rich.
You get a free ride with lights and sirens!
Except for a house, if you can’t afford to pay cash for something, you shouldn’t buy it. Period.
Got no job? We don't care.
Got a bad credit rating? We don't care.
Got a prison record? We don't care.
Don't expect to pay us? THAT'S when we care!
Well said, thank you!
“This kind of action could come back to bite the lender if the vehicle was not available for an emergency and someone was seriously injured or worse. How far we have fallen as a nation!”
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I’m confused. The lender still owns the car so why would they be responsible if someone needs it? Do we all have to make our cars available for someone else’s emergency?
I have no opinion on this situation but don’t understand how the lender(owner) would be at fault.
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.
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That's my MO. I haven't had a mortgage payment since 1985 or a car payment since 1993.
You win the prize for the best analysis of the situation.
She has trapped herself. Way back when, she may have been able to afford a car with normal payments and no device. But, she demonstrated that she was not in any shape to handle this responsibility.
I have known people with her mentality. In years gone by, they would have just taken off for another state. Lender loses out. She disqualifies herself from getting another loan, ever.
Technology saves the day. She now has to obey onerous restrictions, but can have a car. Who would believe she can somehow make herself the victim in this story?
being late on a bill does not equate to wanting something for free. Three days late? This kind of crap falls under loan sharking.
Well there is a simple solution and since we the people own this country and not the government we can stop this crap.
There is no reason to have to DISPLAY the license number of a vehicle. A simple renewable non unique sticker indicating the car carries a current license is all that is needed. The actual unique license number could be produced to law enforcement when appropriate.
“I’m confused. The lender still owns the car so why would they be responsible if someone needs it? Do we all have to make our cars available for someone else’s emergency?”
I don’t know how cars are titled where you live, but here in California, when you have an outstanding auto loan, the title lists you as the “registered owner,” and the lender as the “legal owner.” As the registered owner, you are responsible for any tickets, accidents, etc., not the legal owner. It used to be that cars with defaulting registered owners, had their cars repossessed. I guess the problem I have is that the registered owner with these electronic lock-outs may not receive prior notification that their cars have been rendered inoperative, and without that “notice,” they would have the reasonable expectation that their cars would run when needed. If, on the other hand, the lender had just repossessed the car, the registered owner would have been given “notice” that they could not use it. I guess I think it’s a sleazy way for the lender to operate because they haven’t recovered their asset, they are just screwing with their customer.
I don’t see how your comment about the need for everyone to make their car’s available for an emergency figures in the discussion.
I watched “Operation Repo” when it first came out, and so much of the drama centered around getting the keys from the borrowers. Everyone who loves the convenience of keyless entry should understand why it is there; I’m sure it is much easier to repo a 2013 car than a 2003...
Do you think calling 911 for an ambulance is free? In case you didn’t know it, it is not.
You can by drivable old clunkers outright for a couple of grand. Oh wait, those were destroyed by the obama braniacs.
Thanks for inserting a little reality (and humanity) into this discussion. When I read some of these comments, I realize why some of the stereotypes about heartless conservatives exist. Also, this is an open invitation to Congress to legislate in this area if this becomes an industry standard. Despite how awesome this sounds on a conservative message board, I guaran-damn-ty you the average voter will be repelled by it.
Pretty helpless in the face of cars that REQUIRE. A functioning computer module to run.
In case you hadn’t noticed it wasn’t the first time.
Good point.
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