Yes, many financed or leased cars have hidden GPS trackers installed for repossession, often as a condition of the loan, allowing lenders to locate and recover the vehicle if payments are missed, sometimes even remotely disabling it; these can be hardwired or integrated into existing systems, though some may be installed without explicit owner consent, raising privacy concerns.
If your car has a tracker, repo agents can pinpoint its exact location at any time, which makes repossession faster and easier for them. License plate scanners are another tool repo agents use. These devices quickly scan license plates while cars drive through neighborhoods, parking lots, or other public spaces.
Repo Men Know Every Trick in the Book
So they may stake out your house for extended periods of time, survey the streets around your neighborhood, and even follow you when you go to the mall or grocery store. Since any public space is fair game, you may walk about of the store and find that your car is gone.
The repo company cannot enter your home or garage to take the vehicle without your permission. They are allowed to go onto the property to get your car if it's parked somewhere such as the driveway or the carport. In Georgia, the repossession company is not allowed to breach the peace when repossessing your car.
In some cases, vehicles might be equipped with GPS tracking devices. When a borrower defaults on payments, lenders can activate these devices to locate the vehicle's current position accurately. The repo man uses this information to swiftly pinpoint the vehicle and proceed with the car repossession.
In most states, after the lender has given an order to the repo agent to take the vehicle, the repo company is required to inform the local police department of their intent to repossess.
Checking last-known addresses, online databases, or even old-fashioned detective work in the form of door knocking or phone calling are all tools the repo agent may employ. They might even use informants — an estranged spouse looking to get even, for example — who can tell them where to find a car.
Dealerships can track a vehicle in specific scenarios, but only if proper disclosure and consent are in place. Before Sale or During Financing: If a tracker is installed for inventory or financing protection, dealerships must disclose it and obtain written consent from the customer.
The Repossession Process in California
However, that doesn't mean repossession is immediate or inevitable. Most lenders do not rush to repossess after a single missed payment. Repossession is expensive and time-consuming for them too. It often doesn't happen until the borrower is at least 60 to 90 days past due.
How to Disable a GPS Tracking Device on a Car - Step-By-Step Guide
If you confront the reposession company and tell them to leave your car alone, they must do so or they risk a Breach of the Peace. This is why cars are frequently repossessed at night. If the owner is sleeping there will be little chance of a Breach of the Peace.
Repo agents find your car using technology like Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPRs) that scan plates for delinquent accounts, GPS trackers potentially installed on the car, and traditional methods like staking out your home/work, checking public records, or using informants; they look for the vehicle in high-traffic areas like malls and parking lots, waiting for it to be unattended to tow it without "breaching the peace" (e.g., breaking into a locked garage).
If you remove the device, the seller has the legal right to repossess the vehicle and declare your contract in default. Additionally, you may be held liable for any damage to the device or the vehicle and could even face charges of theft. Therefore, it is illegal to remove the device unless the seller does so.
The repo guys will inform the police (so that people can know their car was repossessed not stolen). You also can't necessarily just wash your hands of it. If the car goes to auction and the bank doesn't recover all its money, it will come after you for the remainder.
Here's what repo agents can't do in most states:
They can't enter a locked garage to take your car. They can't open a locked gate or break a lock to access your property. They can't use physical force, damage property, or breach the peace to repossess a vehicle.
Typically, recovery companies attempt to find your car for up to 30 days. In some cases, lenders can start the repossession process as soon as one day after a missed payment. You should also be aware that many lenders don't give you notice of when or where they're going to repo the vehicle.