How to get your car back after repossession in NZ

Waking up to a gap in the driveway is a shock. It is also the point where the clock matters most, because the notice you are about to receive gives you a short, fixed window. People who use it well sometimes keep the car. People who wait often lose it for good.

This page is about the window after the car has been taken. If you are still before that point, our page on whether your car can be repossessed covers the warning notice and hardship. If the car has already sold, go to do I still owe money after repossession.

Day one: what to do first

1. Find out who has it and where. Ask the lender or its agent which company took the car and where it is stored.
2. Ask for the post-repossession notice. The lender must give you one within 14 days of repossession, or 18 days if sent by post. It sets out your options and the dates.
3. Write down the date you receive it. The 15 days count from when it arrives.
4. Ask for your belongings. Personal items in the car are not covered by the credit contract. Ask when and how you can collect them.
5. Call a free financial mentor. MoneyTalks on 0800 345 123 can work through your numbers and speak to the lender.

Do not let the notice sit unopened. It has figures and dates that decide what you can still do.

The four options in the notice

From the day you receive the notice you have 15 days to do one of these:

Reinstate the loan

You pay the arrears and the lender’s reasonable repossession costs, and the contract continues as if nothing happened. This is the route that gets the car back with the loan intact. It only suits you if you can keep up the payments from here on, because you are agreeing to the same contract.

Settle the contract in full

You pay the whole balance, and the loan ends. This is rarely possible from savings, but a family member’s help or a different loan can make it work. Be careful with a new loan taken only to settle this one, since a rushed borrowing from a high-cost lender, with an annual rate of 50% or more, can make things worse. We look at the options in refinance car loan bad credit.

Sell the car yourself at the notice values

You can sell the items at the values in the notice. If you find a buyer who will pay at least the estimated value, the lender must sell to them for that. This can reduce a shortfall if the notice value is realistic.

Find someone to take over the contract

You can find a person who will take over the credit contract. They would need the lender to agree to their situation, so talk to the lender early.

What reinstating usually costs

The cost of getting the car back is not the whole balance. It is the arrears plus the costs the lender reasonably spent on repossession and storage. Here is an illustrative example, with invented round numbers. It is not a quote.

Item	Amount
Missed payments: 6 weeks at $85	$510
Repossession and storage costs	$450
Total to reinstate	$960
Whole balance to settle	$7,200

In the example, reinstating takes under a thousand dollars while settling takes more than seven times that. But reinstating only makes sense if the $85 a week from there is a number you can truly keep. If the problem that caused the missed payments is still there, a reinstated loan can end the same way a few weeks later. Be honest with yourself and with the mentor about that.

Ask the lender for the reinstatement figure in writing, check each line, and ask for the repossession costs to be itemised. If it looks high, say so in writing. You can complain to the lender’s financial dispute resolution scheme, which is free.

A timeline to work from

Counting the days helps, because every date comes from the notice and not from the day the car was taken.

• Day 0: the car is taken. Ask who has it.
• Up to day 14 (day 18 by post): the lender must send the post-repossession notice.
• Day you receive it: the 15 days start. Write the date on your calendar and on the notice itself.
• Within the 15 days: reinstate, settle, sell at the notice values or find someone to take over. Get each figure in writing.
• After the 15 days: the lender may sell. If it has not sold within 30 days, you can require a sale by auction.
• Within 7 days of any sale: a written statement of the proceeds, costs and balance.

If a date is unclear, phone the lender and ask it to confirm the dates by email. Do not guess, because a missed day can end your options.

Get a valuation

The notice gives an estimated value of the car. That number is often well below what you owe, and it is the figure at which a buyer you find can take the car. You can get an independent valuation of the repossessed goods. If the value is higher, you have something concrete to put to the lender, and a better chance of avoiding a large shortfall.

If you cannot do any of the four

The car will probably be sold. Some points still work in your favour:

• The sale must be commercially reasonable, by auction, public tender or private sale. If the lender has not held a sale within 30 days, you can require it to sell by auction.
• You get a written statement within 7 days of the sale, showing the sale proceeds, costs and the balance owing.
• No more interest, fees or collection costs can be added after the sale.
• You still owe any shortfall. See do I still owe money after repossession for how to deal with it.

Was the repossession done properly?

It is worth checking, because a lender that skipped a rule may have given you more room. Questions to ask:

• Did you get a warning notice with at least 15 days, unless the lender had reasonable grounds to think the car was at risk?
• Was the car taken between 6am and 9pm, Monday to Saturday, and not on a public holiday, unless you agreed otherwise?
• Was a hardship application or a dispute still open when the car was taken? Lenders cannot repossess while one is unresolved.
• Was the agent licensed, and did they carry the paperwork?
• Were only items named in the contract taken?

If the answer to any of these is no, say so in writing to the lender. You can take it to the lender’s dispute resolution scheme, report certain breaches to the regulator, or seek damages or an injunction through Community Law or a lawyer. Free initial advice is available from a Community Law centre.

Do you really want it back?

Not every car is worth saving. Think through these before you spend your last savings on one:

• Is the car still worth roughly what you owe, or is the loan much higher than its value?
• Could you cope with the weekly payment from now on?
• Is there a cheaper car that would do the same job?
• Would getting it back just delay the same problem?

Sometimes the better move is to let it be sold, deal with the shortfall on a plan, and buy something modest later. That is a choice, not a failure.

Getting moving again

If the car does not come back, you will still need transport. Some options are a cheap cash purchase, borrowing from family, or Good Shepherd’s Good Loans, which are no-interest, fee-free loans for essentials, including a car, up to $7,000, with eligibility rules at goodshepherd.org.nz. For a loan with a lender, the shortfall and your record since matter most, and each lender decides for itself. Our guide to car finance after a default covers what they look at.

When you are ready for the next car

When the notice period is behind you and your budget is steady, you can answer four quick questions at our check. It is not a credit application, and a broker partner can then call you to talk through your options. Nobody can promise approval, and you pay us nothing.

Sources

• Consumer Protection: repossession
• Consumer Protection: debt collection and repossession
• Consumer Protection: loan for your car
• Consumer Protection: payment problems and hardship
• Community Law: repossession