Would Credit Card Debt Collectors Seize My Car?

[rubix]

Here's the scenario.

State: California
Scenario: I have unpaid $90000+ credit card debt + interest. I also have a car (100% paid off) with a resale (auction) value of $25,000. If collectors sue me and win a judgement - can they legally seize the car? And another question is: would they?

Hopefully someone with the knowledge and experience in California law can answer.

[HHM]

Yes, if creditors get a judgment against you, then they can go after non-exempt assets (such as your car)

Will they? Typically no. In consumer collections, creditors are primarily looking for "cash", e.g. garnish wages, levy bank accounts, etc. However, it is not unheard of for a creditor to go after a car if the creditor is aggressive enough. But, the 3 main ways creditors use judgments are (1) garnish wages, (2) levy bank accounts, (3) place a lien on a persons home.

[rubix]

Apparently happens all the time in Boston:

http://www.boston.com/news/specials/debt/part1_main/

[HHM]

Like I said, it is not unheard of, but at the same time, tracking down cars and liquidating them is not the primary way creditors go about collecting judgments. From a creditor's perspective, taking a car is a high cost, low yield collection method, thus, it is not widely employed.

[sisterfunkhaus]

In my state, they can't touch your car. I would think it depends on where you live.