Dealer glossary
Repossession
Recovering a financed vehicle after the customer has defaulted on the loan.
Definition
Also called repo
When a Buy Here Pay Here account stops performing and cannot be brought back, the vehicle is recovered. For the store this is a loss event on the note and, simultaneously, the reappearance of a used car.
Both halves need handling. The account has to be written off accurately, and the vehicle has to come back into inventory with its current mileage so it can be reconditioned and sold again rather than re-entered from scratch.
It is heavily regulated and the rules differ by state. How and when a vehicle may be recovered is a question for your attorney, not for software documentation.
Related terms.
Buy Here Pay Here (BHPH) →
A dealership model where the store finances the customer itself and collects the payments, instead of selling the loan to an outside lender.
Promise to pay →
A recorded commitment from a customer to make a missed or upcoming payment by a specific date.
Reconditioning (recon) →
The work done to a vehicle between acquiring it and putting it on the front line, and the cost of that work.
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