When you fail to continue paying for the car you purchased on loan, your lender will come to take the car back from you because you cannot keep driving a car you’ve not paid for.
The loan company will hire a repossession company that will send a repo man to come to repossess the car. Therefore, when the repo company sends a repo man, what time will he come?
| Repo Time | Reasons |
| 9:00 PM – 12:00 AM (Late evening) | Repo agents may choose to come between 9 PM to 12 AM when the owner is likely to be at home and asleep, making the repossession process smoother and less confrontational. |
| 5:00 AM – 8:00 AM (Early morning) | A common time for repo agents to come as they can catch the owner before they leave for work, making it easier to take possession of the vehicle. |
| 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM (During the day) | If the repo agent knows the owner’s schedule and when they are least likely to be around, they may choose this time to minimize conflict. |
| Weekends (Time varies, usually mornings | Some repo agents target weekends when people are more likely to be at home, offering fewer obstacles during repossession. |
| 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM (During work hours) | If the owner’s work schedule is known, the repo man may use this time to take the car since the owner is occupied and less likely to interfere. |
What Time Does Repo Man Usually Come?
There’s no specific time a repo man usually comes to repossess a car. He can come any time of the day, especially between 12 AM to 5 AM.
He comes anytime he feels it’s the best time to repossess the car. It can be in the morning, afternoon, night, or any time of the day or night.
The repossessing process comes with a lot of ups and downs. It’s not always an easy process. Though some may be easy, repossessing some people’s cars can be very difficult especially if the person puts up a fight.
Therefore, because of this, repo men don’t have a specific time they come. They only come when they feel it’s the best time to repo the car without much quarrel.
A repo man cannot come between 12 am to 5 am only. He can come between that time, he can also come after that time.
I know of a person whose car was repossessed in the night by 10:30 pm when she and her daughter were already at home resting for the day.
The repo man came at that time because he knew it was the best time to get hold of the car and have it repossessed.
I also know of a lady whose car was repossessed from a church parking lot on a Saturday morning while she was inside the church doing chief bridesmaid for her friend.
So, I cannot tell you that a repo man will come by 10 am to repo your car, it will be a lie because repo men do not make announcements of the exact time they’ll be coming to repossess a car.
Factors that Determine What Time Repo Man Comes
Here are factors that determine the time a repo man comes to repossess your car:
1. Repossession Laws of Your State/Country
The repossession laws of your country or state of residence play an important role in the time a repo man comes to repossess a car from you. The laws explain the repo process and repo men are obliged to follow those rules.
If the repossession laws of your state of residence allow repossession to be done between 6 am to 4 pm, repossession companies and repo men will obey the law and come within that time frame. They may also need to avoid conducting repossession during prohibited hours or on certain days.
But, if the law did not specify the timing and duration of the repossession, then the repo man can come anytime he wishes to repossess the car even if it means coming in the middle of the night when you will be sleeping.
2. When He Feels the Car Will be Available
Another factor that determines the time a repo man comes for repossession is when he feels the car is readily available for repossession. What’s the point of coming to repossess a car that is not available? He will come when the car is available for him to tow.
Don’t forget that before the day of the repossession, repo men often conduct thorough research and surveillance to gather information about your habits, routines, and the location of the vehicle to be repossessed.
They do this by tracking your movements, monitoring your residence, and identifying patterns of behavior to determine the most opportune time for repossession.
Therefore, if the repo man, after a thorough investigation gathered that the car is always free between the hours of 3 am to 9 am, he will come between that time to repossess the car.
3. When You’re Not Using the Car
As reiterated earlier, there are repossession laws that guide the actions and curtail the excesses of repo men during repossession.
As the law states, a repo man cannot repossess a car when you’re inside. He does not even have the power to stop you on the road to repossess the car. He will have to wait until you park and get out of the car before towing it away.
Therefore, the repo agents might aim to repossess cars when you are least likely to be present to minimize confrontation or interference. They may target early mornings, late evenings, or times when you’re known to be away from home or work.
Remember the example of the lady whose car was repossessed on a Saturday morning from a church parking lot while she was busy performing a chief bridesmaid duty for her friend who was getting married?
According to the repo man who made the report, he waited until the lady parked the vehicle and the wedding started properly before going to tow it away.
He went further to state how easy it was for him to repossess the car because the lady was not around to interfere with the towing.
On the other hand, the other lady whose car was repossessed by 10:30 pm complained that it was exactly 10:30 pm when she heard a knock on the door.
She went to open the door only for her to see a man saying he was a repo man and had come to repossess the car and that she should hand over the keys.
According to the lady, she interfered in the process by asking the man to leave her property because her 8-year-old daughter was around when it was all happening.
4. The Location of the Vehicle
Another factor that triggers the time a repo man usually comes for repossession is the location of the vehicle. A repo man would want to come to repossess the car when the location of the car makes it easier for him.
As reiterated earlier, the repo man will first monitor your movement to understand the whereabouts of the vehicle or where you usually take it and always park.
He will consider the most common locations where you park the vehicle, such as your residence, workplace, or other frequented spots, and stake out these locations to increase the chances of a successful repossession.
Nonetheless, if you normally have another car blocking the car that is up for repossession in your driveway, a repo man may decide to come to your office parking spot to repossess the car or rather, repossess the car in a grocery store parking lot instead of coming to your house where he may have to move other vehicles to be able to get hold of the vehicle.
According to Marissa-Anneke Collins, who lives in Raleigh, NC, operates tow trucks and holds WreckMaster certification:
- He has repossessed a car from the parking lot of a restaurant the guy was taking a date to.
- He has repossessed a car from the parking lot of a church while the debtor was maid of honor at a wedding.
- He has repossessed a car from a student parking lot at a school (The parents allowed the kids to take the car to school thinking he would not go there to repossess the car. Well he did)
From all these examples, you can see that these are different locations where it was easy to conduct the repossession process.
Conclusion
There’s no specific time a repo man usually comes for repossession. They can come any time of the day or night provided the car is readily available for repossession. He cannot come when you must have traveled in the car.
Moreover, repossession agents often work during non-business hours to increase the likelihood of finding the vehicle at the owner’s home or other locations. This can include early mornings, late evenings, or even overnight. Just like Marissa-Anneke Collins, repo agents also work during the day.
