I bought a Car in June 2002.  It is financied through GMAC or GM
Canada.  I had an accident back in January 2003 and an accident before
that in September 2001.  Both accidents are at fault accidents on my
driving record and my insurance is up for renewal on July 15, 2003.  I
live in Brampton ON, and I will be moving July 1, to Scarborough
(Toronto).

My insurance company has not given me a formal decision but my
insurance broker has said it looks as though they will not renew my
insurance.  When my insurance goes up I can no longer afford the
rates.

There are two possible scenarios I am thinking about in which I would
like to have more information.

1. If I decide I can no longer afford to drive (because the insurance
is to expensive) can I return the car to GM?  If so, what will happen?
 Will they sell it and ask me the difference.  The cost of selling it
less the amount still owed.  And will this affect my credit rating? 
Is there anything I can do or say that will help my case when I
approach GM so that they have some compassion in understanding my
situtation?

2. Can I decide to keep my car (continue making the payments) but no
longer insure the car?  Is it legal.  Do I need a certain minimum
coverage even if I park the car and do not drive it because GMAC has a
lean on the vehicle?  I am thinking about keeping it in case at a
future date I can afford the insurance.

3.  Is there a good source of information on this type of circumstance
you can recommend for further research.

One last question, I am going through a difficult time right now so I
can only afford $10.00.  Is there a way for me to keep your name or
reference number so that I can tip you more at a later date for this
answer if I am happy with it?

Thank you in advance for your help.

Robert

Hi kosuth,

I have some personal experience that you might find useful... Keep in
mind I live in the US.

The answer to Question #1 is that you have a contract with GMAC, they
want you to honor the contract to pay $XXX.XX per month. They don't
want the car, they want the money.

I was in your *exact* situation once (with GMAC), and they flat
refused to take the car. The only way I could get them to negotiate
was to quit making payments and let them threaten to repossess. Then,
after I was four payments down (read: skipped four payments), did they
REFINANCE the loan to a manageable dollar amount. It was because they
"wanted the money" that I was finally able to get them to refinance
the loan: repossessing the car, selling it, etc, was less profitable
than refinancing. They added the payments I was behind onto the new
loan. I had 6 monthly payments of $200.00 and then they went up $50.00
a month until I was at $350, which was still below my old monthly
payment amount.

As far as the insurance is concerned, the vehicle MUST be insured if
you have a loan on it. If you fail to keep it insured, GMAC will
purchase insurance and add it to your payments. Read the fine print of
your GMAC contract, it's in there. The insurance they purchase will be
a LOT more expensive then what you could buy. They don't care if you
tell them it will be stored in Fort Knox and that you won't drive it.

PS: Geico is the least expensive insurance I have been able to find.

~~Cynthia

How will GM know that there is no insurance on the car?

Obviously it is illegal to drive with no insurance and I am not going
to take the chance.  But if I park the car for a 6 months or a year
how will GM know there is no insurance on the car?  Is my existing
insurance company obligated to inform them if I do no renew my
insurance or if they choose not to renew me?  Is there a central
system in Ontario that tracks this?  Will they know if there is no
insurance on the car? If anyone knows please let me know.

Thank you!

Since GMAC is the legal owner of the car, normally, when you are sent
a notice to renew, and do NOT, the insurance company will send them a
letter. I'm in the US and some states are different in how much this
is enforced. In Nevada, if you are even ONE DAY late on an insurance
payment, the ins. co. BY LAW must notify your lienholder...

Here's an example (out-of-context):
http://216.239.53.100/search?q=cache:-qb0suNuOKUJ:www.azleg.state.az.us/legtext/45leg/1r/summary/h.hb2571_3-13-01_caucuscow.doc.htm+%22notify+the+lienholder%22+insurance&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
It's a cached page so you can scroll quickly to the pertinent parts.