Celebrities Who Had Their Prized Cars Repossessed

Luxury cars are often utilized as the ultimate symbol of wealth and social bearing. There's a reason why many a music video begins with a swanky, pimped-out ride pulling into the driveway: These vehicles signify prestige, status, and essentially serve as a way of telling the world, "I've made it." Be they Bentleys, Ferraris, or the smooth contours of a Lamborghini, there's nothing quite like having a swanky motor to one's name. The acquisition of them, therefore, is a dream come true for many — especially those who did not grow up with material riches.

Sometimes the rich and famous don't treat their cars with the care befitting a motor that costs more than most people will see in a lifetime: Ever the billionaire renegade, Elon Musk, for instance, wrecked his $1 million supercar. But there are many stars who cherish their wheels as much as they would a member of their family. That's why it's all the more devastating when those cars are towed away by the repo guys.

For celebrities renowned for their lavish lifestyles and the vehicles that go with them, repossession can be a truly humiliating experience. Sometimes leasing snafus lead to cars being seized; in other cases, once high-flying A-listers find themselves doing a financial U-turn. One minute a star is hopping in a sweet ride; the next thing they know, they can't afford a Ford. Let's put the pedal to the metal and give the deets on the celebrities that had their prized cars repossessed.

Nicolas Cage loves appearing in an action-packed motor movie, from "Drive Angry" to "Gone in 60 Seconds." But little did the A-lister know that his own personal car collection would soon be gone in 60 seconds. Much like the memed man himself, Cage's financial woes have become the stuff of legend. Despite being an Oscar-winner whose filmography gets updated on a seemingly daily basis, he has fallen on hard times. His outlandish expenses include German castles, a dinosaur skull, and a pyramid tomb, per CNBC. He also developed an insatiable appetite for cars. Unfortunately, however, his finances didn't quite align with his assortment of automobiles.

In 2009, he faced financial ruin after one too many exorbitant purchases. As reported by CNN, two of his homes were repossessed as a result. But then they came for his garage. Cage's prized cars were his classic Rolls Royces. GQ notes that he once owned a staggering nine Roller Phantoms. But as with his properties, two of Cage's beloved Rolls Royces were repossessed during his year of financial turmoil. Per TMZ, the leasing company then sued Cage since the lease hadn't ended on either vehicle when they were repossessed, meaning he owed over $241k altogether. 

Cage attributed his financial downfall to his business manager, Samuel Levin, but Levin said Cage only had himself to blame, per CNN. With his ever burgeoning IMDb profile, Cage may have the roles, but he has no roller.

Formerly known as the mononymous Jordan, glamour model turned TV personality Katie Price is famed in her native U.K. for her out-there stylistic sensibilities. Her aesthetic, which can best be described as Barbie-meets-bling, naturally extends to her car collection. In typical OTT Price style, she owned two pink cars, but sadly lost them both. The first to go was her pastel pink VW Beetle, which was repossessed in 2019 after she failed to pay a toll fine two years earlier. Per The Sun, the penalty was initially a mere £2.50 ($3.10), but due to Price's failure to pay, the debt (including eventual towing) mounted to £1,300 ($1,622). Price's reps claimed she had no idea that the fines had increased over the past two years.

Just a few months later, she lost her second car, a bubblegum pink Range Rover complete with furry fuchsia seats. Sadly, the car was repossessed when the star had to file for bankruptcy. As reported by the Daily Mail, Price owed a whopping £2.1 million ($2.6 million) after falling on hard times. A year earlier, she puked in the vehicle when arrested for driving under the influence.

Per The Sun, the joke was ultimately on the car dealership in whose possession the Range Rover landed, since they struggled to sell off the Bratz-esque ride. Accordingly, the asking price had to be reduced by £10k when the rosy Rover sat in the dealership for more than a month without an interested buyer.

During his tween stint as Lil Bow Wow, he may have warned us, "Beware of Dog," but it was the repo guys who put him in the doghouse. In 2012, TMZ reported that Bow Wow had his Lamborghini Murcielago repossessed during a spell of financial turmoil. But the ordeal didn't end there. The rapper was forced to foot the costs of the repo job, meaning he owed $25,000 to the bank. Additionally, he quit paying up on his other vehicle, a Ferrari, resulting in a $283,000 debt.

The dire situation was aggravated by the rapper's failure to pay his taxes in 2006, 2008, and 2010, per TMZ. Moreover, the outlet reports that he was struggling to pay child support; the payments amounted to $3,000 a month, yet the rapper insisted he was only earning $4,000 a month at Cash Money Records. Wow, Bow.

Unfortunately, it appears the former child rapper hasn't bounced back from these money woes: his approximate net worth stands at a (comparatively) modest $1.5 million. However, he has been able to replace his prized Lambos and Ferraris. As Newsweek reports, he acquired a Polaris Slingshot in 2022. Regarding his past repossessions, he told the outlet that experiencing immense stardom at such a young age led to him coveting luxury vehicles. "I gave [the dealership] my American Express Black card because I would always hear that it never declined, you could buy a building with this card," he mused.

Katy Perry is one of the biggest names in music. The songstress' various gargantuan hits, as well as her high-profile stint as an "American Idol" judge, have generated a jaw-dropping estimated net worth of $330 million. But before she was partying with Hillary Clinton and making babies with Orlando Bloom, Perry was in a dire financial situation. Subsequently, she had not one, but two cars confiscated by the repo guys.

"I had two cars repossessed, tons of debt," she told Glamour. "I had a horrible job [critiquing music demos] that was damaging to my soul." Speaking at a Grammys event, she likened this difficult era in her life to existing as a "walking overdraft fee of $38." Her managers were once advancing her rent money, Forbes noted. With strength and determination, however, she was able to kick off her music career and financially take charge. The repo guys can put that in their tail pipe and smoke it.

Thankfully, the "Dark Horse" star has bounced back from the pain of having her rides repossessed and has been spotted driving some impressive vehicles: a Mercedes vintage convertible, an Audi A5, and others. The former walking overdraft has certainly come a long way and shown 'em what she's worth.

Danniella Westbrook is an actor turned reality TV star in the U.K., best known for her role on long-running British soap "EastEnders." Unfortunately, her life has often mirrored plotlines from the aforementioned soap opera. Westbrook has faced multiple hardships, including losing the tip of her nose to drug use and chronic illness, for which she has had to undergo numerous surgical reconstructions.

In 2014, she tweeted that her car had been stolen. However, it didn't take long for cracks to develop in her story. Due to her financial turmoil, it turned out that the repo biz had come knocking on Westbrook's door. She later confessed that her car was actually repossessed after she struggled to make her repayments. "I forgot to set up a direct debit, so didn't realize that the payments were not being made," she insisted to The Sun (via the Daily Mail), adding, "Had the hire company wanted the car back, all they had to do was ask." The loss came at the darkest period in Westbrook's life. In an interview with "This Morning," she declared, "I think this year has been the worst year I've ever had in my life. Just losing one thing after another, after another."

Four years later, things appeared to be looking up for Westbrook when she purchased a £65k ($80.6k) Land Rover following an extended period of abject poverty, per the Daily Mail (though she has continued to struggle with health issues).

MMA superstar Derrick Lewis is one of the most respected fighters of his generation, having helped to popularize the sport for mainstream audiences. Despite this esteemed status, things haven't always been so victorious for the mixed martial artist.

Lewis revealed that he once had his car repossessed — by none other than boxing legend George Foreman. It turns out that Lewis began his career as a boxer thanks to Foreman, who began training him, as Lewis revealed in 2018 on "The Rich Eisen Show." Big George gifted Lewis a car and was soon setting him up in an apartment. But when the champ found out that the budding athlete had no desire to embark on a boxing career, he rather cruelly had the ride repoed. "I told him I don't want to do boxing, just stick to MMA... and so they took the car away from me!" he laughed. 

During an appearance on "Weigh-in Show," Lewis looked back on the experience with good humor. The athlete joked that he made sure he got a decent amount of mileage out of the vehicle prior to giving it up for the repo guys, even purposely driving over speed bumps. "I said, 'You come pick it up now,'" he quipped. Lewis revealed that he has had an upgrade since the Foreman Buick debacle, telling Eisen that he now drives a Mercedes GTS and was on the hunt for a second luxury ride.