Michigan is one of dozens of states splitting a nationwide settlement with subprime auto lender Credit Acceptance Corporation, and its cut is sizable on its own. State residents with Credit Acceptance auto loans are set to have about $70.3 million in debt wiped out, on top of a smaller cash payment to some borrowers, under the deal Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office joined this month. The company, headquartered in Southfield, is handling the payout itself rather than routing it through a separate claims process.
Michigan’s $70.3 Million Slice Of A Larger Deal
Michigan’s allocation under the settlement comes to $790,474 in cash restitution and approximately $70,331,730 in debt forgiveness, according to the state attorney general’s Sept. 18, 2026 announcement — a figure that rounds to about $70.3 million. That places Michigan’s share within a $694 million nationwide settlement that Credit Acceptance reached with a coalition of state attorneys general, including California’s attorney general, whose own state’s allocation came to $6.86 million by comparison. The size of Michigan’s number reflects how much Credit Acceptance business runs through the state where the company is based, rather than any separate Michigan-only investigation.
The notice won’t say this: Michigan’s debt-forgiveness allocation moves through Credit Acceptance’s own account records, but the state agencies that separately track unclaimed property in a resident’s name don’t send a settlement-style notice at all, so a borrower who checks only for this one letter can miss funds sitting somewhere else entirely. See where else unclaimed money can sit in The Settlement & Refund Recovery System.
Cash Now, Debt Cancellation By November
The two pieces of Michigan’s allocation move on different tracks. Cash restitution goes to a narrower group of borrowers who took out particularly risky loans, while the larger debt-forgiveness portion applies more broadly to Michigan borrowers whose account balances the settlement covers. Credit Acceptance must finish applying that debt relief on or before Nov. 2, 2026, per the state attorney general’s release, giving the company a hard internal deadline even though no Michigan borrower has to file a claim to receive it.
Why Michigan Signed On
Michigan’s attorney general joined the settlement as part of a multistate investigation alleging Credit Acceptance made loans it knew, or should have known, many borrowers could not repay, and allowed dealers to illegally add products like vehicle service contracts and GAP insurance onto loan balances without adequate consumer consent, according to the same Michigan AG release. Nessel’s office is one of the coalition members that negotiated the deal rather than a bystander state simply collecting a payout, which is why Michigan’s announcement carries the full national settlement breakdown alongside its own state-specific numbers.
How The Money Reaches Borrowers, State By State
Because this settlement was built by a coalition of state attorneys general rather than a single federal agency, each state’s residents get their own dollar figure and their own state release describing it, even though the underlying debt-cancellation mechanics work the same way nationwide. For Michigan, that means Credit Acceptance itself identifies which accounts qualify using its own loan records and applies the relief directly, rather than a Michigan state office cutting checks or processing applications. A borrower who wants to confirm eligibility does not need to search for a separate Michigan claims portal; the debt adjustment happens on the loan account itself, and any cash restitution arrives through a claims administrator named in the settlement rather than through the attorney general’s office directly.
A Limit On Future Michigan Loans, Not Just A Payout
Michigan’s benefit from this settlement is not limited to the $70.3 million being forgiven on accounts already open. Going forward, Credit Acceptance is bound for seven years to a cap on how much it can finance a vehicle above that vehicle’s own value, set at 109% of the car’s price, under the terms the Michigan attorney general’s office negotiated alongside the other states. For a Michigander shopping for a car on credit after this settlement takes effect, that cap is meant to keep a new Credit Acceptance loan from being written so far above the vehicle’s actual worth that the borrower starts out owing more than the car could ever be resold for.
What A Michigan Debt-Forgiveness Notice Leaves Out
Michigan’s allocation moves through Credit Acceptance’s own account records rather than a state office, which means the attorney general’s announcement is the only public notice most affected borrowers will see before their loan balance itself changes. That leaves open the separate question of whether an old address, a loan paid off years ago, or an account since closed also has money sitting unclaimed with the state, tracked somewhere else, unrelated to this particular settlement.
The Settlement & Refund Recovery System pairs a 51-state directory of unclaimed-property offices with a large-print quick-start for working through each one in order.
Look up Michigan’s unclaimed-property office alongside this settlement in The Settlement & Refund Recovery System.
This article was produced with AI assistance and checked against the primary sources linked above.
Warren Cohen is a finance writer based in Phoenix, Arizona, covering personal finance topics including credit, banking, and beginner investing. He earned his degree in business administration from Arizona State University and began his career working in consumer finance, where he gained direct experience with lending and credit systems. He now writes for personal finance websites and fintech platforms, focusing on clear, practical content that helps readers make informed financial decisions.
