Millions of Americans turn to alternative financial services when they are shut out of the traditional lending sector. Auto title loans, which are short-term, high-interest loans using a borrower's car title as collateral, play an important and growing role in this market. These loans are predominantly used by low-income people who have few other credit options. Despite this, very little is known about the impact of title lending on its customers. Proponents of these loans claim that they provide necessary credit to individuals who otherwise would not be able to borrow and would face serious consequences. Critics argue that these loans are predatory and push borrowers into financial ruin. To test these competing contentions, I use several empirical approaches that exploit geographic variation in access to title lending and changes in title lending laws to identify the effect of access to title loans on personal bankruptcy filing rates. This work is the first to empirically study the effect of title lending on financial outcomes for borrowers. My preliminary results show that title lending decreases the bankruptcy filing rate in counties that have access, particularly the Ch. 7 filing rate. This contradicts the main premise of title lending critics, suggesting that title lending may serve as an important source of credit that benefits consumers.