One of the harsh truths of secured loans is that your asset can be repossessed if you fail to make the payments. In the words of the FTC, âyour consumer rights may be limitedâ if you miss your monthly payments, and when that happens, both your financial situation and your bank balance will take a hit.
On this guide, weâll look at what can happen when you fall behind on your car payments, and how much damage it can do to your credit score.
What is a Car Repossession?
An auto loan is a loan acquired for the sole purpose of purchasing a car. The lender covers the cost of the car, you get the vehicle you want, and in return you pay a fixed monthly sum until the loan balance is repaid.
If you fail to make to make a payment or youâre late, the lender may assume possession of your car and sell it to offset the losses. At the same time, they will report your missed and late payments to the main credit bureaus, and your credit score will take a hit. Whatâs more, if the sale is not enough to cover the remainder of the debt, you may be asked to pay the residual balance.
The same process applies to a title loan, whereby your car is used as collateral for a loan but isnât actually the purpose of the loan.
To avoid repossession, you need to make your car payments on time every month. If you are late or make a partial payment, you may incur penalties and itâs possible that your credit score will suffer as well. If you continue to delay payment, the lender will seek to cover their costs as quickly and painlessly as possible.
How a Repossession Can Impact Your Credit Score
Car repossession can impact your credit history and credit score in several ways. Firstly, all missed and late car payments will be reported to the credit bureaus and will remain on your account for up to 7 years. They can also reduce your credit score.Â
Secondly, if your car is repossessed on top of late payments, you could lose up to 100 points from your credit score, significantly reducing your chances of being accepted for a credit card, loan or mortgage in the future.Â
And thatâs not the end of it. If you have had your car for less than a couple of years, thereâs a good chance the sale price will be much less than the loan balance. Car repossession doesnât wipe the slate clean and could still leave you with a sizable issue. If you have a $10,000 balance and the car is sold for $5,000, you will owe $5,000 on the loan and the lender may also hit you with towing charges.
Donât assume that the car is worth more than the value of the loan and that everything will be okay. The lender isnât selling it direct; they wonât get the best price. Repossessed vehicles are sold cheaply, often for much less than their value, and in most cases, a balance remains.Â
Lenders may be lenient with this balance as itâs not secured, so their options are limited. However, they can also file a judgment or sell it to a collection agency, at which point your problems increase and your credit score drops even further.
How Does a Repo Take Place?
If you have a substantial credit card debt and miss a payment, your creditor will typically take it easy on you. They canât legally report the missed payment until at least 30-days have passed and most creditors wonât sell the account to a collection agency until it is at least 180-days overdue.
This leads many borrowers into a false sense of security, believing that an auto loan lender will be just as forgiving. But this is simply not true. Some lenders will repo your car just 90-days after your last payment, others will do it after 60 days. They donât make as many allowances because they donât need toâthey can simply seize your asset, get most of the money back, and then chase the rest as needed.
Most repossessions happen quickly and with little warning. The lender will contact you beforehand and request that you pay what you owe, but the actual repo process doesnât work quite like what you may have seen on TV.Â
Theyâre not allowed to break down your door or threaten you; theyâre not allowed to use force. And, most of the time, they donât need to. If they see your car, they will load it onto their truck and disappear. Theyâre so used to this process that they can typically do it in less than 60-seconds.
It doesnât matter whether youâre at home or at workâyou just lost your ride.
What Can You Do Before a Repo Hits Your Credit Score?
Fortunately, there are ways to avoid the repo process and escape the damage. You just need to act quickly and donât bury your head in the sand, as many borrowers do.
Request a Deferment
An auto loan lender wonât waste as much time as a creditor, simply because they donât need to. However, they still understand that they wonât get top dollar for the car and are generally happy to make a few allowances if it means you have more chance of meeting your payments.
If you sense that your financial situation is on the decline, contact your lender and request a deferment. This should be done as soon as possible, preferably before you miss a payment.
A deferment buys you a little extra time, allowing you to take the next month or two off and adding these payments onto the end of the term. The FTC recommends that you get any agreement in writing, just in case they renege on their promise.
Refinance
One of the best ways to avoid car repossession, is to refinance your loan and secure more favorable terms. The balance may increase, and youâll likely find yourself paying more interest over the long-term, but in the short-term, youâll have smaller monthly payments to contend with and this makes the loan more manageable.
You will need a good credit score for this to work (although there are some bad credit lenders) but it will allow you to tweak the terms in your favor and potentially improve your credit situation.
Sell the Car Yourself
Desperate times call for desperate measures; if youâre on the brink of facing repossession, you should consider selling the car yourself. Youâll likely get more than your lender would and you can use this to clear the balance.Â
Before you sell, calculate how much is left and make sure the sale will cover it. If not, you will need to find the additional funds yourself, preferably without acquiring additional debt. Ask friends or family members if they can help you out.
How Long a Repo Can Affect Your Credit Score
The damage caused by a repossession can remain on your credit score for 7 years, causing some financial difficulty. However, the damage will lessen over time and within three or four years it will be negligible at best.
Derogatory marks cease to have an impact on your credit score a long time before it disappears off your credit report, and itâs the same for late payments and repossessions.
Still, that doesnât mean you should take things lightly. The lender can make life very difficult for you if you donât meet your payments every month and donât work with them to find a solution.
What About Voluntary Repossession?
If youâre missing payments because youâve lost your job or suffered a major change in your financial circumstances, it may be time to consider voluntary repossession, in which case there are no missed payments and you donât need to worry about repo men knocking on your door or coming to your workplace.
With voluntary repossession, the borrower contacts the lender, informs them they can no longer afford the payments, and arranges a time and a place to return the car. However, while this is a better option, it can do similar damage to the borrowerâs credit score as a voluntary repossession, like a traditional repossession, is still a defaulted loan.
Missed payments aside, the only difference concerns how the repossession shows on the borrowerâs credit report. Voluntary repossession will look better to a creditor who manually scans the report, but the majority of lenders run automatic checks and wonât notice a difference.
Summary: Act Quickly
If you have student loan, credit card, and other unsecured debt, a repo could reduce your chances of a successful debt payoff and potentially prevent you from getting a mortgage. But itâs not the end of the world. You can get a deferment, refinance or reinstate the loan, and even if the worst does happen, it may only take a year or so to get back on track after you fix your financial woes.
Repossession Credit Scores: What You Need to Know is a post from Pocket Your Dollars.
Source: pocketyourdollars.com