Voluntary repossession anyone?

Question

I am in a real pickle, with the economy the way it is, I am really behind on my bills. My biggest head ach right now is my car. It is in my name, no co-signer, I owe about $15,000.00 on it, and I am a month behind on the payment. I just can not afford it. I am thinking about doing a Voluntay Repossession...has anyone had to do that, if so what am I in for?

Answer 1

Going back years ago , I was conned by a Car Salesman from Nissan , who told me that I didn't have to pay for 3 months. When I got behind one month....I was actually 4 mths in arrears and they claimed the car back. They only gave me £4,000 credit for a car that had cost me £8,000 12 months previously.

So try every other avenue , before giving it back !!

Sell it on e bay maybe !!

Answer 2

-  Try and sell the h**l out of the car. Go to dealerships (plenty do buybacks without having to buy a newer car) try newspaper ads, try craigslist.com, signs in the windows, ask around.

- Contact your bank and let them know of your hardship (whatever it may be, job loss, medical bills, etc.) for all you know they could do a note-mod and lower your payments by lowering your interest rate or extending your loan period.

- Do not just drop the car off at a bank location.  Not a good idea.

-Do not take the insurance off the vehicle til you have gotten rid of it.

How much is the veh worth? if its worth less than you owe, some banks will allow you to turn the remaining balance owed (after selling it) into a personal loan in which you can get lower payments by extending your loan period.

most of all- let voluntary repo be your FINAL resort where it will kill your credit.

GOOD LUCK

EDIT: I completely agree with Momma on this one--- REPO FEES WILL KILL YOU, you don't want to be paying 8,000 dollars for a vehicle you can't even drive!  Even more motivation to sell your vehicle before it comes down to you turning it in.

AND there is a such thing as a voluntary repo-- still affects you the same as a regular repo, but like the name- its voluntary (usually if you have tried every other means of paying or getting rid of the vehicle this would be the last resort)

Answer 3

Voluntary repossession is still a repossesion on your credit report. This happened to me when I was 18. It takes 5 years for repos to be removed from your report, it will show on your report that you are 15k in debt for that entire period. (your Credit cards rates can go up because of this or they can cancel your cards) Consider selling your car at Carmax. Another option is to call the loan company and explain your hardships and tell them you will pay what you can for the next couple of months and hope to be back on track soon. In the mean time this could give you time to sell the car online, in the paper or at Carmax.

Good luck, and do everything you can to not allow the repo, voluntery or not.

Answer 4

A voluntary repo is on your record for at least 7 years. You will probably not be able to get financing during that time without paying very high interest rates.

Also, when  you give the car back to the bank, they are going to sell it for as much as they can to pay off your loan. However, they aren't too motivated to get the highest price possible, since you will then be liable for the difference. And, even if you deliver the car to their doorstep, they will still charge about $1,500 or more as a repo fee. (Who really knows what that is for?)

So, lets say you owe $15,000 on a car that is worth only $13,000. Then, the bank gets rid of it for about $8,000 and adds the $1,500 repo fee back on, you will still owe about $8,500 on a car you no longer have, and your credit is trashed!

It's not a good way to go. You may decide down the road that you should have gotten a 2nd job to help pay for the car.

Good luck.

Answer 5

There is no such thing as a Voluntary Repossession, at least not to creditors. It will be seen as a Repossession and have a very negative impact on your credit.

Have you considered refinancing. Also, since you are only a month behind on your payment, you still have time to reconcile with the credit company. I know some company offer "deferments" of payments.

My dad did this years ago when he fell into hard times, its where they basically bring you up-to-date, but add the amount you're behind on to your balance.