- When your car is repossessed, you may feel embarrassed, ashamed or downright infuriated. Perhaps a job loss or illness caused you financial woes. Perhaps you were irresponsible about making the payments. But the finance company or bank doesn't care about why it is not getting its payments, especially if it has had no contact with the vehicle owner.
- Finance companies and banks will make several attempts to work out an agreement with their creditors when car payments fall behind. The best solution is to try to avoid the repossession by talking with the finance officer. Try to work out a solution that all can agree upon. Don't ignore the situation. Acknowledge the problem and ask for help.
- If it's too late and your car has already been taken, you may still be able to get it back. Some banks and finance companies will work out an agreement with you. They may ask that you pay all of the delinquent payments (plus any towing or repossession fees) in order to retrieve your car. They may even give you a lenient time frame to do this in.
- The finance company may insist that the loan be paid in full within a certain period of time before you can retrieve your car. You may be able to negotiate this amount of time. Ask for anywhere from a week to a month, depending on how willing the company is to work with you. You may be charged storage fees for the time the car is held.
- You may be able to borrow the funds you need to retrieve your car, perhaps from a friend or family member. Be sure you know exactly how much money the finance company is willing to accept to return your car. If you send less than the agreed-upon amount, the company will simply apply that amount to the past-due balance, and keep the car.
- If you are totally unable to gather the necessary funds yourself, try to sell the car for whatever the loan balance is. Take the buyer with you to the company and have the buyer pay off the loan. The bank will turn the car over to the buyer once the loan is cleared up. This may not be an ideal situation, as you are still without a car, but it will preserve your credit.
- Talk to your finance officer as soon as you start to have difficulty making your car payments. You may be able to refinance your loan, if you have paid a good portion of it down. Refinancing before the car is repossessed is always a better option than trying to figure out how to retrieve it once the company is forced to take it from you.
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