While both voluntary surrender and repossession involve the return of a vehicle to the lender, they differ in several key aspects: Voluntary vs. Involuntary: In a voluntary surrender, the borrower willingly returns the vehicle, whereas in a repossession, the vehicle is seized without the borrower's consent.
Having your car repossessed or surrendering it voluntarily is seen as a major negative event by lenders. They'll view you as high-risk. Expect your credit score to take a big hit, maybe over 100 points or more. That makes getting approved for financing in the future much harder.
Be sure you completely understand the terms when you make the voluntary surrender. The lender will resell the vehicle, and the proceeds will go toward the balance you still owe on the loan. If there is still a balance remaining after the sale and you don't pay it, it could be turned over to a collection agency.
While the lender won't be happy about the loan's current status, no financial institution wants to lose money. Reaching a debt settlement or coming up with a new payment plan can remove the repossession from your credit report. You will have to repay the loan and reach an agreement with the lender for this to work.
You can sell your car to get rid of it without hurting your credit. This is easiest if the value of your car is close to or above the balance of your loan. You could also transfer your current loan to another person if they're approved for financing and agree to take it over.
Voluntary surrender and repossession are loan defaults, which stay on your credit reports for seven years. That type of negative mark will harm your scores, especially your automotive-specific credit scores. The next time you apply for a car loan, you'll likely be deemed high risk and charged high interest.
Voluntary car repossession is only a slightly better option than involuntary repossession. You may be slightly more prepared and have some control over when you surrender your car. Avoiding some of the extra fees that can come with involuntary repossession can be helpful too.
For example, if you have a credit score of 700, repossession of your vehicle could cause its score to drop down to 550. This will seriously impact your ability to get loans or acquire new credit cards, and you'll likely be faced with higher interest rates for the credit products you are approved for.
How Much Does a Voluntary Repossession Affect Your Credit? Estimates vary, but you can expect a voluntary repossession to lower your credit score by 50-150 points. How big of a drop you will see depends on factors such as your prior credit history and how many payments you made before the repossession.
A voluntary repossession will likely cause your credit score to drop by at least 100 points. This point drop is due to a couple of factors: the late payments that cause the repo and the collection account that is likely to result from it.
Ask for a Voluntary Repossession
Voluntary repossession allows you to return a car you financed without being subject to the full repossession process. This could spare you some credit score damage, though a voluntary repo could still be reported to the credit bureaus.
If you return the car to the lender, the lender will likely sell it. It will apply the proceeds of the sale to your car loan balance, after reimbursing itself for the costs of sale and certain fees.
If you're at a point in your contract where you've covered the sum equal to half of your total amount payable, you can voluntarily terminate your contract and hand back the car. This is likely to be towards the end of your contract due to the balloon payment.
With an auto loan settlement, you agree with the lender to pay a portion of your original debt. Your debt is then considered settled. However, you will have to pay taxes on your forgiven debt. With repossession, the lender will take back your car and sell it to pay off some or all of your loan debt.
The agent will usually be equipped with a duplicate key for the vehicle, but could also enter the car by picking the lock and hot-wiring the engine. In some states, lenders are not required to issue you a notice if they are about to repossess your car.
The lender may try to sell the vehicle to make up as much of the remaining balance of the loan as possible. You'll be responsible for paying any balance after the sale, along with any fees, like late-payment or prepayment fees.
Repossession stays on your credit report for seven years, but you can still strengthen your credit even with the repossession on your credit score. You can achieve this by paying off outstanding debts on your car loan, paying off credit card bills, and avoiding adding credit card debt.
Voluntary repossession can make obtaining future loans more difficult. There is no difference on your credit between a voluntary repossession and an involuntary one. Future lenders may see this action as a risk factor, making them more reluctant to lend to you or offer you higher interest rates.
With a recent vehicle repossession on your credit report, your odds of approval for a mortgage are poor, especially if your report shows a spotty payment history, collections and other negative items. You might consider working to improve your credit before applying for a mortgage.
Negative events like a car repossession can stay on your credit report for a long time, and there's no easy fix for credit repair. But, if you stay the course and practice good credit habits, you can start improving your credit. Eventually, those negative marks could go away. Reclaim your financial health.
A repossession can stay on credit reports for up to seven years. According to Experian®, the seven-year countdown starts on the date of the first missed payment that triggered the repossession. But Experian says that once that time period ends, they'll automatically remove the account from your credit report.
Surrendering a car will still hurt your credit, but the impact may be less severe than a repossession. The exact impact will depend on other factors such as your payment history, outstanding balances, and the overall age of your credit accounts.
If the lender has already repossessed your vehicle, reinstatement of your loan — also known as curing the default — could be the best possible outcome. Essentially, that means you are bringing the situation back to square one. In some states, you'll need to pay the entire past-due amount.