How many missed payments until they tow / repo your car away?

Question

I have an 2002 Saturn, I have about another year until the car is paid off. My questions are how many payments do you have to miss until they tow your car away. I am just curious. I have been with the same lender for 5 years and although some times I have been late with my payments, I have always paid each month. I have heard that as long as you send them something each month, if you cant make the full payment they cant tow your car away. Is this true or not. My credit is pretty bad with a fico score undre 500, when I pay the car off can I request a letter saying the car is paid off, then send to the 3 credit agencies. By doing this will it bring my fico score up. Thanks

Answer 1

♥ I believe you can miss three payments before they can come & repo your car.

♥ Talk to your lender and see if they can change the due date... you said that you have been late a few times. If a later date works better for you, then most likely they will not have a problem changing the due date.

Good Luck!

PS~ My score is like 521 ... so I know how you feel.

Answer 2

Auto finance is what I do for a living and it depends on the bank.

Most major lenders wait until you have missed 2.5 payments before they even start to think about actually repossessing a vehicle. When it hits the third payment not made they send the hook.

As far as making partial payments, this may put them off but only for a little while, once you hit that third payment not being made you will lose the car.

When you pay off the car, your lender will report it as paid with a $0 balance to the credit bureaus. It will have little effect on your score due to it being so low to begin with.

Answer 3

I would say three is the limit, unless you been in contact with the lender and have apprised them of the situation. Sub-prime lenders are less tolerant, and will come get your stuff after one missed.

If you are not going to send the full amount, call the lender first and tell them what/how much you are sending. And it is better than sending nothing. Some lenders will allow you to pay only the interest part of the payment to offer you some relief. So talk to them first. Do what they want, not what you want, if you can...