Contact your lender or servicer before you miss a payment, explain the hardship, and request every available option in writing. Then compare the total cost of each option, including interest, fees, credit reporting, and what happens if the car is sold or repossessed.
1. Call the lender as soon as the payment may be unaffordable
Do not wait for a repossession notice. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) says borrowers who know they cannot make a monthly payment should contact the lender or servicer—the company receiving the payments—to ask what account-specific help is available. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) gives the same advice because early contact may create more choices than waiting until the account is seriously delinquent.
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Use the phone number on your statement, payment portal, or original contract. Ask to speak with the hardship, loss-mitigation, or payment-assistance department. A lender is not required to approve a particular solution, so treat every option as a request rather than a promise.
The CFPB’s official guidance lists possible accommodations such as an affordable payment plan, a different due date, or a temporary payment pause through forbearance: CFPB, “What should I do if I can’t make my car payments?” (reviewed September 12, 2023).
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Prepare before the call
- Account number, current balance, monthly payment, next due date, and any past-due amount.
- A short explanation of the hardship—for example, reduced hours, a medical expense, or a temporary interruption in income.
- Your realistic budget: the amount you can pay now and the date your income may change.
- Questions about interest, late fees, payment reporting, the loan term, and how deferred amounts would be collected.
Record the representative’s name, the date and time, and any reference number. Keep copies of statements, emails, and submitted documents.
2. Get the proposed arrangement in writing
Do not rely on a verbal assurance that a payment is “taken care of.” Request a letter, secure message, or contract amendment before assuming the account is current. The written terms should state:
- The exact amount and due date of every payment during the arrangement.
- Whether the regular payment resumes afterward and when.
- Whether interest, late charges, or other fees continue during a pause or extension.
- Where deferred payments go—at the end of the loan, spread over later payments, or in a lump sum.
- Whether the maturity date or number of payments changes.
- How the lender will report the account to credit bureaus while you follow the arrangement.
- What happens if you cannot make a payment under the new plan.
Check your next statement against the agreement. If the balance or due date is wrong, contact the lender promptly and preserve the documentation.
3. Compare the relief options by total cost
A smaller payment this month can increase what you owe overall. The CFPB warns that extensions can add interest and payments, while a longer refinance term can reduce the monthly bill but increase total interest. Compare the full repayment amount, not just the next due date.
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| Option | When it may fit | Questions to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Change the due date | Your income arrives after the current due date, but you can afford the loan overall. | Will interest or fees accrue differently? What is the first payment under the new date? |
| Payment plan | You are behind but can catch up over a defined period. | Will catch-up payments be added to the regular payment? When does the normal amount resume? |
| Extension or forbearance | The hardship is temporary and a short pause would help. | Which payments are deferred? Does interest continue? How many payments are added, and when are they due? |
| Refinance | A credible lender offers a payment you can sustain under better terms. | What are the annual percentage rate, term, fees, total repayment, prepayment rules, and credit-reporting effects? |
| Sell the vehicle | Keeping the loan is not sustainable and the sale can address the payoff. | What is the exact payoff, the vehicle’s realistic market value, and any prepayment penalty? How will a shortfall be paid? |
| Return or voluntary surrender | You cannot keep the vehicle and the lender documents a return process. | Does the agreement fully satisfy the debt? If not, how will a deficiency be calculated and collected? |
These options are not interchangeable. A due-date change solves a timing problem; it does not make an unaffordable loan cheaper. A payment plan can require the normal installment plus an additional catch-up amount. A forbearance may postpone—not eliminate—what you owe. A refinance may lower the payment by extending the term, which can raise total interest. Ask for a payoff or total-of-payments figure for each proposal.
Use a simple cost comparison
- Write down the remaining principal, interest rate, number of payments, and any fees under your current contract.
- For each proposed arrangement, calculate every scheduled payment plus one-time charges and any final lump sum.
- Add the amounts to estimate total remaining cash outlay. Ask the lender to confirm the figure because daily interest and fees can change it.
- Check whether the plan leaves you with a payment you can sustain after the temporary relief ends.
The CFPB discusses payment plans, due-date changes, forbearance, and the cost of extensions in its consumer guidance: “Worried about making your auto loan payments? Your lender may have options that can help” (February 12, 2020).
4. If you might sell the car, get the payoff first
Ask the lender for a current payoff quote, including the date through which it is valid. Then obtain a realistic estimate of the vehicle’s sale value from several independent listings or purchase offers. Do not use the original purchase price or an optimistic online estimate as the payoff plan.
- Positive equity: If the car is worth more than the payoff, the sale can pay the lender and leave the remaining proceeds to you, after transaction costs.
- Negative equity: If the payoff exceeds the sale price, the difference still has to be paid. Ask the lender whether it will accept a separate payment arrangement; do not assume the shortfall disappears.
Review the contract for a prepayment penalty or other payoff charge. Coordinate the title and lien release with the lender so the buyer’s payment is applied correctly. Selling voluntarily is generally easier to control than waiting for a repossession sale, but it does not erase a negative balance.
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5. Understand repossession risk and state-specific rules
A missed payment can place the account in default under the contract. In many states, a lender may repossess after default without advance notice or a court order. That is not a nationwide rule: notice, cure periods, reinstatement rights, redemption procedures, and sale notices vary by state and by contract.
The FTC explains that a repossession agent cannot breach the peace. Its examples include using or threatening force. If an agent threatens violence, enters a locked area, or otherwise acts unlawfully, avoid confrontation, document what happened, and contact local law enforcement or a consumer-protection agency as appropriate. Read the FTC’s overview of the process and state-law variation at “Vehicle Repossession.”
Contact your state attorney general or consumer-protection agency for local rules. The contract and state law determine whether you can cure the default by paying overdue amounts, reinstate the loan, or redeem the vehicle after repossession. Do not assume another state’s deadline applies to you.
6. Know what can happen after the car is taken
Repossession does not necessarily end the loan. The lender may sell the vehicle and apply the sale proceeds to the balance, repossession expenses, storage, and other amounts allowed by the contract and applicable law. If the proceeds are insufficient, the remaining amount is a deficiency. You may still owe it, and the lender may pursue collection or report the delinquency.
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Ask the lender in writing:
- How and when the sale will occur and whether you have a right to redeem or reinstate.
- What charges will be added before sale.
- How the sale price and credits will be calculated.
- When you will receive a post-sale accounting and the amount, if any, claimed as a deficiency.
If you believe the repossession or accounting violated the law or your contract, first dispute it with the lender in writing. You can submit a complaint to the CFPB when you cannot resolve an issue with the lender or believe the vehicle was repossessed in error. The FTC’s repossession guidance is available at consumer.ftc.gov/articles/vehicle-repossession.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.7. Treat voluntary surrender as a negotiated return, not debt forgiveness
Returning the vehicle voluntarily may avoid some repossession costs or make the logistics less confrontational, but it can still be reported to credit bureaus and can still leave a deficiency. Before handing over the keys, request a signed document stating:
- Where and when the vehicle will be delivered and who pays transport or storage costs.
- Whether the lender will waive any fees.
- Whether the return satisfies the debt in full. If it does not, how the remaining balance will be calculated.
- How personal property left in the vehicle will be handled.
- When you will receive the sale and deficiency accounting.
If the lender will not confirm that the debt is fully satisfied, plan for the possibility of a remaining balance and seek advice from a qualified attorney or nonprofit financial counselor before signing a settlement.
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The FTC warns about companies that demand an upfront fee while promising to lower your car payment or stop repossession. Some tell borrowers to send payments to the company instead of the actual lender; those payments may never be credited to the loan. A third party cannot guarantee that your lender will modify or forgive the debt.
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Work directly with the lender first. If you consider refinancing, independently verify the new lender’s identity, license, address, payoff instructions, interest rate, fees, and total repayment. Confirm with the original lender that the payoff has arrived before stopping payments. Never sign blank documents, give remote access to your payment account, or pay a fee for a guaranteed result.
Read the FTC’s warning about these schemes at “Auto Loan Refinancing Scams.”
9. A decision path when you cannot afford the next payment
- Call now: Explain the hardship and ask for all available account-specific options.
- Stabilize the essentials: Determine what you can actually pay without skipping housing, utilities, food, insurance, or necessary medical care.
- Document terms: Obtain written payment amounts, dates, fees, interest treatment, loan-term changes, and credit-reporting treatment.
- Compare alternatives: Calculate total repayment for a payment plan, extension, forbearance, refinance, sale, or surrender.
- Check equity: Get a payoff quote and compare it with the car’s likely sale value before deciding to sell.
- Check local rights: If default or repossession is imminent, review your state attorney general’s guidance and ask the lender what is required to become current or recover the vehicle.
- Escalate unresolved errors: Keep a written record and file a CFPB complaint if the lender will not address a suspected servicing or repossession error.
Acting early cannot guarantee approval, prevent repossession, or eliminate a balance. It does give you the clearest chance to understand the account, avoid preventable fees, and choose an arrangement you can realistically maintain.
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