What happens ifyou surrender a car because you can no longer afford the payments?
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What happens ifyou surrender a car because you can no longer afford the payments?
I recently got a car but I got fired. Now I can’t make any payments. So I plan on just taking it back and leaving it. I need to know whats going to happen after I do that.
Asked on August 18, 2011 Arizona
Answers:
FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
If you have a car that you are making payments on but can no longer afford continuing with them, you can return the car to the lender who has the lien on it. The result is that the lender under your loan will end up selling the car and if the car is sold for less than what you owe on the loan, you will be responsible for the deficiency.
The lender will then expect you to pay off this deficiency. If you cannot, most likely the lender will file an action against you for a deficiency judgment, perhaps prevail, obtain a judgment and then try and collect on what is owed.
The best thing you can do is try and sell the car for as much or more owing on the loan currently. Take the money and pay off the lender.
Good luck.
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