How Many Car Payments Can You Miss Before Repossession?

Car repossession is a booming and efficient business. Just one missed payment, and Repo Man might haul off your car. He’s very busy these days.

Approximately 5.1% of Americans with auto loans were delinquent in the second quarter of 2025.

If he shows up in your driveway, your money problems won’t be towed away with your car. You’ll be on the hook for late fees and other costs, and a repossession can wreck your credit score for seven years. Increasingly, “Repo Man” isn’t just a movie. It’s a real-life financial horror show that’s just one missed payment away.

Can Your Car Be Repossessed After One Missed Payment?

If you’re struggling to make your car payment, we have bad news. All it takes is one missed payment and your lender can repossess your car.

That’s the law in most states. The only variable is how many days after a missed payment your vehicle can be taken. Some states allow immediate repossession. If you miss your payment on the first day of the month, the Repo Man can show up that night.

Some states have a 10-day grace period after you default. Nevada allows 30 days, so if you plan to buy a car you can’t really afford, do it in Las Vegas.

Some loan agreements may also have longer grace periods that get around state laws. But in general, if you miss one payment, your vehicle will be fair game for repossession.

What Happens After You Miss a Car Payment?

The first thing that happens if you miss a car payment is you’ll get a call, text, email, or a letter (or all of four) from your lender. It might be cordial and presume you simply forgot to pay, but you’ll be put on notice that it’s past time to pay up.

Many car loans have a 10- or 15-day grace period during which you can make your payment and not be hit with late fees or the default being reported to credit bureaus. Check your contract to see if that applies to you.

From there, the consequences get worse with each passing month. Though contracts vary, one missed payment typically results in a slight drop in your credit score. That’s nothing to scoff at, since your credit score determines what kind of interest rates you’ll get on future loans, and whether you’ll even qualify for future loans. Credit counseling and credit repair may be in order.

Creditors categorize delinquencies as 30, 60, 90, and 120 days past due. If you go 60 days without paying, the late fee will increase, and your credit score will take a bigger hit.

It’s the same if you go 90 days without a payment. A bigger late fee. A bigger drop in your credit score. By that point, lenders may also restrict your ability to pay online. If you go 120 days without making a payment, chances are you’ll be riding a bus or hitching rides because your car will have been repossessed.

Repossession Process: What to Expect

There are two types of repossessions – voluntary and involuntary. As the name suggests, the first type is when you voluntarily return your car to the lender.

You’ve concluded you can no longer make the payments. You just want to avoid uncertainty and other hassles. Like having Repo Man accidentally repossess your baby.

That really happened in Evansville, Ill. Two Repo Men seized a car that, unbeknownst to them, had an infant strapped in a baby safety seat in the back seat. They quickly realized their mistake, notified police and the baby was safely returned to its frantic mother.

She did not get her Ford Focus back.

Having a tow truck make off with your car in the dark of night may seem unlawful. Alas, it is not. Most states don’t obligate lenders to warn borrowers that their vehicle is about to be repossessed.

That doesn’t mean Repo Man has carte blanche when doing the job, however. He is prohibited from “breeching the peace.” That means they can’t do things that could reasonably cause a disturbance or provoke violence.

For example, Repo Man can’t threaten you or bystanders. He can’t use physical force against you or bystanders. He can’t knowingly take a car that has a person inside. He can’t take a vehicle from a closed garage without your permission.

In fact, if you tell the Repo Man not to take the vehicle, he must stop. That may temporarily halt the proceedings, but your repossession dilemma will remain.

How Many Missed Payments Before Repossession Is Likely?

In most cases, a lender can repossess your car if you miss just one payment. That doesn’t necessarily mean your vehicle will be seized within a few hours of a missed payment. Most states have grace periods in which you can pay up. Such grace rarely extends beyond 15 days.

Lenders generally try to avoid sending Repo Man in search of your vehicle. It cost them money to take the car. They’re unlikely to make as much re-selling the car as they did when they loaned you money to buy it. And they’d rather you keep paying interest on the loan.

Given all that, they might well cut you some slack if you miss one payment. Their magnanimity will decrease if you miss two payments, especially if you haven’t contacted them to discuss the situation.

If you go three months without paying or avoiding lender overtures, it’s very likely Repo Man will be paying you a visit.

What Happens After a Car Is Repossessed?

Once the lender has repossessed your car, it must notify you of your options. They generally include information on how to get your car back, and how long they will hold the car before selling it at auction.

The legal timetable varies from state to state, though lenders generally must wait at least 10 days before reselling a car. That will give you time to recover personal items that were in the car when it was repossessed. The lender has the right to take the car, but not the fuzzy dice you had hanging from the rearview mirror.

The grace period will also give you a chance to seek financial advice and decide your next move. Can you afford to get your car back?

If you can’t afford to make a car payment, you probably need to completely rethink your financial situation. A certified credit counselor from a nonprofit agency like InCharge Debt Solutions could help you get out of your car loan and come up with a budget you can live on.

Can You Get Your Car Back After Repossession?

You can usually get a repossessed car back through processes known as “redemption” and “reinstatement.” Neither is exactly a Get-Out-Of-Repossession-Free card.

With redemption, you pay the entire remaining loan balance, plus fees and penalties, and essentially buy the car outright. If you’ve had trouble making one payment, chances are you won’t be able to pay off the entire loan.

That leaves reinstatement, in which you pay only the past-due amount and fees, which can be considerable. Storage and towing costs, late fees, unpaid interest, and municipal fees could add up to hundreds of dollars.

Whichever route you choose, time is not on your side. In many states, lenders must wait only 10 days to resell a car after it is repossessed. It’s a week or two longer in some states, then your vehicle can be auctioned off.

The auction is the final act in the pricey repossession drama. You can go to the auction and outbid everybody to get your car back. But whether you’re successful or not, you will likely come away with an added financial headache.

If the car sells for less than the remaining balance on your loan, you will have to pay the difference. It’s known as the “deficiency balance.”

In most states, lenders can try to collect deficiency balances from borrowers. So, if your unpaid balance was $12,500 and the car sells for $11,000, you’d be on the hook for that $1,500 difference. In effect, you’ll be buying the car back for what you owed in the first place.

How Car Repossession Affects Your Credit

If your car is repossessed, the damage to your credit ranges from bad to worse. A missed payment can knock 50 to 100 points off your credit score.

Payment history accounts for 35% of your credit score, and a single missed payment will stay on your credit report for seven years. A repossession can deduct another 25 points or more, depending on your original credit score and the severity of other payments you missed before the car was repossessed.

If you want to avoid collection agencies harassing you for unpaid balances, you can always file for bankruptcy. But that’d be like trading in a 2002 Pontiac for a 1991 Yugo. Bankruptcy can lower your credit score by 150 points and can stay on your report for 10 years.

If you’re in that kind of financial shape, you’ll need to figure out how to improve your credit score. Getting help from a certified credit counselor is a primary option, though there are DIY credit repair strategies worth looking into.

Whatever you do, don’t sit on your hands and do nothing. A subpar credit score makes it harder to get loans or other forms of credit. And if you do get a loan, you’ll pay higher interest rates.

How to Avoid Repossession If You’ve Missed Payments

If you’ve missed a car payment, there are things you can do to avoid having Repo Man pay you a visit. First, contact your lender and discuss your options.

Try to convince them that you are sincerely interested in paying your debt. Lenders don’t want to repossess cars.

There are administrative costs and storage fees. Cars depreciate and aren’t likely to bring a profit at resell. Prospective buyers might get loans (and make interest payments) with other lenders.

All that means you might get a sympathetic ear when you contact your lender and ask for a break. You could ask for a deferment, which is a temporary pause in payments. Another potential option is temporarily paying only the interest portion of your payment.

You could try to refinance your car loan to make the terms fit your budget. If all else fails, you could try to sell your car. If you’re really lucky, you might find someone who’ll give you enough to pay off your loan.

Is Voluntary Repossession a Better Option?

If you can’t come up with a plan to avoid repossession, you’ll have a choice. Do you A) turn in your car or B) wait for Repo Man to take it?

“A” is the right answer for a few reasons.

You’ll avoid being charged for repossession costs, like towing and storage fees. Lenders might also waive other administrative fees.

You’ll be able to remove all your personal belongings from the vehicle and avoid having them lost or damaged during a hasty or careless repossession.

You’ll avoid a potentially embarrassing situation, like having Repo Man show up during your kid’s birthday party and tow Daddy’s car away as guests and neighbors look on.

You’ll avoid the anxiety that comes with not knowing if your car will be where you left it.

The only reason to choose an involuntary repossession is if you want to squeeze in a few more days of driving. It’s hard to see how that would outweigh the benefits of voluntary repossession.

Other Options to Consider If You’re Behind on Payments

It’s important to try to work with your lender to resolve your repossession dilemma. You might get a deferment and extra time to get your finances in order. If that fails, you still have a few moves worth considering.

• Try to sell your car. Chances are you won’t get as much as you owe on the car, but it’s worth a try.
• Consolidate your debt. Nonprofit agencies like InCharge Debt Solutions offer debt management programs that consolidate your debts under a lower interest rate. A certified counselor might be able to help you find a way out of your repossession bind.
• Declare bankruptcy. That will temporarily stop the repossession process, but it might not be worth it. With a Chapter 7 filing, which is common in these cases, you’ll probably have to give up your car eventually as part of the asset liquidation process to pay off creditors. With a Chapter 13 filing, your loan will be restructured, and you’ll have more time to pay it off. But a bankruptcy does severe damage to your credit score, and it stays on your report for 7-10 years.

Frequently Asked Questions About Missed Car Payments

Can a lender repossess your car without notice?

Yes, Repo Man is not required to tell you when and where he will strike.

What happens if you make a partial car payment?

A partial payment might buy you a little time, but it will not prevent repossession. The loan is still considered in default, and it’s up to the lender whether to cut you some slack.

How long after default can a car be repossessed?

In many states, a car can be repossessed the day after a missed payment. Some states have grace periods ranging from 10-30 days.

Can you hide your car to avoid repossession?

In most states, you can get away with trying to hide your car from Repo Man, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t legal consequences. The lender will eventually take you to court and force you to return the car. You’ll probably have to pay attorney’s fees and all the extra expenses the lender incurred searching for your car.

What happens to your belongings inside a repossessed car?

If personal items are inside the car when it’s being repossessed, the lender cannot keep them or resell them. You have the right to retrieve them. That includes all clothing, electronics, and incidentals.