I have 7 months left on my 38 month lease. At the time I leased the car I was living in Georgia but now am living back in my home state of California for the last 1 1/2 yrs. During my time in California, my income has decreased to less than half of what I was making. I've discussed this with Chrysler Financial allot over the last year, intent on honoring my commitment. My financial situation has not changed and this has become an overwhelming burden. I was told I have three options at this point. Keep the car till the end of the lease, pay the difference that I owe for the term of the lease and turn the car back in or turn the car back in and have it show basically as a repossesion on my credit. Options 1 and 2 are not an option for me. I am considering taking the car back voluntarilly and handing it over. My concern is what recourse do or can they take towards me if I make that choice?
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Defaulting on Car Lease
- Thread Starter ptcruiser
- Start date
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Theresagail
New Member
hit it as a repo on the credit, Sue you get a judgement and attach to any assets you may have now or in the future to pay the balance in full
presutin
Moderator
Yes, they do. Their bottom line is the most important thing to them.
I'm no attorney, but I did work in the car business for about 10 years. Here would be my suggestions:
1. Go talk to your local car dealer(s).
I'm going to assume that you'll still need a car after you figure out what to do with this one. I would suggest you do the best you can to "trade-in" your leased vehicle. "Trade-in" is in quotes because you're not actually trading...the dealership is going to payoff your lease early and take possession of the car. They can roll whatever you owe into the next vehicle.
2. Check out a website called SwapALease - you might be able to get someone to make your remaining payments for you. Just be careful - you don't want someone else to stop making payments and end up with a repo anyways.
3. Buy out the lease.
Talk to your credit union about buying out the lease for a lower payment. You'll end up owning the car but at least you won't have a repo.
4. If you decide to let it repo (because you've got no other choice) see what you can do to get another car loan before you officially return the vehicle. If you have a repo on your record, it will be very difficult to get approved for another loan in the immediate future. However, if you manage to get a new loan before that one defaults, you'll be on the road to credit recovery and your credit won't take quite as much of a hit.
Whatever you do, avoid a repo at all costs. That will keep you from getting any real credit for years to come.
Good luck!
1. Go talk to your local car dealer(s).
I'm going to assume that you'll still need a car after you figure out what to do with this one. I would suggest you do the best you can to "trade-in" your leased vehicle. "Trade-in" is in quotes because you're not actually trading...the dealership is going to payoff your lease early and take possession of the car. They can roll whatever you owe into the next vehicle.
2. Check out a website called SwapALease - you might be able to get someone to make your remaining payments for you. Just be careful - you don't want someone else to stop making payments and end up with a repo anyways.
3. Buy out the lease.
Talk to your credit union about buying out the lease for a lower payment. You'll end up owning the car but at least you won't have a repo.
4. If you decide to let it repo (because you've got no other choice) see what you can do to get another car loan before you officially return the vehicle. If you have a repo on your record, it will be very difficult to get approved for another loan in the immediate future. However, if you manage to get a new loan before that one defaults, you'll be on the road to credit recovery and your credit won't take quite as much of a hit.
Whatever you do, avoid a repo at all costs. That will keep you from getting any real credit for years to come.
Good luck!
No problem. Glad I could help.
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