Facts

• A car repossession will have a different effect on your credit score depending on how high it is. An individual with a high credit score can expect to lose more points than an individual with a low credit score.
  
  

Time Frame

• The account you held with your lender, including the notation that the vehicle was repossessed, will appear on your credit report for seven years from the date the repossession occurred.
  
  

Considerations

• The missed payments that resulted in the repossession may hurt your credit score more than the repossession itself. Your payments to your creditors are responsible for 35 percent of your credit score.
  
  

Misconceptions

• Some individuals offer to give their cars back to their lenders voluntarily to mitigate damage to their credit score. Unfortunately, a voluntary repossession is just as damaging to your score as an involuntary repossession.
  
  

Effects

• The more recently a repossession occurred, the greater the effect it will have on your credit.