Credit Education
- Glossary of Credit Terms
- FAQs
- Preapproved Credit Offers
  
  What’s in a credit report, how can you check it and how often should you review it? Make sure your credit information is accurate and check your Experian, Equifax and TransUnion reports side-by-side with Experian’s 3 Bureau Online Credit Report.
  - Mailing Lists and
    Preapproved Offers
  - Opt Out
- Credit Advice
  
  Ask Experian
  
  Get credit information on the hottest topics from Experian’s team.
- Life Events and Credit
  
  Find out how life events affect your credit and how to build good credit for the major purchases in your life.
- Preventing Fraud
  
  Learn the warning signs of credit fraud, and get the credit information you need to protect yourself. Are you already a victim? Experian can help.
- Credit Scores
  
  What are credit scores, and how are they calculated? Get the answers to your credit score questions.
- Credit Reporting
  
  Improve your credit by understanding basic consumer credit information: what’s in a credit report, how to check it and how often you should review it.
Products
Disputes

How long an auto repossession will affect your credit

Do you have a question about consumer credit? You may find an immediate answer by using the search engine. If you can't find what you're looking for, please fill out the form, being as specific as possible.

Please note: The Ask Experian team cannot respond to each question individually. However, if your question is of interest to a wide audience of consumers, the Experian team will include it in a future column.

Subscribe to RSS feed

Credit Advice

Topics addressed on June 10, 2009:

How long an auto repossession will affect your credit

Dear Max,

I am a graduate student with no income. I have a car payment that hasn't been paid in two months, and now they want to repossess it. I am doing all I can to get the money but am considering letting them take it. I have no help at all. What should I do? How long does it take a repossession to be removed from a credit report, and how long will it be held against me?

- ANS

Dear ANS,

Obviously, it would be best to catch up on the debt and keep the car. However, a repossession might be unavoidable. It's not the end of the world, though.

The repossession will be deleted from your credit report seven years from the original delinquency date of the original auto loan.

The repossession will have a negative impact on your credit report throughout the seven year period. However, the further in the past in occurred, the less negative that impact will be.

You can also reduce the effect on your credit scores by making sure you manage your other credit obligations well. Make all of your payments on time on your other accounts and keep your balances low.

While it won't completely override it, the positive record will help offset the repossessed auto. Once it is deleted, you will be left with an entirely positive credit report once again.

I hope you are close to graduation and can find a great job soon. You will then have to focus on those student loans which you undoubtedly have. Until then, please try to live on what you can earn in a part-time job and don't take on debt that you can't pay.

Thanks for asking.

Credit Reporting

Improve your credit by understanding basic consumer credit information: what’s in a credit report, how to check it and how often you should review it.
Credit Scores

What are credit scores, and how are they calculated? Get the answers to your credit score questions.
Preventing Fraud

Learn the warning signs of credit fraud, and get the credit information you need to protect yourself. Are you already a victim? Experian can help.
Life Events and Credit

Find out how life events affect your credit and how to build good credit for the major purchases in your life.
Credit Advice

Ask Experian

Get credit information on the hottest topics from Experian’s team.
Preapproved Credit Offers

What’s in a credit report, how can you check it and how often should you review it? Make sure your credit information is accurate and check your Experian, Equifax and TransUnion reports side-by-side with Experian’s 3 Bureau Online Credit Report.
- Mailing Lists and
  Preapproved Offers
- Opt Out
FAQs
Glossary of Credit Terms

Credit 101

Personal Services