What happens if you cannot afford to pay your car finance?

I bought a car from ford two years ago and it is financed through santander. I lost my job a couple of months ago and like everyone else is struggling to get another one. They allowed me to put it on hold for 3 months but i am due to start paying it again in May and I doubt I will have another job by then. What shall I do? What will be the worst case scenario if I literally cannot afford to pay them on a monthly basis?

Public Comments

1. Then the finance company may have no choice but to repo it. That will damage your credit really bad. I suggest you double your efforts on getting employed or ask a relative for some help. If they due come knocking for the keys, don't fight the repo man. They're just doing their job as you would do yours. Start working with the finance company asap on Monday. Maybe they would be willing to extend it. Who knows.
2. You lose it,unless they are willing to work with you.I'm in the same position only my loan company only gave me one month.So I am selling furniture and other things to try to get by.We need to get on welfare so we can own a few things.
3. You need to pay it. Protect your credit, it will save you lots of $$ in the end. Do what ever you can. If they repo it, you'll have no way to get to your next job, and most well-paying jobs require you to have reliable transportation.
4. Worst case scenario is a repossession and the lender filing a lawsuit against you to recover the money. Sell the car before it gets to this point. Dump the payments on your terms not the lender.
5. . Their not going to take hit and miss payments. They will repo it. They will sell the car for pennies on the dollar.Apply what they get to the loan. Then they will bill you for the difference, plus repo and auction or disposal fees. They will send a demand letter with the total owed.You will have a period of time to pay it like 30or60 days. If you don't pay they will sue and win. Giving it back doesn't relieve you of the debt. Then they will garnish wages or attach assets until paid off. And it will be on your credit approx 7 years........md
6. You shall do the Dave Ramsey thing and find a couple of jobs delivering pizzas. Beggars can't really be choosy right now. Then you start cutting your unnecessary costs. I quickly convinced an unemployed friend to dump his $250/month Blackberry from Verizon. His initial response was that he was a loyal customer, but called me back and changed his tune when they only wanted his payment right then and there! He'll be getting a trac fone the evening of March 17, when his next payment is due.
7. You may lose the car and still owe the company some money. Yowch.