If you are leasing a vehicle and fall behind on your monthly payments, you risk having your vehicle repossessed. Losing a vehicle to repossession is every driver’s worst nightmare, and one that is a very real possibility for drivers who run into financial trouble.

Having a car repossessed hinders more than just a car owner’s mobility; it also has a severe negative impact on consumer credit scores lasting for up to seven years. This is a huge problem because having a poor credit score limits your ability to take out a mortgage, get a car loan, or clear a credit check done by a potential employer or landlord.

To prevent car repossession, and the negative effect it will have on your credit score, you need to take action and face the issue head-on. Consider taking the following steps to avoid vehicle repossession:

Contact Your Lender

According to the American Financial Services Association, vehicle repossessions cost creditors $8,000 on average. The best case scenario for both you and your lender is to keep you in your car and continue making monthly payments.

Lenders will often work with troubled borrowers to develop more agreeable payment plans, with loan relief options like loan refinancing (dropping your interest rate), loan extensions (increasing your term, but decreasing monthly payments), or loan deferments (allowing you to stop making payments for a little while so you can get back on your financial feet).

Cut Costs

For many people, a car is a necessity for getting to work, going to the grocery store or to school. If you cannot afford to lose your car, then it’s time to consider some of the other items you currently pay for, but which you don’t really need. For example, think about cutting cable television, dining out less often, skipping out on buying new clothes and cancelling any vacation plans that you might have in place.

Alternatively, one extremely easy option for many borrowers is to give up their current vehicle and swap it out for one that’s significantly less expensive. Think about turning in your lease early (if they’ll let you roll into a new, cheaper lease without any major penalties), or selling the vehicle you are currently making payments on to get something more affordable.

Take Out an Auto Title Loan

If you own your vehicle it’s nearly paid off and you’re only a few payments behind, then you may qualify for an auto title loan with Car Capital Financial. We can provide you with a low interest secured loan with an amount up to the value your vehicle is worth. We’ll give you the money in cash, often within hours of receiving your request, and without restricting your use of your vehicle in any way.

In return for your loan, you’ll need to give us temporary possession of the vehicle’s title (as collateral), which we’ll give back to you as soon as you’ve paid off your loan in full. While a car title loan does mean taking on more debt when you’re already having issues with your current debt load, it can also buy you a few weeks or months of precious time you need to get your finances in order and prevent having your vehicle repossessed.

Car Capital Financial

Consider getting your car title loan from Car Capital Financial. We deliver vehicle title loans all throughout Southern California, delivering cash in hand within as little as 30 minutes from receiving your first phone call.

We don’t need to check your credit score or your credit history, and we won’t restrict your access to or use of your vehicle in any way whatsoever. Title loans are issued based on your ability to repay the loan.

For more information about our safe, reliable and affordable title loans, please call us now at 1-888-500-9887.

What Are Auto Pawn Loans?

Auto pawn loans are very similar to traditional pawn loans, except that they involve pawning your car, or other vehicle. Pawning your car involves temporarily swapping possession of your vehicle to use it as collateral for a short term installment loan. When you pawn your car, you may or may not be able to keep driving it, depending on the terms worked out with the car pawn shop.

In many cases, you don’t get to drive your car or use it once it’s been pawned, which is probably the biggest downside to title pawning. Typically, your vehicle must remain in the pawn warehouse or facility until you are able to completely pay off the loan, plus interest and any other charges that you might have accumulated (like late fees).

Virtually all car pawn loans will require that you make all of your loan repayments within a set time frame, which varies from shop to shop, but is typically between 30 and 90 days. If you aren’t able to pay back the loan in time, the auto pawn shop has the right to take permanent possession of your vehicle, which means that you’ll probably never see it again.

An auto pawn loan is thus only a good idea if you’re fairly certain that you’ll be able to make the loan repayments on time, and in full, before the deadline hits. While some auto pawn shops will offer extensions on their loans (usually with added fees and penalties), others may not be willing to negotiate at all. Be careful who you contract with!

How Can I Pawn My Car?

It’s not that hard to do an auto pawn, since there are lots of car pawn shops around the country, and especially here in Southern California. Whether you’re in San Diego, Orange County, Los Angeles or Riverside County, it’s highly likely that you can get an auto title pawn loan within just a few miles of your own house.

If you don’t know where to find an auto pawn shop, you can always use Google to search for terms like “auto pawn san diego” or “auto pawn los angeles”, but you could also go to a regular pawn shop and ask them if they do auto pawning. Many times, even though it isn’t advertised, traditional pawn shops will be able to help, or at least to point you in the direction of someone else who can.

The Auto Pawn Process

To get your loan, you’ll have to bring your car in for an evaluation, where one of the lender’s employees will evaluate your car’s value, then offer you a secured personal loan up to it’s total value. You may be able to negotiate on this offer, so don’t be afraid to ask for more than they initially tell you they can provide.

Once you’ve agreed to loan terms, it will be time to fill out the corresponding paperwork and finalize your arrangement with an official auto pawn contract. For this part of the process, you will almost always need a valid driver’s ID, proof of insurance and at least a second ID on hand, so be sure to arrive with these things or you’ll more than likely be forced to leave empty handed.

After everything is signed off, you will probably have to hand over your car to receive the loan, but depending on who you work with, they might let you retain possession of the vehicle throughout the course of the loan. Find out whether or not you’ll get to keep your car in advance, since you’ll need to arrange for a ride home if you can’t.

Why Do People Pawn Their Cars?

People get these types of loans for different reasons, but often because they’re facing a serious budget shortfall and have no other means for generating cash. Auto pawn loans are often used to pay for bills, make rent, or cover over immediate financial needs, and are hardly ever used for things like taking vacations, buying new stereo equipment or other luxury goods.

Many times people will pawn their car to get money they can use to pay for emergency costs, allowing them to avoid potential financial ruin, stop a bankruptcy or foreclosure, or even avoid having their car repossessed.

Auto Pawn Loans vs. Auto Title Loans

It’s easy to confuse auto pawn loans and auto title loans, as they don’t just sound alike, but are also quite similar. Both are technically collateral loans, since each requires you to use your car as insurance for the lender, and both are also often used as loans for people with bad credit, since neither type of loan typically require a credit check.

The biggest (and most important) difference between auto pawn loans and auto title loans is that getting an auto title loan is more likely to allow you to retain use of your vehicle while you’re making repayments on the loan. That’s a huge, and extremely important difference, and while it may cost you a little more in terms of the interest rate you’ll be forced to pay on the loan, it could also make the difference in your ability to get to work. Another difference is that title loans are issued based on your ability to repay the loan.

Losing access to your car (even if only for a short period) can have a massive negative impact on your lifestyle and especially on your income. If you depend on your car to get to and from work, meet clients, or for any other business-related activities, then not having a car at a time that you need to raise money to pay back your loan is not a good idea.

Although these two types of loans may appear to be extremely similar, the big difference is that a car title loan allows you to have much more freedom, while pawning your car is likely to prevent you from being able to drive it.

Car Capital Financial

If you’re facing a financial problem and are in need of fast and reliable funding, then contact Car Capital Financial today. We’ve provided effective car title loans to Southern California residents for over 15 years, and we specialize in helping people get back on their financial feet. To get the money you need in as little as 30 minutes, please call us now at 1-888-500-9887.