How to keep your electric car when you can't make the payments

How to keep your electric car when you can't make the payments

Posted on July 29, 2022

If you are falling behind financially and not able to make your electric car payments, there are options available, but you must move quickly before things start to spiral out of control.

Have you missed any payments yet?

Something that lenders appreciate is when their customers contact them and let them know what is taking place.

By reaching out before missing a payment, you can usually work out an arrangement with the lender where they can defer the payment (for an administrative fee), and it won’t hurt your credit.

Once you start missing payments and those missed payments start to show up on your credit report, it makes it harder for you to refinance your debts or secure new credit in the future.

Do you have equity in your vehicle?

Suppose you have a significant amount of equity in your electric vehicle.

In that case, you may be able to sell it, repay your outstanding car loan, and have some cash left over that can go towards the purchase of a more affordable vehicle.

Car prices have been tracking higher, you can use websites like Kelly Blue Book to get a ballpark figure on what your vehicle is worth or a better option is to speak with a local car dealership and ask them for an appraisal.

The appraisal you receive from the dealership is a more accurate representation of what your vehicle is currently worth in today’s market.

Should you find yourself owing more money than what your vehicle is worth, if the difference is something you can secure, it may be worth selling your car until your finances improve and you can afford one.

Refinancing your electric car loan to something more competitive

If you bought your electric car when you had credit issues, there is a high probability that the car loan you received was a significantly higher interest rate than current market rates.

Provided your credit is in the fair to good range, you can refinance your car loan to something more competitive which helps you save money today and over the life of the car loan.

To refinance a car loan, you must work with a local car dealership.

These dealerships will be able to shop the entire market in Canada and determine which lender has the most competitive offer based on your situation.

The dealership can also help you find a vehicle that is more in line with your needs and budget.

What you must do is take action; these financial obligations are not going to go away by themselves, and the longer you delay making the necessary changes, the more needless hardship you will be creating in your life.

Now that you know what steps to take should you find yourself in a situation where you are not able to make your car payments, you can take action, so be sure to contact your local dealership today.

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