Car repossessions went up 43% over two years as high prices squeeze Americans. Here's what you can do if you're at risk

As conveyance prices person risen, amid elevated involvement rates and precocious surviving costs, truthful excessively person repossessions successful caller years.

Cox Automotive estimates yearly car repossessions went up astir 43% betwixt 2022 and 2024, up to 1.73 cardinal units, the highest since 2009 (1).

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Something that catches galore radical off-guard is however rapidly a repossession tin hap — and however costly it tin beryllium adjacent aft the conveyance is taken.

Auto loans person go importantly much costly implicit the past fewer years, with delinquency rates climbing steadily.

Federal Reserve Bank of New York information shows conscionable nether 4% of car loans were 90 days oregon much delinquent astatine the extremity of 2022, a fig that accrued to astir 5% by the extremity of 2024, wherever it has remained reasonably dependable arsenic of September 2025 (2).

One happening that’s starting to propulsion prices adjacent higher, analysts say, is U.S. tariffs connected imported vehicles and car parts, arsenic automakers and suppliers set pricing and accumulation successful effect to commercialized barriers.

As a result, galore buyers whitethorn beryllium continuing to fastener into car loans that are straining already choky household budgets.

Borrowers mightiness presume they person much clip than they really bash earlier the repossession process begins. In reality, repossession rules alteration by authorities and lender, and immoderate car indebtedness contracts licence repossession aft a azygous missed payment.

Common informing signs that repossession whitethorn beryllium imminent see missed oregon precocious payments that spot the indebtedness successful default, allowing the lender to enactment rapidly erstwhile the declaration is breached. Other reddish flags see notices astir force-placed security oregon changes to your monthly payment, which tin awesome that an relationship is already astatine risk.

Lenders tin repossess a conveyance erstwhile the indebtedness is successful default. According to the Federal Trade Commission, lenders mostly bash not request a tribunal bid to repossess a vehicle, arsenic agelong arsenic they don't “breach the peace” during the repossession process.

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Losing the car is often lone the opening of the fiscal interaction of repossession.