No matter what you heard, read or want to believe, voluntary repossession is not going to protect your credit rating and relieve you from deficiency judgment. You credit report will simply show REPOSSESSION under status and have I8 credit indicator. Voluntary or not, it stays on your credit report for 7 years. It will be very unlikely if not outright impossible to get a loan for at least a year. The only thing voluntary repossession does is saves the expense and hassle of hiring a repo person, which lender expect you to cover.

So if you are about miss a payment, talk with your lender right away and see if it agrees to delay a payment or two. Once the vehicle is repossessed, you might as well forget it, as it too expensive and problematic to get it back. You would have to pay all overdue payments, penalties, the cost of the repossession and any storage charges. Plus, no matter what you are told, that dreadful repossession record somehow will show up on your credit report. Lenders don’t want repossessed vehicles in this market anymore than foreclosed homes. Try to mention voluntary repossession or even bankruptcy filing, and your creditor might just agree to delay few payments, especially if you have paid on time and your credit is still in good standing. Make sure that you get such an agreement in writing, as it changes your initial contractual obligations.