I am no longer able to make the payments on my auto loan due to medical bills. What are my options?

I currently have a 6 year auto loan with my credit union. Due to recent medical issues and bills piling up, I can no longer afford to make the monthly payments on the loan. I have had the car for only about a year. What are my options at this time? I know a repossesion will ruin my credit. I need to know what I can do to fix the situation before it gets worse. Please help.





Thanks

I am no longer able to make the payments on my auto loan due to medical bills. What are my options?
I am a 10 yr mgr of a credit/collection/repo company. You are correct in saying a repo will not look good on your credit. However just so you know it usually does get noted that its a voluntary if you give it up as a voluntary surrender.





Also have you tried to fill out for assistance with the medical bills. You can fill out for free bed or charity care at hospitals, or write hardship letters to private practices. You'd be surprised what that can do. I see it every day.





CCCS is ok, but a you can basically do what they are going to do. Whatever you do, DONT go with a company that costs money, and there are a lot of them out there.





Speak to the credit granter. If you can fill out for help with the medical bills, they may be able to put what you are behind onto the end of your loan as well.





The only other thing I can suggest is trying to sell your car now and just try to pay off the balance on the car. If the car does get repo'd then you will end up with a deficiency balance once the proceeds get posted to the loan balance.





One thing to remember the credit granter doesn't usually WANT to repo the car, it costs them money too. So keep the lines of communication opened and they will sometimes work with you too.





Good Luck and I hope you are getting well.
Reply:were the medical bills from the hospital? if so i know most hopsitals offer financial aid for people that can't afford medical cost! so i would call the hospital and continue making the car payment! and u can also set up a payment that is pretty low and one that u can afford for the medical payments!





if u stop paying that auto loan that ruins your credit! medical bills do not go against your record unless they go to a collection agency! but even then if u make the payment it does not ruin it like if you was stop paying on that auto loan...








or your other option is filing bankruptcy!
Reply:You are in a contractual obligation to make those monthly auto payments, the medical bills are secondary account.





First, DO NOT SKIP any auto payments!!! Once you get behind, you'll never be able to catch up. If your car is repossessed, you'll be without transportation. Can you afford that? How will you get to work, hospital, groceries? The hospitals are required by law to treat you, regardless of how much money you owe from prior treatments.





If your medical bills are mainly from prescription costs, ask the prescribing doctors for samples. ALL PHARMACY sales people GIVE BOOCOO samples to doctors! Ask the doctor to prescribe a generic; Walmart has a program that sells a lot of generics for $4.





Go over you budget and cut costs anywhere you can. Don't buy coffee, soda, chips, etc at c-stores or outside the home. Cut out snacks, candy, movie rental nights, fast food-ANY WHERE you can save money, DO IT. Think of it as a temporary 'Fast'.





Post an ad for someone to take over your payments. I've sold two vehicles this way. You MUST HAVE a written contract for this to work. The person should pay you a down payment, equal to two months auto payments (which you'll save in case of late payments) and pay the monthly amount directly to you (which you'll pay to the bank).





You probably owe more than your car is worth, but you could try to sell it outright and then purchase a used car with more affordable payments.





Make smaller payments to the medical providers. They tend to charge little or no interest and as long as they are receiving a continuous monthly payment are not likely to send it to collections.





If your income is low enough, you can apply for medicaid. Remember, YOU PAY TAXES-this is in place for US when we need it! Don't think of it as mooching off the government, YOU PAID taxes for the government to provide this service to people in need. THis won't help pay for past expenses, but will help with any future ones. If you're eligible.





As one writer stated, hospitals have whole departments available to help patients with their medical bills. They may have special programs to assist you. It doesn't hurt to try.





Good luck and I hope your health improves.
Reply:Have you tried to work out a payment plan for the medical bills? Try to get a plan with the lowest monthly amount. As far as your credit rating, it’s best to make your car payments. Anything negative regarding outstanding medical charges is not going to weigh as much as your auto loan. Your auto loan is a bank loan and can negatively affect your credit rating. Make the car payment a priority over the medical bills. Are you upside-down on the loan? Since you’ve had the car for such a short amount of time, you may owe more than the car is worth. Is there anyway to sell it? If you sold it, would you have money leftover to purchase a car that doesn’t cost as much? Good luck.
Reply:You're right that a repo would be bad. Also you will be hit fees for that. Probably they will sell the car for less than YOU could. Anything you fall short on in paying off the loan will be subject to a deficiency judgment.





Probably what you need to do is to go to a place such as Consumer Credit Counseling services and seek assistance in getting your finances in order.





You're right to not let this wait.





Good luck and I hope you get healthier soon as well.