Repossessions of vehicles are the most common of legal repossessions of personal property. Usually when the debtor fails to pay on time according to the contractual agreement, the lender then makes a decision to protect himself. It is impossible to tell when a lender may decide to repossess a vehicle.

Every lender will have a different set of criteria depending on such factors as how behind in arrears the loan is and whether or not the insurance policy is current. Also the value of the vehicle and when it was purchased are important factors in determining whether or not it's worth repossessing the vehicle right away or not.

Some lease and contract agreements have a clause that, in the event of a repossession, the lender will force the debtor to repurchase the entire contract if the debtor wants their car back. That means that after the car is repossessed, even if your pay the late payments and the repossession fees, the lender may choose to still keep the car unless you come up with the entire amount of the loan.

Different lenders have different collection practices. You have to be careful because the lender will not tell you when he is about to repossess the vehicle. If he did, it would give you time to hide it.

Sometimes you are able to work out a payment arrangement with your lender if you are not too far behind. In an extreme case, when you have paid a lot of money into a car loan and you have a lot of equity in the car and you don't want to lose it, you may have the option to file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy reorganization plan to save the car and reorganize the loan into a three-year payback arrangement with the court.

If you are considering returning the car, you may consider the consequences of the deficiency that will be created after the car is sold and the lender has deducted the amount received for the car from the total amount of the loan including interest. Any money left over you will owe.