Auto Repo. Impact on FICO Score

[Anonymous]

How much will my FICO score be impacted by an auto repossession assuming that all of my other accounts remain in good standing? My score is currently 768 with Experian.

[Anonymous]

My gut tells me that's heavily dependent on the lender and the circumstances of the repo.  If you ended this on good terms with them, and settle any outstanding balance , you might be able to get it listed as ending in good standing.  Bear in mind that they will sell the car and count what they make toward satisfying the loan.  Say you bought the car for $14,000, and had it repo'd a year later.  During that time, you made $3500 in payments.  They sell the car for $9,000.  That means the balance is $5,000.  You paid $3,500, so the leftover is $1,500. 

Now of course some of that $3,500 went to interest rather than principal, so you'd end up owing more than $1500.  But it's that amount, if unpaid, that would end up being charged off and giving you a big fat ding on your credit report.

[Anonymous]

As an aside, I'd recommend attempting to negotiate with the lender to prevent the repo from occuring.  Either that, or see if you can find someone willing to take over the car and the payments.

[Anonymous]

How much of an impact it makes depends on your file.

If you haven't already taken a hit for late payments (and with a 768, you probably haven't), it's entirely possible it will cost you more than 100 FICO points.

Speaking from experience, it's a lot harder to move up in points than it is to move down.