Going to be late on my auto loan this month, Help!

[oompaloompa]

Hi i have a relatively new car note (bout 4 payments made) with Capitol 1. finances are very tight this month, I am commission only. My payment is due on the 13th and it will not be in by then. I will probably have the cash in about a week, two at most. I've paid early and over every month until now.

My question is, what is the best way to work this out with my lender? I assume of course there is a late fee, but how long do I have (about) before the late payment is reported to my credit, 30 days?

[Krash]

well i think u should be fine, most give a grace period, call them tomorrow or today which is thursday and tell them! I think they will be just fine with it! As long as u aren't 30 days passed u won't have a problem! The best thing to do is call though ok?

[Bigwoodystyl]

You probably don't get reported late for any one-cycle deliquencies.. They probaby don't report to the CRA until you are two cycles delinquent.

That is, they will report you as 30 late, when you are actually 60 late.

That's generally the way that it works. You probably pay a late fee, though... Read your contract, you may have a grace period.

Also, if you call them, you may be able to "skip a payment". They will still calculate interest daily, but your payment won't be due this month. (The industry term is "lowering your non-delinquent minimum payment to zero", or "zeroing your min")...

The above is usually only done as a courtesy to good customers, and isn't done on brand new loans, but you could still ask.. Keep in mind, if they capitulate, unless you make a principal only payment later, doing this will increase the term of your loan..

[LeslieR]

Absolutely, call them right away. I don't have personal experience with Cap1, but this is a general rule for avoiding problems. Just spell it out.

[LVMortgageMom]

I was just recently in a similar situation with Cap 1. I am 100% commision employee as well. I switched companies between my 1st and 2nd payment. When they called, I explained this to them and exactly when I would make the payment. I was informed that collection activities would continue, which was fine, but that there was no late fee.

On a sidenote, one of their employees suggested that I go get a payday loan to avoid additional interest accruing. To this I replied, you want me to get a 200% loan to avoid paying a few dollars in extra interest. He had to admit that suggestion didnt make much sense.