Generally, a repossession record and all the associations with it, such as red flags to loaning companies, will stay on your record for around seven years. This means that unless you take adequate measures to get the repossessions, late payments, collections, and the judgement, if the creditor sues you successfully, off of your records sooner than this, you will either be unable to get any loans at all, or you will get them but at insane interest rates.  The easiest way to get these repossessions and associations cleared from your credit score record is to work with a credit expert/ credit repair company. However, be mindful that these companies cannot guarantee success as it largely depends on the creditor. Credit repair companies are usually able to remove repossessions much earlier than usual by convincing the creditor to do so.  Once the creditor is convinced and the repossession is removed, they can then get to work on other aspects of your credit score that can be removed or improved to raise your overall credit score.  A good way to prevent all of this, of course, is that if you think you are in danger of losing your car to an auto lender, is to take action from your end before they repossess your vehicle. Do not avoid calls, but try to find a way to work it out or get a deferment. If you cannot find the funds or a plan to get out of the bind in time, sell the car on your own to get the rest of the money and pay the whole loan off in one go.