Voluntary Repossession

Voluntary repossession is when a borrower surrenders their vehicle in order to avoid having it taken from them after falling behind on the payments (either for an auto loan or lease). While the borrower may avoid certain repossession fees by doing this, whether the vehicle is surrendered voluntarily or it's repossessed involuntarily, it still shows up on credit reports as a repossession and the lender can still sell it to help recover either the deficiency balance - the loan balance (on a finance contract), or the balance owed on the lease, plus any fees connected with selling the vehicle.