If you surrender the vehicle to a bank/dealer before it is repo'ed, it can't hurt. Before you do that though, talk with the loan company and see if they can reconfigure the terms/length of your purchase contract to make the payments affordable. You might also check with your bank or credit union to see if they can refinance the car with a lower monthly payment for you. If this fails and you have to turn the car in.. . It will impact your credit for the worse. Your credit report will likely read "not paying/did not pay as agreed". This can be negotiable and you may want to bargain with the loan company to report the return of the car favorably (if they agree, get it in writing). Beware! Even if you do return the car and no longer have the obligation of paying on the loan, the dealership and/or finance company can stick you with depreciation and/or reconditioning charges if the vehicle is not in good order in terms of appearance/mechanical. In other words, you no longer have a car payment, but you can get a bill for $3,000 to recondition said vehicle for resale. That is usually due all at once and immediately. A lot depends on the laws where you live, your financial situation, and your purchase agreement. I highly recommend you consult an attorney before just turning the car in. Hope this helps. KATHY: How much more info could you possibly need? I suggested an attorney or you could try http://www.nolo.com for specific legal advice. The answer is simple: not paying as agreed, the consequence is a poor credit rating. Can't pay for the car anymore? Expect the Repo folks or turn it in.

Its called a Voluntary Surrender and it will negatively impact your credit. You will arrange with the finance company to have a repo agent pick up your car at a certain time and certain location. The finance company will then sell the car at auction and apply the money they get at auction to the balance of your loan. You will then begin to repay the deficiency balance, or balance remaining after the sale of the collateral. Your best best is to try to find another company to refinance you. If your financing is with a bank they will probably refinance the loan for you, unless you've already hurt your credit attempting to pay this loan. Selling the vehicle on your own is probably not the best bet. You probably won't get what you owe the finance company.