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What happens if my first car loan payment is one day late?
I got all mixed up, and now my first car payment is late by one day! What happens if I’m a day late on a car payment?
Johnny Puckett · Updated on
Reviewed by Shannon Martin, Licensed Insurance Agent.
If you’re paying your first car payment one day late, don’t panic. There is usually a grace period for
car loan
payments of 10 days or more—but you’ll need to review the terms of your loan to be sure.If you have any concerns or aren’t sure whether you have a grace period, call your lender right away. It’s better to be honest that you slipped up and assure them that future payments will come on time.
If you don’t pay and whatever grace period you have expires, you’ll be charged a late fee. This may be around $30.
Being a day late on a car payment shouldn’t affect your credit. Credit bureaus will only find out if you’re over 30 days past due on a loan payment. But if this happens, your credit score will take a hit.
If you end up having a hard time affording your car loan, see if an
auto refinance
could be an option. You can use a comparison tool like Jerry to compare offers from lenders and see whether you can get better loan terms by switching.View full answer
- Gregory R.
WHY YOU CAN TRUST JERRY
Jerry partners with more than 50 insurance companies, but our content is independently researched, written, and fact-checked by our team of editors and agents. We aren’t paid for reviews or other content.
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