I financed a car with Crescent Bank 3 years ago. I have horrible credit and they were literally the ONLY bank who would finance me. I had to pay a lot of interest (21%) and yes, when I was late with payments, they were calling every day, and very pushy about getting their money (Not to mention, the extra interest and fees I had to pay for being late was insane).
But it was THEIR money, so really, as frustrating as it was for me at the time, they were right and I was wrong.
The fact is, they're a sub-prime lender. That means, they finance loans for people with awful credit, knowing they're going to have late pays, repos, etc. I'm sure the people in the call centers probably do get tired of hearing constant excuses and having to call begging for money day in an day out. I've been so mad at them I could scream before, when they were rude to me. But in hindsight, I deserved it for not paying on the day I was supposed to pay.
Anyway, long story short, I lost my job, fell behind, and needed a smaller car payment. I was honest with them and they allowed me to defer one payment to the end of my loan to help catch me up. I still couldn't swing the payments so I went to the dealer and tried to trade my car in for one that was less expensive. With my job situation and recent payment history, there wasn't another bank that would touch me.
But guess what? Crescent came through for me. They could have chosen to repossess my car and leave me stranded, but they didn't. Instead, they approved a new loan so I could trade my car in for something less expensive and now my monthly payment is $125 LESS each month.
So yes, if you make your payment late they're going to harass you about it. And if you refuse to pay at all, they'll come get your car. But if you're honest and do the best you can, and admit when you just can't do it any more, they're fair and will help any way they can - but you have to be willing to make some sacrifices too (like trading for a cheaper car or paying more interest/fees). Just my 2 cents worth. :)
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