If you need to skip a payment, a payment deferment on a car loan will help you avoid repossession. Sometimes, your auto loan will even have a built-in deferment policy. Regardless, you can't defer a car payment without the approval of your lender.

On-time payments are the biggest factor affecting your credit score, so missing a payment can sting. If you have otherwise spotless credit, a payment that's more than 30 days past due can knock as many as 100 points off your credit score. If your score is already low, it won't hurt it as much but will still do damage.

A deferment may allow you to skip your payment altogether, or it may call for a reduced payment consisting only of the interest portion of your next scheduled payment.

Deferments do not hurt your credit score. Unlike simply missing a payment or paying it late, a deferred payment counts as “paid ing to agreement,” since you arranged it with your lender ahead of time. That's especially important if you're already in the kind of emergency that would call for a deferment.

Some lenders offer loan forbearance in times of crisis. A forbearance gives you a temporary pause on payments while you are experiencing hardship. You'll have to contact your lender directly to request a forbearance because in most cases, this is not something that a lender will automatically offer or grant.

Skip a Pay allows you to skip a loan payment on qualifying loans. When using Skip a Pay, please keep this in mind: A first loan payment is not eligible. Skip a Pays may be made every 90 days. Skip a Pay can be used on most vehicle loans, recreational loans, and unsecured personal loans.