My recommendation is to contact your lender and let them know the full situation – what is happening and why. Many lenders are understanding when they know they will get their money.

You can also talk to them about reducing your interest rate if it is above 6%.

The most important thing you can do right now to avoid a repo is to open the lines of communication.

So the short answer is, if you had the loan before you signed up, then yes, it should apply, and the lower interest rate should be in effect until you separate from the military. If you took out the loan after you joined, then you may not be able to reduce your interest rate.

That said, I recommend contacting your lender to see if they can work with you. Some lenders will reduce interest rates while the borrower is deployed. It doesn’t hurt to ask.

The first thing I would do is contact your base legal office and see if your judge advocates have any advice for you. Many times the base legal departments don’t get involved with these things, but in other cases they may be able to at least give you advice on what the law states.

Beyond that, my recommendation is to thoroughly read your lease agreement and look for any clauses which might relate to military service and/or the ability of the leasing company to cancel the lease.

And I certainly wouldn’t buy a car simply because they prefer to sell you a car versus lease you a car. If they insist on having your return the car, then offer to return it to them for a 100% credit of your money including all signing costs, down payments, taxes, etc. (make sure you aren’t out a single cent when it is all said and done).

Then take your business elsewhere – they don’t deserve your business if they insist on treating you that way.