Secured claim - auto loan

[marzipan13]

For Schedule D - Secured Claims...
How do I determine the value of my car that is financed?
I went on NADA website. There is retail value and trade in value.
On Kelly Blue Book website, there is retail, private party, and trade-in
value... which one do I use?

What if the value of the car is less than what I owe on it?
Do I put a negative number in the unsecured portion column?

Also, the court says I need to file statement of intent before 7/30/07.
Should I wait until 7/29/07 to file this document? I'm worried that if I file it before 7/30, the bank will reposses my car since I plan on surrendering it
and I need to buy a cheap car before that happens!

Thanks,
Dayna

[JRScott]

I'd use the retail value.

If you owe more than the car is worth, that means you have no equity in the car.

Statement of intent for what?

[marzipan13]

Statement of intent

I received a letter from the court that says I need to submit a
"CHAPTER 7 INDIVIDUAL DEBTOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENTION".
(Form 8)
This is for secured debt, and what my intentions are for those debts.
My only secured debt is my auto loan, which I plan to surrender the car.
If I turn in this form too soon, I'm wondering if I need to surrender the car as soon as this form is filed... or do I have until the creditor's meeting?

[JRScott]

Hmm, well I'm not sure how quickly they would take it. I didn't have anything secured so I had nothing to surrender.

How soon before you can get you another vehicle?

[lrprn]

For Schedule D - Secured Claims...
How do I determine the value of my car that is financed?
I went on NADA website. There is retail value and trade in value.
On Kelly Blue Book website, there is retail, private party, and trade-in
value... which one do I use?

This varies from court to court. In ours we were allowed to use Edmunds.com and use an average of all three prices. You will need to ask a bk lawyer in your area what your court allows. If you don't intend to use a lawyer, you can ask this question and others you might have during free consultation visits with several bk lawyers in your area. Sometimes your local bk court's website may have this information, especially if they have a pro se (filing without a lawyer) section.

What if the value of the car is less than what I owe on it?
Do I put a negative number in the unsecured portion column?

Depends on when you purchased the car. If the purchase was more than 910 days ago, you are still allowed to "cram down" the amount to what the vehicle is actually worth. If you purchased the car less than 910 days ago, you must use the full amount of what you owe on the loan - no more "cram downs" under 910 days.

Also, the court says I need to file statement of intent before 7/30/07.
Should I wait until 7/29/07 to file this document? I'm worried that if I file it before 7/30, the bank will reposses my car since I plan on surrendering it
and I need to buy a cheap car before that happens!

It's unlikely you are going to speed up actually having the car removed from your possession that quickly. Many of our members who have surrendered cars in their bankruptcies end up practically begging the dealerships to come get the car many months later just to get it out of the driveway!