No More Sentras!

[shipo]

I've been a member of a credit union off and on for years; all of my recent credit unions (i.e. the two before bankruptcy and the one since) have offered refinancing on automobiles.

[Carmella]

In your shoes I'd ride the 8.1% for six months and then refinance.

this might sound dumb...

How do you refinance a car loan? Where do you go for the loan? Since we are getting a second car it would be nice to refinance.

At the moment I would like to trade the car I have, which happens to be a Sentra, just because it's not a car I would have chosen under different circumstances. It might sound silly, but after the car accident I really loved the car I had and basically had to take what I could for transportation. I probably would not trade it in for another 2 yrs.

But the car my husband gets will probably be his a long time and I imagine the interest will be at least 8% since that's where my car is...

[Barbisi]

Thanks sophieanne !
Ya, it seems everyone loves Corollas, Sentras not so much LOL!

[sophieanne]

Good-bye Sentra!! Congratulations on your new vehicle. I believe you’re going to love your Toyota..I’ve never had a problem over many years..and different Toyota vehicles.

[Barbisi]

justbroke , Zombie 13 and I talked about getting an auto loan from a nearby CU but we just couldn't establish ourselves here soon enough to accomplish that and given the lemon condition of the 2013 Sentra ( i.e, parts newly breaking down almost every day!) and my junkyard ready poor old 2005 Sentra, we clearly couldn't wait any longer!
We will go as soon as my husband's job allows to get our in state drivers licenses and then open an account with a local CU and see what they offer and go from there.

[justbroke]

Barbisi if you want best impact of the car loan, try this. Since it would be an installment loan, just get the loan (from a credit union). Then pay it down to below 9%. So long as you don't have more than 2 installment loans (other than a home), you'd probably get the best use of credit. This is no different than the secured share-account loan (SSL) that some, including myself, have used to improve my credit right after the Chapter 13.

At least it sounds good to me.

[Barbisi]

justbroke, as I told shipo in another thread, I don't think a refi makes much sense for us since we don't want a long -term car loan. We went 5+ years without one and that was when our score was at its highest. And if interest rates increase as it looks like they will, we wouldn't get a good rate anyway. Our goal is to maybe down the road trade in one or both of these cars in a few years and get a new car once the availability is no longer a problem. Owning them outright will make that easier.
Carmella , your 2019 should be good to go for at least a couple of years more - just don't keep it for a decade plus, LOL!

[Carmella]

RIP Sentra 2005 Sentra. I trust your offspring Sentra 2019 will serve me well for a few years!

[justbroke]

I'd do and have done exactly what shipo posted. I refinanced after 6 months, but be wary of what the rates will be in December/January. Just the interest rates are about to take another beating.

[shipo]

In your shoes I'd ride the 8.1% for six months and then refinance.

[Zombie13]

Oh also - We did finance a portion of the Corolla... we got an interest rate of 8.1% which isn't bad at all post-BK... what do you think? I thought it would be like 20% or something. Our Equifax score (which is what they showed us) is much higher than the Experian one.

[Zombie13]

Barbisi - you forgot to mention the strong scent-of-organic-decomposition from something, or somethings, that were rotting. That, mixed with the concerning odor of, what, transmission or brake fluid? That overly sweet saccharine smell. It almost didn't start that last time when I was about to leave the house for the wholesale auto place... it was shuddering when it tried.
It may get recycled into water bottles, soda cans, and band aids... who knows?
There is a lot of personal history with the car: 18 years.
Yeah the 2020 Toyota Corolla is really nice, I am impressed. In the past I thought they looked kinda dorky. Barbisi thinks I am jealous... haha I am not, but I am very proud of her for picking the car! It is a nice ride.
And, I asked the auto wholesaler to give me a ride back to the Toyota dealer. Guess what he was driving? A Corolla! The odometer was stuck at 299,999 miles; it got broke somehow but he estimates he is near 450,000 on it. So, that makes me feel confident in Barbisi 's car. I do like all the digital stuff on the dashboard.
When we were looking at the Corolla on Saturday, we were sitting in it, and there was another couple that wanted to buy it; they kept kinda glaring at us. Oh well, we need it more than they do; they ended up buying something a little bigger, more expensive I guess.

[shipo]

RIP 2005 Sentra! Good decision.

[Barbisi]

Well, I can finally announce without trepidation, for the first time in many, many years we are free of the Nissan Sentra!
We actually traded my husband's 2013 Sentra in on Friday evening rather easily given its recent concerns. We got a 2k trade-in value and considering the clunking noises, the exploding door handle, etc. that are currently plaguing this car, we believe we are lucky to get even that much!
We purchased a 2019 CX-5 Mazda for him, but when we purchased my 2020 Toyota Corolla on Saturday afternoon, the dealership could not accept my 2005 Sentra due to its "poor condition". All the salesman said was "That car served you well." Instead, we were directed to a wholesaler who was closed on the weekend. So today my husband drove the old creaky jalopy to their lot where we were able to get a $200 check for it.
The buyer commented he didn't usually purchase a car that was so clearly at the "end of its life" individually, and he usually wanted such salvage vehicles in bulk (i.e., a truckload or large transport of them at once.) At this time, this Sentra has 240K miles and is beyond fixing, unless one was planning on gutting it and totally rebuilding it- so not worth it! What do you think @shipo?
The speakers are fried, so no radio/CD player sound, the fan/heater/AC/defroster infrequently comes on/barely works , the back right passenger window is opening by itself and has no electric power, the inside door handle is half-cracked and will break off any day now, the glove compartment is not attached and every time it is opened, it falls to the ground, the drivers chair has no adjustability and is leaning backwards, the brakes are soft and need to be replaced, the outside paint is rusted and chipped, etc. It does run, but only because in 2020, the starter and alternator were replaced, and it was given a full tune up to the cost of around $3,000 +, necessary because we were still two years away from discharge and we couldn't have bought a safe and decent car with only the 3K available from the stimulus payouts and savings.
The poor old auto can now rest peacefully in junkyard heaven and know it was a reliable and faithful servant!