Need suggestions....

[xcracer522]

O.K. here's the deal - I just received a letter from my trustee stating that my chapter 13 is finally paid out!! Here is the downside to that - during my chapter 13 I was in a pretty bad accident (not my fault) and my 2003 F150 Super Crew was totaled. Insurance paid off what I owed on it and my lawyer talked my bank into lending me another $8,000 for another vehicle which was then written into the 13. Luck would have it the truck I bought with the 8K was a piece of &*$% and is just about shot. It's really not going to be worth it to put all the money in it needed to get it back into runnable condition. Ironically enough my NY State inspection is due at the end of this month and there is no way that it is going to pass. So I called my lawyer and they said that I could start looking for another vehicle if I needed to now that the 13 is paid out. I went to look for a used vehicle this weekend and found a nice 2007 Volvo S40 for $18,000. When the dealer tried to get me financing they said I was denied because I have 3 vehicle charge offs showing on my credit report. My wife's car, my F150, and the used truck I purchased during the 13. I explained that the F150 was not technically a charge off since it was totalled and the insurance paid for it. He said that he would fight with the banks/financing companies to try and get them to put it through today. I have not heard from him yet but if it's denied I need some suggestions on any options I may still have - I have to get to work. There are a couple more dealers I could try but I don't want to many pulls on my credit report. Thoughts??

[lrprn]

There are a couple more dealers I could try but I don't want to many pulls on my credit report.

First of all, a big CONGRATULATIONS on finishing your Ch 13 successfully - WAY TO GO!!

Now...back to your questions...inquiries that are close together during car or house hunting don't count as individual hard pulls on your credit report.

Just curious why even with a good price you want to buy such an expensive, almost new luxury car right now just out of your 13. Even if your lawyer can convince the lenders to work with you, your interest rate is likely to be high (upper teens).

I encourage you to do more looking. Find a reliable, less expensive car that can get you through your first year or two out of your 13 until your good payment record along with the successfully completed 13 will improve your interest rates. Then go get the newer, more luxurious car.

This is a good time to rethink former purchase patterns. Good luck - hope everything works out for you.

[xcracer522]

lrprn - Thanks for the advice!! My wife and I actually have decided to put off the vehicle hunting for a while. My in-laws called and said that they were getting a new vehicle and we could use their old one for six or seven months at least until we get discharged. I also found out that the three vehicle charge offs were actually a credit reporting problem. None of the credit reporting agencies have the vehicles included in the bankruptcy in their reports. I spoke with the para-legal at my lawyers office and she said that could actually hurt my credit worse than the bankrptcy itself, because it basically shows three open accounts that are just not being paid on. So we are going to have to dispute those. As far as our spending habbits go, I agree they need to change. I guess we looked at it from a cost perspective in comparison to what we used to pay for vehicles. The last couple of vehicles we purchased were over 30K. So we saw the volvo for 18K and figured that was a step in the right direction. We also wanted to see what the payment was going to be and my wife and I agreed that if it was going to be higher than what we budgeted then we weren't going to purchase it. We actually have learned A LOT from this bankruptcy - it truly has been a life changing as well as humbling experience for the both of us. So much so that my wife swears that she'll never use a credit card again - which isn't necessarily the right way to go about it either. I think our biggest problem was a rapid salary increase. We went from having a combined annual income of about 40K to a combined annual income of roughly 115K when I finished school five years later. When you see see that kind of an increase you often think you have more money than you really do. We were young and didn't manage our money very well and here we are. Live and learn I guess - we are on a come back though!!! Thanks again!!!