Approved by Capital One Auto

[mountanddo]

Wow, is it a Yugo? That car could not have had an MSRP of even $10K to be sold that cheaply with so few miles. My VW has 145K (in 8 years( and it has a retail value of $5K!

No, it isn't a Yugo, it is a 1996 Pontiac Sunfire and it was a private owner sale. It was a year old. Thing is the ex bought it for me and failed to mention that it had a salvage title on it. Didn't know that until we were divorced and I had to transfer the title into my name. Even though it had a salvage title and was in a couple of accidents since I've had it it has been the most reliable car I have EVER owned. Aside from normal things like brakes, tires, oil changes I haven't had any major problems with it. Unfortunately, it is now over 15 years old and I need it to last me 3 more years. Since I take the bus to work and park in a heated underground garage it just might work out. I only use it to go grocery shopping and an occasional outing. If I could live without a car I would but unfortunately I don't know anyone to take me grocery shopping all the time or the doctor and I need it for those things.

[karmabk]

I was discharged Jan 2011. I was just approved (Capital One Blank Check) for $26,500 72 months at 7.12% for a 2011 or newer car. My wife also tried but only got 9% for $19500. While they offered to mail her check I got a email to call to verify some information. I did call today, and I had to answer 5 questions. Like did so and so use to live with me, did I live at a certain address, etc, and if not say no. Funny 3 out of the 5 things were completely wrong. I was told they would have to send this to the verification department and would get back to me within 3 business days. Anybody else had this happen?

Also we do know the car we want and so we had the dealer shop around for some loans. We didn't try any credit unions yet, but we was turned down some banks. He did (without asking) try to approve us through Capital One (of course he wants to make the sale asap), and the terms he got was 11%. Only difference is he applied us jointly instead of as individuals. I am still waiting to hear back from Cap 1 about the blank check thing, but I am little worried something is wrong. We really need a car bad right now, and the 7.21% APR at this time is a God send. I just keep thinking something is wrong since the dealer couldn't get the deal.

[jsparkles]

I know this is a bit late but just wanted to ad my $.02... First off, congratulations on your new car! It gives the rest of us hope that getting a car loan is not out of the question. But also, for those needing a car and are trying to figure out what to do, I just wanted to add my experience...

My husband lost his job in 2007. We had a $300 car payment and couldn't afford it anymore. We sold it and bought a used 2001 minivan for $5000. We shopped around and found a great deal on eBay. I think it had about 60,000+ miles on it. We paid cash so as to not have a car payment. Here it is, five years later and the only money we have spent on it has been new tires and oil changes/general maintenance. Granted, it's a minivan so it's not a pretty car by nature. But the paint is nice, it has no dents, has a lot of options, and looks great for a 10+ year old car. I'm not saying that buying an expensive car is a bad thing to do, but for those who don't want to spend that kind of money, used cars aren't always money pits either. Do your research, read reviews, and find cars that generally have good user reviews. Shop around for deals. We went out of the state to buy ours, but it was A LOT cheaper than what we could find around here. We could probably sell it for $3500-$4000 now after five years of use.

For those who don't want large car payments every month but still want a reliable car, there are options out there.

[LSUTiger32]

I know this is a bit late but just wanted to ad my $.02... First off, congratulations on your new car! It gives the rest of us hope that getting a car loan is not out of the question. But also, for those needing a car and are trying to figure out what to do, I just wanted to add my experience...

My husband lost his job in 2007. We had a $300 car payment and couldn't afford it anymore. We sold it and bought a used 2001 minivan for $5000. We shopped around and found a great deal on eBay. I think it had about 60,000+ miles on it. We paid cash so as to not have a car payment. Here it is, five years later and the only money we have spent on it has been new tires and oil changes/general maintenance. Granted, it's a minivan so it's not a pretty car by nature. But the paint is nice, it has no dents, has a lot of options, and looks great for a 10+ year old car. I'm not saying that buying an expensive car is a bad thing to do, but for those who don't want to spend that kind of money, used cars aren't always money pits either. Do your research, read reviews, and find cars that generally have good user reviews. Shop around for deals. We went out of the state to buy ours, but it was A LOT cheaper than what we could find around here. We could probably sell it for $3500-$4000 now after five years of use.

For those who don't want large car payments every month but still want a reliable car, there are options out there.

Amen sister!

[overit]

I have an 05 Grand Am that I got when it was a year old. It had been either a lease or rental car. I don't recall which, but it was in super condition.

It had 19,800 miles on it. I gave right around $12k for it.

Flash forward to day...and knock on wood...there hasn't been a thing go wrong with it. I work from home, so it just now has 53K miles on it. Going by blue book, etc, it was worth more than I owed when I filed. I reaffirmed that debt.

I'm now to the point of making car payments to myself, so that when it does eventually need replaced, I can hopefully pay in cash.

[mountanddo]

I'm now to the point of making car payments to myself, so that when it does eventually need replaced, I can hopefully pay in cash.

That's a really good idea overit.

[overit]

That's a really good idea overit.

Thanks, but I can't take credit for it. It's a Dave Ramsey thing, and a very good one, I think. It is possible to *not* have a car payment.