Buying/Leasing a car after BK

[jetset]

My discharge is coming up soon, and I plan to rebuild and buy/lease a new car by the end of this year.

My mother just leased yesterday a brand new Saturn Ion Quad. This deal has been in the works for about a week now, they had to find the right color/trim my mom wanted. Her BK was dcharged just over a year and a half ago, and she hasn't touched her credit. She continues to make her mortgage payment and that's it. They qualified her for the special lease rate, the lowest one possible. I was hesititant about getting my hopes up for her because I know how car dealers (usually) work...get you in, get you tired, they say "ok, well we weren't able to get you that rate, but can you A) Put more money down, or B) Pay an extra 100 bucks a month, Well...After she added some onstar features and some warranty plans, she's paying $222.70/month for 36 month lease with only 1,000 down!

GO TO SATURN! They have a great company wide practice of because straight forward, up front, no haggle, and bottom line pricing. I know this now because last week when they said my moms payment would be "AROUND" 215/month...I thought, yeah right, your credit hasn't moved a point since your discharge, and they're gonna give you the special lease offer?? Well they did, and I will problem go with them for my next car.

I don't know if this is true for all GM dealers...but at least Saturn will be upfront with you, and not beat around bushes.
And saturn does have nice cars now...I'm glad they moved away from the outdated L2/L3 models and got real cars.

adam

[down @ out]

auto after bankruptcy

have to agree with folks that after a bankruptcy unless your sitituation is just different you are better off buying a used car.

Having said that about 6 months before my bankruptcy my car was about shot and I still had great credit. Got a new honda at a good price with 2.9% financing. The monthly payment was importent in getting my bankruptcy discharged and now I have a car with a reasonalble payment and I can count on for a few years to have little or no cost associated with upkeep.

I checked recently and was told that if I could get the same car today my monthly payment would be about 235 more. Talk about a mess.

Also since I filed under the old laws i was able to re-affirm without signing anything and if i ever don`t want the vehicle i can call honda up to come get it and I don`t owe anything.

Don`t know how it works under the new laws any thoughts? I filed pro-se.
Glad I filed on the last day 10/14/06. Don`t know if I could do this now.



Down & Out

[StaciMM]

I misunderstood-thought you meant that you financed a brand new vehicle.

Since it is a a few seasons old already & its an SUV, it shouldn't depreciate as quickly now. (And I agree that your rate is not so bad. The last thing we financed pre-BK, 2 1/2 years ago, was ~13%.)

I wasn't counting on refinancing. I am grateful that I got financed at all! I ended up getting an 03' Explorer. I got a decent deal on it. We will see how things go in 6 months or so.

[sobroke]

I wasn't counting on refinancing. I am grateful that I got financed at all! I ended up getting an 03' Explorer. I got a decent deal on it. We will see how things go in 6 months or so.

[StaciMM]

If you bought a new car, it is not likely that you'll be able to refinance it unless you put alot down... Since they depreciate so quickly, you owe alot more than it is worth and it would be nearly impossible for someone to give you a loan on a vehicle where you need to borrow more than it is worth.

[sobroke]

I got approved through Americredit. The dealership said my scores were low (discharged 11/21) around 545. They approved me and my interest rate wasn't horrible (14.5%). Does Americredit report to all your CRAs? I am working hard at rebuilding credit. I was told after six months of on time car payments that my credit would go way up and I could possibly refinance.

Oh...and BTW, I got a new car because mine was not safe, and I have a two year old and a four year old. It was always breaking down, and here in IN, it is FREAKIN' COLD in the winter.

[tinroofrusted]

Americredit is a company that dealerships use that will finance folks post BK. Ususally the interest rate is high, but they will only approve for cars that are newer with very low mileage.

[StaciMM]

You haven't seen the cars my brother messes with! They are so bad that people should almost offer to pay my brother to take them off their hands, LOL. He was always getting in trouble with the county for his 'works in progress'. The county they lived in, or maybe it was the neighbors that complained, did not like him having 2-3 vehicles in mid-repair mode in his driveway. Plus, he often had 1-2 vehicles there that he had repo'd and were to be returned to the pawn shop or car lot that he did business with.

Keep in mind that used doesnt neccessarily mean hunk of junk. Most folks out of BK wind up buying a car that's between two - three years old, with low mileage.

[StaciMM]

A dealership will have info on many lenders, and they'll know the requirements of each. It is to the dealership's advantage to be able to get financing worked out for any type of credit-and they'll send your app to whichever lenders they feel are good matches. So while Toyota may not finance BK customers, they will know of lenders who will.

That DOES NOT mean the dealership has your best interest in mind. When you go shopping for a car, DO NOT try to make a deal the same day. Don't make an emotional buy, make an informed buy. (Speaking from experience. The last time we stepped foot on a new car lot, we were shopping because we would need a 2nd vehicle within a couple of months and I expected to get a worker's comp settlement within a couple of months. We left the lot w/ a new truck and a new $505 payment and the settlement didn't happen til 14 months later. By then, a large part of it went to catching up on living beyond our means for a long time, and we couldn't afford to pay off that vehicle-which had been our intent. I have to confess-I felt proud of making an adult decision when we left that vehicle back at the same lot a week and a half ago!)

[pink_amulet]

Well, I can tell you one thing. Toyota won't even pull your credit report if you tell them you have filed BK. My boyfriend went to get a new truck and they got on the subject of how I just got my discharge. The salesman told my boyfriend that Toyota won't even think of touching you for a new car if you have a BK on your record. Used cars may be a different story.

This is not true. I went with my best friend she was 3 months discharged, and she got a car. It was 21% interest, however she was approved, I sat there with her. It was a nicer car, lower milage, and it ran like a tank.

[987654]

BTW... Dont most cc companies now have that protection when someone has made a fraudulent purchase yadayadayada...I would think you would be able to get that money back or have the purchases taken care of. or did you just say well...i know he will pay it back and you didnt want to screw him. Ultamitely YOU are responsible for the safekeeping of YOUR S.S, C.C., and all the other information that belongs to YOU. Yea a husband on the same accout...yadayadayada...Maybe you could have closed the account, or during the divorce/seperation have that included in the papers....There are many steps you could have taken to prevent that problem. But..thats over with and I can imagine that you probably wont make that mistake again.

~soldout~

Wow, grow up. Odds are her ex-hubby was doing this on the sly, and she lives in a marital property state, so whatever debts he racked up are hers no matter what. And give me a break, your spouse is going to know your SS#...it's on your JOINT TAX RETURN and practically everything else.

Having it in the divorce papers is great, but if he doesn't pay it, it still shows up on HER credit. The best she could do is get a contempt of court against him for failing to pay it, but by then the damage is done and her credit is screwed...and the creditors don't care about a divorce agreement, she's still liable for the debt.

I'm sure your reason for filing BK is far, far better than hers, right? Whatever helps you sleep...

[tinroofrusted]

I have always had cars no older than 2 - 3 years - since I got my first brand new one in 1986 - and have always traded off by the time the warranties expired. Of course, always trading up at the same time. I had been driving a 96 Sebring convertible and then I lost my job of 10 years in 1999 - so didnt work steady for a few years - now 5 years later I am working steady but got my ID stolen - no one gave a damn to do anything about it so I filed bankruptcy 2 months ago. My 96 was about shot to hell - and looked it too - then I had a car accident - just myself, ran off road into a deep ditch avoiding a dog - should have hit the damn dog cause i ended up totalling my 96 - it was driveable but looked and drove worse than ever. I finally just bit the bullet - found a lender finally - at 19 percent interest and now am driving an 04 Sebring convertible with 17 K miles on it - warrranty - a nice car and I will have to wait about a year and then I can refinance with a lower rate.

So its possible to reastablish credit but damn hard to do it.

A lot of places will let you refinance after six months. You might want to look at that option as well!

[uwishtoo]

buying a car after BK

I have always had cars no older than 2 - 3 years - since I got my first brand new one in 1986 - and have always traded off by the time the warranties expired. Of course, always trading up at the same time. I had been driving a 96 Sebring convertible and then I lost my job of 10 years in 1999 - so didnt work steady for a few years - now 5 years later I am working steady but got my ID stolen - no one gave a damn to do anything about it so I filed bankruptcy 2 months ago. My 96 was about shot to hell - and looked it too - then I had a car accident - just myself, ran off road into a deep ditch avoiding a dog - should have hit the damn dog cause i ended up totalling my 96 - it was driveable but looked and drove worse than ever. I finally just bit the bullet - found a lender finally - at 19 percent interest and now am driving an 04 Sebring convertible with 17 K miles on it - warrranty - a nice car and I will have to wait about a year and then I can refinance with a lower rate.

So its possible to reastablish credit but damn hard to do it.

[HRx]

My sister did well. She had a mini van w/ lots of issues, and didn't want to put the $$ into fixing it. Last year, she used her income tax refund to buy a used Taurus station wagon. (Mid to late 90's model I think.) Its in good, clean condition. She offered less than they were asking, I think she paid about $2000 for it. But, it will last a while & no car payment.

I get nervous at the idea of buying used-because I don't know alot about cars, and don't want repair issues. My brother, on the other hand, can take a $100 hunk-of-junk and fix it up and sell it for $700-1000.

Keep in mind that used doesnt neccessarily mean hunk of junk. Most folks out of BK wind up buying a car that's between two - three years old, with low mileage.

[StaciMM]

My sister did well. She had a mini van w/ lots of issues, and didn't want to put the $$ into fixing it. Last year, she used her income tax refund to buy a used Taurus station wagon. (Mid to late 90's model I think.) Its in good, clean condition. She offered less than they were asking, I think she paid about $2000 for it. But, it will last a while & no car payment.

I get nervous at the idea of buying used-because I don't know alot about cars, and don't want repair issues. My brother, on the other hand, can take a $100 hunk-of-junk and fix it up and sell it for $700-1000.