Purchasing a used car while in Ch 13

[beachgirl]

Has anyone purchased a used car for a family member while in a ch. 13? My son will be 16 soon and needs a car to get to/from work. We just want to purchase a cheap, used vehicle. How hard will it be for me to do this?

[dac67]

It will be hard. We are in that spot right now , trying to purchase a second car. They want at least 1,000 down and you may be financed for only up to 5,000, with high interest like 21% or higher. Alot of financers will only do it for 24 months. We are finding lenders but with so little to finance and alot down it does make it really hard. We don't have 1,000 extra right now and we are working extra to get it.
We did have 2 cars but my hubs car was a 2002 with only with only 46,000 on it it didn't pass inspection for a second year in a row , so instead of dishing out 1200.00 to fix it again after last year replacing transmission , brakes, and tires we gave it back to Chrysler. If you find out something better I would love to know.

[beachgirl]

Thanks for the info. We're not looking at spending more than $5000. My son is saving for a down payment, and we'll have to finance the rest of it if possible. Just trying to get him something to get through his high school years!

[aa06a47]

Financing and getting court / trustee approval will be your biggest issues. (My trustee can approve 2500 or less, anything more the judge has to approve). Good luck with this.

[dac67]

Our lawyer wrote us a note stating we could finance up to 250.00 a month. One place we went to said they needed a note from our lawyer stating we could be financed. This would replace the car we had reposessed.

[Grace]

I'd think twice about financing a car for a 16 year old. He's in the age group most likely to get into an accident. With a car loan, the insurance will have to include collision which is expensive given his age. Look for something relatively decent for a couple of thousand or less. And have him save up for it. He'll appreciate it much more if it's all his money on the line.

[Gone to Texas]

Has anyone purchased a used car for a family member while in a ch. 13? My son will be 16 soon and needs a car to get to/from work. We just want to purchase a cheap, used vehicle. How hard will it be for me to do this?

My first car at 16 cost me $200 (1972 Chevy Vega). I learned a lot on how to work on cars because of this.

I take it there isn't a bus system for him to take or a way to catch a ride with a co-worker?

[jane taylor]

We are sort of in the same boat. Our son is 17 and does not have his own vehicle. We do not live in an area with public transportation so that is not an option. We have been fortunate that he has been able to ride with co-workers and fellow students. While I would like to purchase a decent used vehicle for him, I think that he will appreciate it more when he has to buy it.

Most of our friends have bought cars for their children and our son has friends who drive their own BMWs, etc. I cannot imagine the insurance premium on a luxury car for a 17-year-old male!

I haven't asked our attorney yet about buying another vehicle.

[SinkingFast]

If you're looking for an older car,........... And based on the price range you're quoting, you do not have to carry full collision insurance on the car. That is strictly your preference. You will need to carry liability to protect other people. But if you're willing to risk your own car, you can get by to cover the car with liability only.

The cheapest way we've found to cover our teens is we own the cars. Titled in our names. Our good driving records improves the risk rating. We also cut costs by carrying liability only coverage, and don't add any frills. No towing. No rental car for loss of use.

Also, we get good student discounts. Many companies offer up to 20% discount on the premium just for your child carrying a B or 3.0 gpa and above.

We have 3 cars. With 3 teen drivers. Liability only coverage on the 2 kids' cars. No towing. No rental for loss of use. Just basic coverage to protect the other people. We also get good student discounts. We have full coverage on Hubby's truck and we pay right at $1K/6 months of insurance. That's $500 deductible, $100K/$300K coverage per incident.

You don't need full collision coverage for teens. Especially when they are driving older cars that may not be worth it for the coverage.

[Jayntee]

Financing a vehicle

My wife and I are in Chapter 13 and we just purchased a vehicle. There are a couple of finance companies that will help you. Prestige Financial is one. We purchased a 2006 used vehicle from a dealership that sells new and used. We did have to put money down and were limited to certain vehicles (Profit in the car was used to supplement down payment). The interest rate is 17%. We will be out of our BK in 18 months and plan to refi. First I would get trustees permission to incur debt and establish how much you can incur, then go purchase the car. We live in a big city and there are two major dealerships that will sell to people in BK. I would look in the paper and go talk to (finance)people at dealershipships.