$585 Car Payment.....Can I keep my car?

[Blue_Ray]

My Infiniti was 660 and I loved that car. Someone hit me and totaled it. I'd still have it if it weren't for that...
If I could keep one thing in life, it's my car...
I live in it practically and that's one thing that I'm going to blow my money on...

Oh trust me, I had owned new Tahoe's, 4x4 Grand Cherokees, Nissan Maxima, Pathfinder, Acura MDX and TL.

(my CC's paid for the gas)

One thing I regret is paying so much for a car payment. Your Infinity was nothing more then the image of 'hey, I know the Jones, I live next to them" Look where it got you.... (and me ;) )

I look back and makes me sick what I paid out for a car then. Now I drive an late model almost paid of Truck and Wife's little gas saver Nissan small payment. I live with these cars just the same for my other previous vehicles. I have no shame where I put my money now...

So seeing a person on the road cruising a BMW, JAG or Benz; I just laugh and say see ya soon!! Car image is such a misconception of image, that majority of people think that they should roll luxury to 'pretend' that they have money. So what!! Been there, done that.

I been doing some driving in better uppy neighborhoods and when I see the luxury of there home's, I notice what is parked outside of the garage and ut's not a BMW, let's say corolla. That's a smarter image. I now plenty of people got the wrong idea of me driving a MDX and said I was loaded on money. Ha, never was loaded, just loans and loans and more loans. I wish I had the broke image of driving a small hoot car and be loaded on home, which has apperciation for investment. Cars..... not!!

[familyof7]

I have never had a car pmt we have ours paid in full my fear is that I would had fell behind and had it repoed. My brother got a unsecured loan from the bank and paid cash for his car so if he did fall behind it would only hurt his credit and his car would not be repoed. We basicly used income tax refunds or lump sum pmts on big jobs from my husbands business to buy our cars. I have nothing fancy but it is reliable and paid for. I have a 2000 chrysler grand voyager with 80,000 miles now it had 70,000 when i got it and it cost 3500 my husband drives 95 ford f150 extended cab like I said nothing fancy but cheap and reliable. If I could afford an extra 750 monthly I would not be bankrupt but then again I am poor.

[MI_Debtor]

Anyone else?

Are there any more filers who were able to keep a vehicle with a high car payment?

I have an appointment with my attorney today and he keeps telling me that the trustee probably won't let me keep my car. How do they expect me to get another car when I don't have saavings and my credit is shot?

[Minnymouth]

Question:

Do you owe more on the car than the selling value would be right now??

[MI_Debtor]

I owe about what it would sell for now

I could probably buy another car like it for about what I owe. If the credit union takes the vehicle, they'll probably sell it at an auction "value" price. It seems like they'd prefer to keep getting payments from me instead of reposessing it. I will not be able to get another $27K loan with a 5.65% interest rate for years. I am thinking about trying to ride through the bankruptcy by continuing to make payments. My biggest concern at this time is to get a Ch7 discharge instead of being tied up in a Ch13 for 5 years. Maybe I should tell the lawyer to indicate that I'm surrendering the vehicle. I probably won't be able to get the $471 vehicle payment exemption though, so I'll try to use the higher mortgage payment option for my house.

Then I can deal with the next hurdle. The lawyer says that using the full $1,900 monthly house payment will raise flags because it is too high compared to the $731 standard allowance. I hoped I could keep my house and car through the bankruptcy but all of the lawyers are interested in pushing filers into a Ch13 so they can make more money over the years of the case.

[Minnymouth]

Since you are wanting to keep the house and car both, yes you will probably be filing a 13....

And I agree with your attorney, the trustee is going to question a very high car payment, and a very high house payment......

It will probably be a Chapter 13 or nothing.....

[spell]

Wow, some of these cars are nuts. At some point, the TT call you out on it and it becomes a preferential payment with your income going towards one debt (car) and not another (cc).

The standard rule of thumb is not to drive a nicer car that the judge.

[Lindsay]

Can't you just keep paying for the vehicle without reaffirming? I've heard that there are certain states that have different laws on reposession of vehicles that are current. Is there a website that lists these states? We're in New York.

We have a high car payment on a truck we own. We don't think they'll let us reaffirm (and probably rightfully so) and we're thinking of either surrendering or trying to ride through. Our vehicle really isn't one I'd be willing to fight too hard to keep though, its sort of a bad luck vehicle. It's had 4 broken windshields, several recalls, broken steering wheel, broken stereo, warped brakes, and it was hit by a large falling object while parked and had to be completely repainted with numerous other collision repairs. This vehicle has caused so much stress and aggravation in the three years we owned it! It was our first new vehicle and I'd never buy another new one. But we've paid for over three years and owe 22 more months on it; I go back and forth as to whether I want to keep it or not. We still owe $16,000 on it and its worth about $18,000 (but I assume all the damages to it bring the value down a little even though they've been repaired).

Another option would be to see if my parents would lend us the money to pay it off, but i'm not sure how that works in chapter 7. If you pay off a vehicle after you file, then it counts full value as your estate?

We should have refinanced this vehicle a while back to get the payments down in half, but now I'd have trouble getting a loan, I think.

[lrprn]

I've heard that there are certain states that have different laws on reposession of vehicles that are current. Is there a website that lists these states? We're in New York.

Here's the repossession requirements for New York - https://www.nfa.org/RecoveryRequirem...ail.aspx?id=40

If your car payments are up to date and made on time every month, in most states your car cannot be repossessed. Your lawyer will know whether this is the case in your state.

[6ftladycop]

High Car Payment but vehicle is leased.

I am not sure if this will help anybody, but my vehicle is leased and the note is 625.00 a month with 2 years left on the lease. The lawyer told me that since I did not own the car, I would have to "assume" the debt and keep paying the note since it was my only means of transportation. Also, the only other thing I had to assume was my payments to Dell for the computers I have in my apartment. At first they wanted me to give them back, but we have two autistic children who use these computers everyday. It has been a great help having them and the systems are almost paid off.

[spell]

but my vehicle is leased and the note is 625.00 a month with 2 years left on the lease.

Holy Cannolli! I don't care if it's a lease, you can still surrender it.
Granted, it'll be a lot less shiny, but you could buy a rusty used car each and every month for that amount.

Why not bail on the lease. Buy a $13,000 car financed over those same two years. At the end, instead of handing back the keys and shuffling away carless... you could actually own a relatively new car, paid in full.
Or even better, make it a $9000 car and at the end of 2 years you'll have $5000 in cash in addition to your paid off car.

This lease sounds to me like the first step in a long 8 year waiting period for your next filing.

[Logan]

One hell of car you have there! Is it short term loan or you have a high interest rate?

My highest payment on a car was 500.00 and no car is worth over 250.00 a month in payment IMHO.

Good rate-expensive car. I like my car and I can afford it. I did the math and If I gave up my car and bought a new one I wouldn't save much because my interest rate would double.

[BKTango]

Good rate-expensive car. I like my car and I can afford it. I did the math and If I gave up my car and bought a new one I wouldn't save much because my interest rate would double.

I apologize in advance lol .... but that gave me a good laugh. It's nice to see you haven't let a little old thing like filing bankruptcy stand in the way of you lining up with the Jones' at the next red light....I'll be on the other side of you, in my 10 yr old car, waving like a lunatic, shouting...."Yeah, it isn't the prettiest, but it's paid for and gets me where going!"

[familyof7]

I apologize in advance lol .... but that gave me a good laugh. It's nice to see you haven't let a little old thing like filing bankruptcy stand in the way of you lining up with the Jones' at the next red light....I'll be on the other side of you, in my 10 yr old car, waving like a lunatic, shouting...."Yeah, it isn't the prettiest, but it's paid for and gets me where going!"

AMEN!!

[CindyLou]

after my BK I made a committment to myself to finally BUY my vehicles and keep them for a while instead of leasing. Our Ford SUV about a year old is at 0.9% and has a little over 3 yrs left. We got the exteneded warrantly and plan on keeping it literally FOREVER, God willing...we drive that one every where and put all the mile on that one. Our Jeep wranger is also a little over a year old (bought it right our of BK too)...and we plan on keeping that one for the long haul too! That one we baby to the max! Its truly the second car! Only 3500 miles, keep it under a cover, etc. etc. No more new cars for us. When there are paid off they are ours! They are sturdy and reliable and hold value. They have room for a family, which we plan to start in the next 3 years, and the insurance is reasonable. Now don't I sound smart....lol? 5 years ago I would have been braggin about how much I LOVVEED my $750/mo lease on my beamer....but then that's part of what got me to my BK, now, isn't it?