Just filed.... Car offers in the mail?

[debtmonster]

I know it's insane DM. I actually got the Mustang at X Plan pricing, but I traded in the two '01 vehicles before the Mustang within 24 mos of each other. That's how I ended up so upside down. Balance carry overs...

Not sure what to do at this point. I filed for 7, so who would finance me right now? And... If someone does, do I just drop the Mustang off at the bank?

But... Without the $629 a month payment, I don't get past the means test.

:sigh:

I am in the same boat. Don't give the car back yet. Right after you file, you have the automatic stay and should be able to keep it for at least 60 days. Go to all of those web sites above right after you file and see if you can finance another car.

My BMW SUV is $740/mo. I bought it brand new with no trade in. I was making almost a 6-figure household income at the time. Now I'll be lucky if I make $40k this year gross. More likely in the lower $30k's with this economy... if I am lucky.

I'm going to be 2 payments behind this month. Instead of paying the $740 payment, I'm using the money to pay off my attorney's retainer. I am keeping the SUV in the garage so that the repo man can't take it so that way I can include it in the means test as well.

[jeb]

Guess I'll be pouring another $1500 into repairs for a car worth 1k to keep it running for another year.

That comes out to $125.00/mo - WAY less than ANY car payments. - jb

[blankslate]

140k miles on a Kia Sephia is a lot. The car wasn't put together that well in the first place. Only one seatbelt in the back is functioning, one of the doors is permanently locked thanks to a stupid prowler who doesn't know how to properly use a slim jim. The dash was glued together and is coming apart. There are large screws that just fall out when I hit a bump in the road that I don't know what their purpose was. The doors never quite sealed when closed so rain and carwashes leak down the windows. The trunk is full of mold. $1500 is a low estimate of what needs to be done. The car has served me well over the years and I only paid $2k for it in the first place, cash. It needs new shocks, a new drive shaft, new rotors, new belts and new tires. About every two years I get soaked for maintenance stuff and it keeps plugging along. I always imagine one day I'll hit a bump in the road and be left with just a steering wheel in my hand as the rest of the car falls apart.

I'm not looking at getting a brand new vehicle, just a decent used one for under $10k. Preferably one that can be paid off before it starts to need the big replacements. As soon as the bk is over I'm going to start putting small amounts into the credit union through my job into a savings account. After six months of making timely payments on a car I can refinance since it's such a low amount and get a better interest rate.

[debtmonster]

Yeah, those Kia Sephia's are made VERY poorly. I've seen a bunch of those once they were all a few years old. The plastic and everything is very brittle once it's out in the sun.

I've been hitting Autotrader.com and calling a Dodge dealer to see what new cars would go for. My dad can get me his employee discount at Dodge and he "thinks" that I can buy a brand new PT Cruiser (probably a 2008 model vs. a 2009) for close to $10,000 after his discount and any rebates. I find it hard to believe that's possible.

I've been looking at different numbers on the payment calculator on here:

https://www.drivercredit.com/calculator.php

I am assuming that any place I finance through will be 24% interest. That's what U.S. Bank told me.

According to that calculator (which I am not sure how correct it can be)

If I were to finance a car and put a small amount down and say the amount financed was $11,500:

$431/mo. for 36 mo.
$358/mo. for 48 mo.
$316/mo. for 60 mo.

I bought the Saturn I have now for $17k with 0 down @ 5.9% and the payments are $309 for 72 months.

I have almost 30,000 miles left on the drivetrain warranty which I will blow through in no time once I get a job.

The Dodge cars have the lifetime warranty.

I was also considering a Jeep Patriot or Compass. I really hate these kind of cars, but for the money for a brand new SUV that gets decent gas mileage, it's hard to find anything that's not used. I'd rather have a brand new car for close to $10k as opposed to a used car for $10k.

My dad was telling me about the $4500 rebates. That's a lot. Anyway, I'm not doing anything right now. I am just researching it and considering options. We need an SUV and we need something reliable. I know most of the SUV's used out there will require timing belts to be replaced and other very expensive maintenance that everyone tends to neglect. Nobody wants to spend $300-600 on timing belts so they trade the vehicle in right before that time.

[blankslate]

That actually is realistic for the PT Cruiser. That's exactly the vehicle I'm looking at. Small enough to fit into parking space in L.A. and roomy enough inside to carry things including my dog. Not much oomph in the engine, if you open the hood you'll see the 4 exhausted hamsters running in their cylinders ;) It gets about the same mpg as my kia too. I rented one a few years ago for a week and was pretty happy with it.

I'm working with a local dealer. As soon as my case is reopened he has the funding for me and is actually going to get the PT from another lot. There are quite a few 07's and 08's for under 10k that have under 20k miles on them. I have no problems with investing in a new belt for that.

It's amazing what you can give up when you are forced to. The current state of the economy is nothing new to me, I've been living like this for the past 6 or 7 years. I dream about what it would be like to have a car with 4 working doors and my daughter being able to sit in any seat she wants because all of the seat belts work. LOL.

[debtmonster]

Yeah, I showed my wife and she said it was ugly. She isn't realistic as me. That vehicle is VERY practical and would suit all of our needs PERFECTLY. If you get the manual, the car is quite peppy.

I am also considering the Jeep Patriot, but they give it a lot of poor ratings door to poor construction. They said even with the 2009 changes, the vehicle is still made very cheap.

Right now I am just exploring all of my options. Nothing is set in stone. I won't know what I will do until the last possible minute. If worst comes to worst, I may just end up doing a 722 Redemption and keeping the car I have. The engine runs absolutely perfect. The only thing wrong is the drive side window motor burned out and since I went WAY past 36,000 miles, it isn't covered under the basic 3-yr/36,000 mile warranty. The 100,000 mile warranty only covers the engine and transmission which basically NEVER go bad. It's everything else that falls apart in a car... the A/C, window motors, suspension and tons of other things they never have to cover in a warranty. How often do you see a car throw a rod? And if the transmission goes out, that's your own fault for now doing the transmission flush every 30,000 miles like you're supposed to. I don't know ANYONE who ever spends money doing a transmission flush. When my car had only 3,000 miles on it (a month or so after I bought the vehicle), I went ahead and put Amsoil transmission fluid. I've seen a vehicle go a 1,000,000+ miles on the same transmission without a rebuild with that stuff. That's virtually unheard of with automatic transmissions. That's what scares me so much about buying USED. Nobody goes through the extremes that I do in maintenance. I know I could easily put 500,000 miles on my car if I wanted to... if I could deal with all of the shocks wearing out, A/C compressor going or the water pump... all which can be fixed.

Good luck with the PT!!
Let us know how it goes.

[blankslate]

That's why I like standards much better. It's far cheaper to replace the clutch and transmission than it is for an automatic and they last longer. I also get much better performance with a standard.

I don't think the PT is ugly but I guess some people really hate the look of them. They are very practical in size and how the space on the inside is utilized. I don't like SUV's at all.

Stay away from the Jeep. They're getting bad ratings for a reason. I almost bought one when I ended up with my current Kia instead. I'm sure that Jeep would've been dead a long time ago.

Have your wife test drive the PT. She might change her mind To be honest, I really wanted a MINI Cooper but the price of them even used is still too high. Then I found out the cost of maint. and repair is the same as a BMW. Cute as it may be, just not the car for me financially. I had a new Beetle when those first came out and the sames things that are happening to your vehicle happened to mine after 2 years. Window came off it's track and all sorts of things were going wrong that were really expensive to repair. Even the tires were $120 each. To me if it runs, all doors and seatbelts work, it doesn't leak and the stereo works consistently THAT is a luxury vehicle!

[debtmonster]

Yeah, my sister's friend had a new Beetle and it had tons of electrical problems. I am leaning more towards a 2005 or newer Honda Pilot. I will have to drive up to 500 miles to buy one since nobody local has any deals that come close to what I can find in the big cities. I think the 2005 is the first year they came out with stability control. It would be nice to get AWD in the event I have to move north where it snows. I love the AWD BMW. The tires NEVER squeal under hard driving or launches. The car just GRABS and GOES. It runs PERFECT in the rain. All of the 2WD vehicles I've driven in the rain drive so poorly. I drove a friend's 2006 Honda Odyssey in the rain and that thing was ALL OVER the place. I can drive as very high speeds in the BMW in the WORST of all rainstorms and that thing sticks like glue. That thing is very safe to be in. It just absolutely SUCKS that they cost many times more for repairs.

And yeah, those Mini's or nice, but they can KEEP THEM for what they want for a used one. NO THANKS. Not practical for us. Either a Acura MDX or Honda Pilot (both have the same engine.) If I find the same year Pilot and MDX and the MDX is only $500 more, I'll take it... but it all depends "IF" the redemption loan places will even finance me. I may be stuck with sedan for many years to come.

Right now this is just "wishful thinking" as I am exploring options. Or if worst comes to worst, I can just keep paying my car as I've been doing and don't do anything other than go to court and complete the Ch. 7.

[BillyRip]

How about using Ford's X Plan pricing? I can get a new Mustang for $20K. Would that be acceptable to the trustee IF I got financed?

[debtmonster]

I don't like Fords. You'd be better off buying a 2 to 4 year old car. That Mustang will be worth $10k in 2 years. You'd lose $10k right off the top. Let somebody else eat that depreciation.

http://www.daveramsey.com/etc/cms/why_buy_a_used_car_5153.htmlc

Print that out and re-read it any time you think about buying a brand new car. That is an eye opener.

I need to keep re-reading that page so I can get these "new cars" out of my mind.

[outsidetool]

I know it's insane DM. I actually got the Mustang at X Plan pricing, but I traded in the two '01 vehicles before the Mustang within 24 mos of each other. That's how I ended up so upside down. Balance carry overs...

Not sure what to do at this point. I filed for 7, so who would finance me right now? And... If someone does, do I just drop the Mustang off at the bank?

But... Without the $629 a month payment, I don't get past the means test.

:sigh:

I recently went through this with a car loan also: way upside down on a 2006 truck that I'd bought new. Filed Ch7 and immediately my mailbox was also filled with offers. My truck payment was $800/m! (I could make the payment until recently when my wife bought a new house; 'nother story). Anyway, early on my attorney told me to dump the truck and get something else to simply reduce my monthly payment. I pointed out to him that it made no sense to me that I could do that and still stay in Ch 7 (my means test was way borderline due to expenses of my wife who did not file). My atty told me "it's a game, and that's what I do is play the game." Essentially we waited until the 'end game' when the Trustee decided not to pursue my means test issues, and then I simply did not sign any reaffirmations, atty informed the creditor on the truck that I wanted to return it. I went and bought another car, just a little 2005 Dodge. Nothing down. Is my interest rate high? Hell yes. Should it be at this point after filing a BK? Hell yes. But my payment is $390/m and I get twice the gas mileage and cheaper insurance. For me it was worth it. Also, the new car loan is being reported to the credit bureaus and my credit score is already at least on the upswing. It's a decision you'll have to make, but my understanding at least in my case was that the situation with the means test and a lower payment can be worked around.

[debtmonster]

I recently went through this with a car loan also: way upside down on a 2006 truck that I'd bought new. Filed Ch7 and immediately my mailbox was also filled with offers. My truck payment was $800/m! (I could make the payment until recently when my wife bought a new house; 'nother story). Anyway, early on my attorney told me to dump the truck and get something else to simply reduce my monthly payment. I pointed out to him that it made no sense to me that I could do that and still stay in Ch 7 (my means test was way borderline due to expenses of my wife who did not file). My atty told me "it's a game, and that's what I do is play the game." Essentially we waited until the 'end game' when the Trustee decided not to pursue my means test issues, and then I simply did not sign any reaffirmations, atty informed the creditor on the truck that I wanted to return it. I went and bought another car, just a little 2005 Dodge. Nothing down. Is my interest rate high? Hell yes. Should it be at this point after filing a BK? Hell yes. But my payment is $390/m and I get twice the gas mileage and cheaper insurance. For me it was worth it. Also, the new car loan is being reported to the credit bureaus and my credit score is already at least on the upswing. It's a decision you'll have to make, but my understanding at least in my case was that the situation with the means test and a lower payment can be worked around.

#1 what state are you in?
#2 what is the median income for that state?
#3 what was your annual income?
#4 what kind of Dodge did you buy? What year and how much was it? Private owner or dealer? Did you use one of the redemption loan banks on the Internet or did the dealer get the financing? What was your interest rate?

Some people consider "16%" as HIGH INTEREST. For me, I was quoted "24%". 16 would be a good deal for me at this point.

[BillyRip]

I recently went through this with a car loan also: way upside down on a 2006 truck that I'd bought new. Filed Ch7 and immediately my mailbox was also filled with offers. My truck payment was $800/m! (I could make the payment until recently when my wife bought a new house; 'nother story). Anyway, early on my attorney told me to dump the truck and get something else to simply reduce my monthly payment. I pointed out to him that it made no sense to me that I could do that and still stay in Ch 7 (my means test was way borderline due to expenses of my wife who did not file). My atty told me "it's a game, and that's what I do is play the game." Essentially we waited until the 'end game' when the Trustee decided not to pursue my means test issues, and then I simply did not sign any reaffirmations, atty informed the creditor on the truck that I wanted to return it. I went and bought another car, just a little 2005 Dodge. Nothing down. Is my interest rate high? Hell yes. Should it be at this point after filing a BK? Hell yes. But my payment is $390/m and I get twice the gas mileage and cheaper insurance. For me it was worth it. Also, the new car loan is being reported to the credit bureaus and my credit score is already at least on the upswing. It's a decision you'll have to make, but my understanding at least in my case was that the situation with the means test and a lower payment can be worked around.

Wow... I guess you hit the nail on the head. My Atty says my 7 should be a "fly through". I assume that's a good thing? I guess at that point, I'll dump the '06 and find a nice used vehicle.

I love the Mustang though.

[debtmonster]

I love the Mustang though.

I loved my Z28's that would do 0-60 in 5 to 5.2 seconds, just as well... and the would get up to 28 MPG... but I managed to live without them (I've had many.)

[IBroke]

Just curious: What kind of offers and APRs are you getting? Do they only offer beaters or actually decent rides (price-category)?