Question regarding car purchase

[rjmwx81]

I had been saving up for an attorney to file a Ch. 7, but my car's transmission died. I have to have a vehicle for work, so I sold the old car for scrap and financed a replacement vehicle, with the $1000 I had saved up for an attorney being used instead as the down payment on the car.

I'm now starting to get a little more pressure from my creditors and feel like I should file very soon. Obviously I'll have to do this pro se. My question is, will the recent new car loan (not a new car, bought a used vehicle) cause a problem with the trustee? I plan to reaffirm it; didn't get the best deal in the world but it does fit in my budget. I haven't even made the first payment yet. Do I need to wait a bit to file?

[tcreegan]

car loan OK

Hello rjmwx81,

If you are selling your old car for scrap, it is probably a pretty safe assumption you aren't buying a used Ferrari.....

Lots of folks do exactly what you did, often on the advice of their attorney. As long as it is not a luxury auto you are fine.

Since you mentioned going pro-se, do you know about the NOLO Bankruptcy Guide? It is a highly recommended book for pro-se filers. www.nolo.com

Good luck with everything,

Tom in Colo

[rjmwx81]

Yep, plan on giving the Nolo book a THOROUGH reading before filing.

[rjmwx81]

The other question I have though, is since I haven't even made the first payment to the lender yet (it's due Oct 12), do I need to wait to file? Or does it matter since I'm going to reaffirm anyway?

[justbroke]

You may want to put some time between the purchase. Generally though, unless the auto loan creditor messed up with submitting the TITLE, it would cause no grief. However, if the title is done or not properly done, it can cause headaches for you and your lender! (If the title is not perfected before filing, then the car is "free and clear" of the lien and the Trustee could seek to take the car and sell it for the creditors!)

What type of pressure are you talking about? Just calls? Calls are not threatening. It's only when you actually receive the lawsuit and it's served on you. Otherwise, it's all talk. LOL.

[rjmwx81]

As far as the "pressure" the volume of calls has increased substantially, leading me to think legal action might not be far behind.

[justbroke]

As far as the "pressure" the volume of calls has increased substantially, leading me to think legal action might not be far behind.

That's not pressure. That's standard collection tactics! If you're at 2-4 calls a day, you are just in "heavy" collections.

How far past due are you?

[rjmwx81]

These are generally old debts that have been through several collection agencies. But the upswing in calls and letters has been rather dramatic in the past few weeks.