What to do with a GM Smart Buy?

[krafty79]

Greetings. This is my first post and I'm prepping to file by the end of the month. Part of me is relieved and part of me is terrified.

I'm a single mom with a 4 year old daughter and a 2 year old son who just wants to start fresh. I hate not paying my debts but there's no light at the end of this tunnel.

Couple questions. I have a 2007 Impala that I'm in a Smart Buy on. I'm on a 48 month deal for 60000 miles but I'm in month 15 and have 30000 miles on it. So I already know I'm going to overrun the miles and I'd planned on financing out the remainder of the balance when I hit the end of my 48 month term. That will be about $9000 in 3 years or so. When I bought it, my commute was 6 miles round trip. Now it's 80.

If I did let the car go, what are my chances of getting another one right now? I can't really get a POS with the drive I make, plus it HAS to be reliable since I've got the 2 little ones. I'm the only one they and I can rely on to get us where we need to be.

I've NEVER paid late on my car or on my last car, or heck, any cars. Before my divorce, my credit was freakin' perfect.

What are everyone's thoughts? Thanks so much for your time, this forum has been a lifesaver for me.

[liz417]

Are you planning to file ch 7 or 13?

[krafty79]

Smart Buy

I'm filing a Chapter 7. Ideally, I'd like to get rid of the car and be rid of the payment because it's $400 a month, but then I'd have to find something else to drive. Therein lies the problem.

[keepmine]

Your chances of financing a car at this point depend on your income and credit score.
About all you can do is start investigating your options.

[TheBrokeCouple]

We had a similar situation as yours. We had purchased a van that had a payment of 434.00 per month. When we realized a year later that we couldn't afford that hefty payment, we went out shopping for another van.

We found another van, same year, mostly the same options, for 12,000 dollars less than what we owed on our other van. We gave a story to the dealer that we were "selling" our other van to my parents and purchasing this one as it was more affordable. Even with a 19% rate on the 4 year loan, our payment ended up being 324.00 per month. WHAT a savings for us. We then let the other van go back to the bank. We did this about 6 weeks prior to filing for our chapter 7. The trustee didn't even blink an eye, and it worked out great for us.

You might consider shopping now while your credit will still allow you to buy something else.

The Broke Couple