New Car Bought!

[Carmella]

Finally, we are a TWO car family! No more driving Mr. Carmella!

We saved up $6,000 for a down payment and bought a Chevy Spark. It's a little compact car and is just what we need.

The recently Discharged BK 13 was not a problem at all. We were approved through GM for a loan, the only negative is the interest at 6.76% which honestly is not that awful compared to horror stories of double-digit interest rates.

We ended up with a 2022. Similar to a lot of cars they are not easy to find. Initially we were going for a used car they located in another state. But then they found 3 new cars about 3 hours away, still in the state. 2 were already sold, by the time they contacted me, and we were fortunate to get the last one.

The loan is in both my husband's and my name. Our credit scores that the dealership found (not sure which type they are) were Me: 685 and Husband: 650 We are about 5 months post discharge.

The saleswoman tried to plant the seed for me to get another car. After I foolishly said I didn't like my car, wasn't going to keep it too long. She would have let me trade it in then and there! I was antsy/feeling the temptation after I got home. Trade in/same payment! But then I came back to reality. Yes, I will want to trade it in because it's not something I want. It's purely psychological. I think it harbors bad memories of the accident which will have it's year anniversary in about 2 weeks. And the stress of dealing with a traumatic collision/thankful no one was seriously injured but dealing with it during BK and trying to get a new car and the effects of the pandemic to find a BK and bank and trustee friendly car!!!

But still, I hear my dad saying, "December is the best time to get a good deal on a car!" But then I come back to reality because it's still pandemic times.

I also plan to have a down payment which I don't at the moment. I do want to get a small SUV, so we have one compact car and one larger car. But I won't approach that until the earliest in the spring or next fall. If I read it right the amount, we owe on this car is the same as the Blue Book Value.

[justbroke]

Congratulations. Don't be surprised by that interest rate since most interest rates, outside manufacturer specials on 36-48 months loans, are over 5%. Most credit union loans are over 4.75% for a new car up to 48 months. If you go to 72-84 months, then it is over 6.05%!!! So you did not do bad.

Remember, the interest rates have been creeping up slowly. The prime lending rate is 6.25% right now (the average overall lending rate), based on the Fed Lending Rate of 3.25%.

So don't feel bad at all for that rate!

I didn't want to, but I bought a new car. First car payment since 2016. It's weird. I did buy an EV to get the rebate and spent WAY MORE MONEY than I have ever spent on a car. We'll see how this works out. My old cars were a 2003 and a 2012. I traded in and put down $15K... and my payment is still remarkable. Nice thing, I switched insurance companies and my insurance went from $2,200/year to $1,000/year. So that savings is offsetting the car payment.

[Barbisi]

Carmella, it's abought time, LOL!
Tremendous congratulations and to hopefully make you feel better about your APR, we currently have a little over 8% on my Toyota Corolla, and we put down a full 20K! So, you got a very good rate after all.
justbroke, we will have to think about trading in both of our current or future cars for EVs by 2035 when Washington state is scheduled to outlaw the sale of new gas-powered vehicles. I think if I understand correctly, everyone here will only be able to buy/sell used conventional cars. They are following California's and New York's lead.
Of course, if we decide to relocate somewhere else, then this deadline might not apply to us.

[Barbisi]

Carmella , about not liking your Senta, it's no wonder with the history of how you had to settle during the bk13 on a less than stellar brand, Nissan, that you don't actually favor this vehicle.
Remember, we chose my ex- Sentra many moons ago when we had good credit and did find the styling and features met our particular taste (at that time).
Of course, after BK13 began in 2017 and the geriatric senior more then met its natural end of life cycle, the only reason I had to keep driving it was the bankruptcy itself.
I think you are in a great position to trade in this not too old car in Spring 2023 and hopefully get exactly what you want in a CUV then.
Unfortunately, we just couldn't wait until next year because both cars were just too unreliable and old to drive safely in an unfamiliar terrain with notoriously gridlocked traffic.
We are well rid of them and grateful we had the resources after the home sale and paid relocation to make our dreams of newer cars a concrete reality.

[Carmella]

Carmella , about not liking your Senta, it's no wonder with the history of how you had to settle during the bk13 on a less than stellar brand, Nissan, that you don't actually favor this vehicle.
Remember, we chose my ex- Sentra many moons ago when we had good credit and did find the styling and features met our particular taste (at that time).
Of course, after BK13 began in 2017 and the geriatric senior more then met its natural end of life cycle, the only reason I had to keep driving it was the bankruptcy itself.
I think you are in a great position to trade in this not too old car in Spring 2023 and hopefully get exactly what you want in a CUV then.
Unfortunately, we just couldn't wait until next year because both cars were just too unreliable and old to drive safely in an unfamiliar terrain with notoriously gridlocked traffic.
We are well rid of them and grateful we had the resources after the home sale and paid relocation to make our dreams of newer cars a concrete reality.

Barbisi a few of the sales people at the Chevy dealership were commenting on the Sentra. I know it could be ploy to make me want to buy one of their cars, but they seemed like they would like to get their paws on the Sentra.

I cleaned out the car, it wasn't really dirty just a few papers, etc to be tossed out and I want to give it a good inside cleaning/vacuuming before it gets too cold outside. I figure I should keep it in good condition for resale. I need to go to the carwash more often. A new carwash opened up around the start of the pandemic in my neighborhood. It's an automatic one where you stay in the car. The other option fairly close to home you got out of the car and it went thru without a driver in it. They tore down that place and are building a Rainforest Car Wash. I googled it and it will look like a cave. I thought what a gimmick. I told my daughter and her boyfriend and he was like "I got to go there!" Sure I will probably want to drive thru just to do it, but I don't think it will be enough incentive for me to drive a little further from home.

[Carmella]

justbroke Congrats on your new car. Let us know how you like the EV. I don't think EV are ready for Ohio! I do see a few Telsas here and there, but from what I read the climate might not be the best. I think it's a great idea that needs a little more refinement if what I read is true about cold weather.