yet another car question

[brainless twit]

Hi all,

It's been awhile since I last posted - now that the BK is finished, life has taken over and I don't have much time on the computer!

I'm considering trying to refinance the vehicle I purchased during BK. I jumped through a million hoops to get financing before discharge - I started a job an hour from home and there was no way around it - and I'm kind of sick when I think about how much money I'm wasting. I got stuck with 18% interest on a 66-month loan, and while the payment is easily manageable on my income, I feel like I'm throwing money out the window.

I now belong to the credit union at my new job, and I've thought about trying to refinance through them. I know I still won't get a stellar interest rate, but even a credit union's subprime rate is better than 18%! However, I'm nervous about even talking to them because I don't know how credit unions view BK. I would rather walk in and explain my circumstances upfront, so if they aren't able to help me, I can find out without having my credit pulled. But I also don't want these people to know about the BK unless there's a good chance I'll qualify for a loan - this is a small company, and confidentiality isn't exactly upheld like it should be.

So, have any of you been able to borrow from a credit union since discharge? We did include an auto loan in our BK, but it was through a completely different credit union in a different part of the state. I would be willing to have the payment automatically deducted from my paycheck if it would help. I'm not looking to lower the payment - I just want to shorten the loan.

[SinkingFast]

Hubby had a job with a CU that we joined back eons ago. They offered better interest rates on car loans and such than we could get at banks.

Then we found out that one of the people on the Loan Advisory Committee was the Manager of the Dept next door to Hubby's group.

We never took a loan from them because we did not want them knowing our business. And that's when we had good credit.

Personally, I'd try CapOne or Road Loans and see what they offer. Last I saw a rate quote from CapOne posted here, it was something like 10.95% coming right out of BK.

You've already established yourself making on time payments to another Secured Lender with your current car loan. Maybe that will count for something and you'll get an even better quote than 10.95%.

[CATCHMEIFYOUCAN]

I bought a new car (2006 Hyundai Sonata) just before I filed and got financed with the dealers finance company at 9.9%. When my case was discharged I applied to CapOne just to see what I could get. They offered 12.5% I guess NOT BAD coming out of BK, but I didn't take the loan - why pay more 2.5% more??? !!!

Best Of Luck, Catchmeifyoucan

[brainless twit]

I had a CapOne card that we included in our BK, so that's not really an option for me. I don't know what to do - I don't want to spend the next 5 years paying 18% interest, but I also don't want a bunch of inquiries pulling down my meager credit score. And I certainly don't want people I work with to know how bad my credit is!!!

You know, I hear a lot of people saying how easy it must be now that we filed, because we magically don't have to pay back all that debt. I wish they knew how scary it is to apply for credit when (1) you don't want to fall back into old habits and (2) you know you probably won't be approved. I may have someone call the credit union anonymously and ask if they loan to employees who have BK in their not-so-distant past.

[brainless twit]

update...

I decided to apply through Road Loans just to see what would happen.

APPROVED! Up to $17,000 (way more than I need to pay off my loan), 10.95% interest (sucky but a huge improvement from 18%), and I can keep my payment the same but pay my car off in 48 months instead of the 63 I have left on the original loan!

I also get a free XM satellite radio, something my husband has wanted for a long time. So it worked out for the best!