Really confused about what to do

[teacher]

Okay, so long story short this is just part of my Ch. 7. I have not officially filed yet, but should be doing so within 30 days.

I currently have a vehicle that is worth about $13k and I owe about $17k on it. I can't afford (get the pun?) to have any time without a vehicle, because that is the only way I can get to work.

*What I state may be 100% incorrect, I'm just going off of what I have read on here and a couple of other websites.*

1. I can reaffirm the debt, keep my vehicle, keep my payment ($412) and nothing changes.

2. I can surrender the vehicle and get (hopefully) a loan to purchase another vehicle.

3. I can get the bank to agree to sell it to for the $13k value and find a bank that will finance that.

Ideally, I think #2 would be the best idea. I can be paying for a vehicle without being upside down and get something that actually suits my needs a little more. What is more realistic?

Vehicle Info: I currently have an 06 Jeep Liberty with 62xxx miles. I would like a larger SUV. I was thinking something I can get for approx $12-13k, such as a Chevrolet Trailblaizer.

What do you think?

[StartingOver08]

I think you can get an SUV for a lot less than $12k - I did! I love the fact that my payments are small and I only have 16 payments from start to finish (12 left). I would have loved to pay cash. But I can assure you that this one will be paid off within the next 6 months and then every vehicle I get will be cash only.

Do a search. Don't get yourself in debt - you can buy quite a nice SUV for around $3500 to $7000 (big range of SUV's in that price).

[teacher]

Thanks for the reply!

I guess the main concern I have is that I would need to be able to do it really quickly. Most of the things I have read on here are about people doing this after they have been discharged, while this will be immediately after filing.

Any ideas?

[teacher]

After reading a little more, a cash car to get me through the BK and maybe let me save up is also an option.

My only fear (I'm a little OCD) is that I need to have that before this one goes back to the bank. I can't save up a lot for a junker if I'm paying for this one not to get repo'd...oooh the catch 22.

[Runnin on empty]

If you're going to surrender the Jeep, it makes no sense to keep paying on it.

[teacher]

well...i just wanted to pay for it until I file so I have a vehicle between filing and discharge

I have kind of decided to give it up, save up, buy a clunker for a while, then go from there.

[DebtEnder]

Stop paying now file in a month like ya said. They are not going to take it back inside of a month past due. Then file you will be protected by the auto stay. You could even say you intend to reaffirm the car and then haggle on the terms to delay them longer before they try to get a relief of stay. I could see you getting at least 3 months of use out of the car without payment before you even have to start worrying about it.

You'll save nearly 1500 just from the car payment it looks like, add that to any other debts you can stop paying on and you have a little pile of cash to purchase something good enough for a few months of use allowing you to save up a bigger pile until that one dies, if ever

[StartingOver08]

Wise decision teacher! As another poster pointed out, stop making those payments, you should be able to get at least 60 days and possibly 90 days before your car is repo'ed. In the meantime, save the payment and whatever else you can. By making this decision, you will see that owning a vehicle for cash is a wise plan not only now, but the future too. Good luck!

[Meh]

One other thing you may be able to do is to contact the lien holder and ask for an extension. Most companies will allow at least 2 extensions in a 365 day period. You can contact them and ask for an extension which will allow you to miss a payment without being 'late'. This allows you to pocket another car payment to use toward your new car. The extensions basically allow you to miss a payment without being late, I think the lien holder adds an additional month onto the end of your loan term. EX: If you get a loan for 48 months and use one extension, your loan term changes to 49 months. If your lien holder offers that feature, it may be able to help you a bit. You could possibly push off filing the BK until you've used up all the extensions and are `1-2 months late. Plus, as mentioned above, once you file, the automatic stay protects for vehicle through the process for potentiall another 60-90 days. I think that if you can afford to wait to file the BK, you may be able to get many months of use out of your vehcile and save up money to buy a more quality daily driver in the long run. It's just a thought, i could be way off base here, but I thought that I would contribute.