Would like to buy used car

[mikes73]

Hello!

New hear and have a question. My bankruptcy discharged in Jan 2010, 5 months later I have saved some money for a down payment and need to get a car soon..Been 3 years without one.

I would like to spend only around 5-6000 to keep my payment low as possible. See alot of peole use capital one, roadloans, or delership credit for financing but mostly on larger loans or larger dealerships. Since I am spending much less I will probably have to go the smaller car lots and look around. The smaller lots will probably be higher interest but I need to keep my payment under 150/mo. I will be bringing 1000-1500 for down payment. Just not sure where to start to look for financing and approval. Has anyone here completed a sall loan on a used car?

Thanks
Mike

[Flamingo]

Mike - you have just filed BK and are therefore a big credit risk as many find out after discharge. It will take time for you to again establish yourself to creditors as being creditworthy again. Right now, you are not. So you will be faced with higher fees and also denials as to autos and other credit you may apply for. One thing does give anyone out of a BK an edge and that is if you had previously a paid off, on time car loan with, say, Ford Credit, GMAC, etc., if you go to a dealership carrying that financing for their vehicles, your past credit with one of those companies can work in your favor as to another loan. There is no guarantee for anyone for approval, but it is a plus. You may not be able to do what you want to do due to the BK now on your credit reports for 10 years...best of luck to you!

[StartingOver08]

Go to a credit union in your area. First check to see what their underwriting guidelines are for a car, but they will do small loan and not charge you interest through the roof. In fact, their interest rates are very, very low. You have a much better chance if you move your checking and/or savings to the CU too. Make sure you tell them you have a recently discharged BK. Some CU's won't touch you until two yrs after discharge, others welcome you will open arms. This is your best choice when looking for a small loan at a reasonable rate.

Those other type of loans you are talking about have not only high interest rate, but they will restrict the age of the car/milage etc in order to push you to a much more expensive vehicle.

I have read here that many have received decent rates from Ford - check out some of the posts. However, I notice that the cars all seem to be new, therefore much more expensive than a compable used vehicle.

Of course you can do a 'buy here pay here' which is what many of those small car lots are, but the odds of getting a good deal are slim to none.

[mikes73]

thank you for the responses and input. I was reading on here for about 2 hours last night and noticed many were getting loans right after so I thought maybe I could give it a shot.

We have been paying on my wifes van with no problems for the past 3 years now. It is almost paid off so maybe that will help me out some. We have also been able to keep the house and have been paying the mortgage on time as well with no issues. I had really good credit history prior to our financial collapse this past year so hopefully my score isnt too bad.

I will check around, maybe someone will give me a chance....

thanks
Mike

[janinestewar]

Check out Mokan

Hi,

Check out the site of Mokan Autos and you can talk to someone there and ask advice as well.

[carzam]

That was the same mentality i had going in trying to buy something with a payment around 150 a month just to get my credit going and have reliable transportation. Ended up buying a 2005 honda civic with 75,000 miles for $8,800 and a monthly payment of $220 a month for 48 months(dealer told me that in order for them to finance it the car would have to be less than seven years old and less than 80,000 miles on it which are hard to come by in that price range). The hard part is finding the right car that fits the criteria the financing company demands. It is much harder to get a used car financed than a new one. Dont know the reasoning behind that because i would think it be the opposite(them wanting you to borrow smaller amount than a higher one with you just coming out of bankruptcy and supposedly being such a risk). Wish you good luck finding a car you want and getting it financed.

[bestmann]

Its hard to go wrong with either car, get one and have a blast. The most important thing to look for is build and maintenance quality. Inspect the car with a fine toothed comb for build quality and ask bout maintenance routines and receipts for parts, fluids, materials. Really question the owner and see if he or she knows what they are talking about.