The process of buying a car during active BK13

[Carmella]

I was intimated by the process to get a car. Fortunately it seems with a totaled car the process can be easier.

The dealership was able to find a loan for me which is 13.7% as opposed to 20%. The bank requested information including the court order to incur debt.

I sent the info to my attorney who has made a motion with the court. There is a time period for objections. The attorney's office told me it could be next week I get the ok. I was relieved since their paperwork says it could take 60 days. I imagine that would be in the case of objections.

I hope that the week after next I can really get the car. The hold back is that Ally Auto is dragging their feet not providing my insurance a pay off amount. I hope it will all come together based on the time frames from the attorney and the car insurance people.

The light went on in my head and I realized I could check PACER and see actual motion the attorney wrote. It listed the model/year of the car and the cost with the clause "Or similar vehicle" that makes me feel better because I don't know if they are holding that car for me. They also noted the car payment is similar to the previous payment and we have 100% payback so it won't effect the BK payment. Reading it made me feel that it should go through without any serious objection.

I don't know how quickly PACER updates, but next Thurs is the date objections would have to be in so I will check to see if anything is there and that way I might end up knowing before the attorney sends me the paperwork.

I will also call the salesman because it all comes together within the next week or so I might be able to have a car before the insurance loaner car benefits run out and then I don't have to pay out of pocket for a high priced rental car.

It also gives me hope to replace our 2011 once the loan is paid and we get the title. There won't be a rush, but I will know the process and can make a budget/save for down payment and have the same salesman to help us through it. It will be tight to afford another car before the end of BK, but if we have less than a year left I think we can do it.

[Carmella]

There were no objections and I am waiting for the court order before I can continue. Finding a car is difficult there just are not cars out and my limit is $20,000. There are plenty of cars that are higher priced than that. I want to stay with a dealership not a used car lot. I am looking into Hyundai now since they might have some cars and I think the safety has been better with the Elantra since 2018. I didn't like reading the history with air bag failures or cars catching on fire. I don't know if they finance with BK.

Carvana is interesting and I looked after someone mentioned it. But they are NOT BK friendly.

My first choice dealership has no cars in my price range. I will probably stop at Hyundai today the positive thing would be it's very close to my home so service would be easy enough to schedule without a long car ride.

[Carmella]

Went to Hyundai tonight. It started off strangely, but the salesman chilled out after talking to the financial lady and his manager. Maybe he hasn't done this type of transaction before, but the dealership is on top of it.

The glitch is I do not have a court order and my check from insurance doesn't clear until tomorrow. If you pray please do so that the BK court signs my order to incur debt ASAP. It's a matter of time as there were no objections. I will call the salesman tomorrow and give him a down payment once the check clears. The bank gave me a form saying when and how much of the check will clear, most of it tomorrow and the rest on the 9th.

The car dealership can hold the car for about a week. If I don't get the order I guess I will need to start over again--Please I want this order ASAP!!!

The car is 2019 with 21,000 miles and a warranty wrap up to 100,000 or 10 yrs and gap insurance. I had looked at the online inventory and did a little research. They have 3 cars of the model that fit my budget.

And I can hear shipo sigh when I say how nice the dealership is and I really like the waiting area so comfy while getting your car serviced! Obviously, I am not a car guy nor do I know any who can help with mechanical matters. It's so close to home and they have early and some later hours which makes it easier to stop before or after work.

I still miss my little Mitsubishi Mirage. It was a sweet little car and I miss being able to literally squeeze into any parking spot easily and finally be able to parallel park at my advanced age 😂 That car was a trooper and I liked having an orange car even though I didn't like people recognizing me so easily haha! After so many years of having a silver car like 99% of everyone else in the state of Ohio it was great to locate my car easily. The car drove really well in the snow and it took a beating and protected us from the wrong way 50 mph drunk driver in a 25 mile zone which had construction cones while there was a light rain at 1:30 a.m.

The payment is more than the previous car, it is a bit fancier/larger; a sedan instead of a compact car. But my phone will be paid off next month ($31/month) and in March when I get out of the contract with the cable company I will cut the cord. We can deal with a slightly higher payment fairly easily. But it still stinks because I wanted to have a car free an clear when BK was over. But we are alive and relatively well after that horrendous accident I won't complain.

[Zombie13]

Praying for you Carmella ! Hope this one pans out! And, if it does not, that should mean, with the next car you find, all the money will be in the bank, ready to go.

[Barbisi]

Sending prayers and good vibes for a successful outcome, Carmella!

[Carmella]

Update, no court order yet. I called the attorney's office and was told there's no average time frame it depends how busy the judge is and when he signs the order it could be tomorrow or it could be a few weeks. I will get the order, but who knows when. I told them the car dealership wanted to call them and she said I needed to give permission which I did. They told the car dealership maybe 2 weeks, but no guarantee on the time frame.

I hope 2 weeks is realistic since she wouldn't give me an estimate. The car salesman didn't want my down payment and of course isn't holding the car, but the loan is available for 30 days so if I get the order within the next 28 days I can still be go to go. And this interest rate was even lower 11% (it could be 13, 17 or even 20%). He was very confident that they would have a car in my price range whenever I need it. The salesman at the other dealership where I have gone for years didn't in check in with me I think he has no cars to offer. I don't have a relationship with that salesman since the two guys we worked with in the past are no longer there.

I may have to rent a car next week. I have been checking Pacer too much. I don't want to end up paying them a red cent so I am backing off. I think I will check it after work once a day. I probably don't need to check since the attorney is going to email me as soon as it's out, but I have this compulsion to check LOL.

I checked online and Ally has my loan paid in full.

It's sad I see the total amount of that loan and it is the same as the new loan I am taking out. I have to start all over on the car loan instead of being free and clear in 14 months. I know life isn't fair, but it's so disappointing that some jerk out there caused this problem. And not just me I imagine the other driver has car issues as well! I am glad we have our health, but what a ding to the finances...

[Carmella]

Good news!!! I got a car tonight!

The finance guy knows BK inside and out. I am not too crazy about the salesman he wasn't so personable, but that's ok. The finance guy made up for it. Actually I think the finance guy was the one who helped get the particular car.

There's a whole strategy to this game. They find a car that is in good shape/reliable/good record for trade in value. They couple it with the amount of the down payment so you are not going to be upside down when you drive off the lot. The bank likes this. The bank feels safe because it's in their favor if you default they can repossess and get the $ back, if there's an accident it will be paid off. They found a car and added a 3 yr warranty that will make everyone happy. And they use CPS bank who lends money to people like us who need to rebuild credit.

To make it even better since finance guy was so on top of his game I asked about a car for my husband and told him about the 2011 broken down. He thinks he would have no trouble finding my husband a car if we have a down payment and they would buy the broken down no problem even if towed in. He said make a few payments on the new to us car and get a down payment and he can find a loan and the right car. He said he thinks it would work since the car really is a necessity and it shouldn't be hard to justify it with the court.

I will follow through with my plan to get my info together after the New Year and then we can try for a loan and submit it to the attorney/court.

This is great, too, since my husband is at his wit's end not having his own car and it's been straining the marriage. It was good for him to hear the finance guy talk so positive.

I do understand they are in business to sell cars! There was a little sales pitch because he asked how far into the BK 13 we were and he said in about 2 yrs (which is will be almost a year that our BK 13 is over) we can still trade in this car at a good value (it's a 2019) and then get a Brand new car! Whatever I can't think two years into the future. Will deal with it when the time comes.

Right now having a reliable car with an affordable payment is what we need. In a few years we can have more options.

I really do miss my little orange car. That was a fun car to buy and I did enjoy it being so small because I really could park just about anywhere--no spot too small 😂 even if it did feel like driving a toy sometimes or felt like I might go airborne if it was too windy! It had great mileage and even held it's own in snow which was surprising. Well not like a big vehicle, but better than my previous 4 door hatchback or sedan!

[Barbisi]

Carmella, that is truly fantastic news! Huge congrats!!!
After all the bad breaks this BK13 has handed you this year, you are finally getting some room to breathe. That also means with this newer car you should get back most of the 1K+ you had to shell out earlier this week for the rental. I hope that finance guy can honor his word and get your husband a newer vehicle of his own too.
Maybe now you can enjoy some holiday cheer!

[Zombie13]

Carmella , heck yeah way to go!!!

[Carmella]

Thanks! I did get back $988 from the rental car. I think some of that is going towards a new dryer when the sales hit after Jan 1st. They shaved off a little bit of $ to keep me happy and so I would rate them well when I got the customer service survey. They must have pressure to get good scores on that survey. Both transactions I had with them they basically begged me to score them well. I never got a survey the first time and the man told me the survey is totally random so I may or may not get one. I did not get one yet except a little email asking it I was satisfied or not. The survey they tell me about, they ask to score them all with 5's.

Now that Christmas is over I will sit down probably next weekend and start getting my info together for my husband's car. We are planning to take money from my second job and his overtime to have a down payment of at least $1500 as recommended by the car dealership plus the trade in we get on the 2011 broken down vehicle.

My second job has been iffy since it's a more IMHO reputable nursing home who won't take in new patients if they are short staffed and unfortunately my county is in the top 3 (#3) places for Covid at this point in time!

I continue to dodge the Covid bulllet. My coworkers who were so "pro antibodies" Well, two of the three coworkers got Omicron for Christmas. Their antibodies didn't protect them. I have found some stats showing previous covid plus Pfizer vaccine gives the best protection closely followed by previous covid and Moderna. Then I believe the 2 vax plus booster.

The nursing home where I work has been hit what I consider hard with Covid again, but it's employees primarily those who are not vaccinated and at least one who was vaccinated, but not boostered. Fortunately we haven't had many nursing home patients come down with it, yet. Fingers crossed.

[shipo]

Good information, I guess since I've had the two base Pfizer vaccinations, the Pfizer booster, and COVID twice, I should be in reasonably good shape.