How to get a car half way through?

[BookGoddess]

Hi, I am fairly new here and am having trouble using the search feature to help me find help with this though I have been trying.

In short, we are half way through our plan and our van that is 10 years old, on the plan though it was paid off first on the plan, and 210,000 miles is on it's last leg. It is all we have and we need something... so if it is costing more to fix then it is worth what can we do? Clearly we have horrible credit, little emergency fund, and no family help.

With the exception of this one issue things have been livable and we are excited to be half way done. Just so stuck with this one issue.

(getting a $500 junker with three kids and a shock baby coming this spring with a husband that might deploy in the next year leaving me with no help, 3k miles from home, and no one to rescue me and the kids if we break down is not an option. We need something reliable and big!)

[tigergem]

Are you pro se or did you file with an attorney? If you used an attorney you really should talk to your attorney.

But if you filed pro se, I know this information is hard to find and sometimes harder to understand.

I posted a form that I found with instructions on my blog at

http://www.bkforum.com/blog.php?b=283

Presumably US Bank might help you with financing if you can afford that. Or you might try a buy here pay here kind of car dealership. I'm not sure what to suggest, really. Of course, I don't recommend incurring more debt when you are trying to get out of it.

But good luck anyway.

[BookGoddess]

Thank you for that. I wish that could be a sticky some place!

[woeisme]

we had the same problem, old car with real high miles. we talked to lawyer and she submitted paperwork to modify our plan so that $300/month would go to a car payment. we went to one of those buy-here-pay-here places, got a minivan for $7500, and will actually have it paid off before our CH 13 ends. We had to have a decent downpayment, $2500, but we were allowed to keep our tax refund so used that to pay the downpayment. Good luck!

[13inIN]

We're about to try the same thing. My car is causing constant bleeding of the wallet now and I'm tired of it. It was paid in full early in the plan with no modification, so title should be clear to receive. I'm seeking approval to just pull a 401k loan to outright purchase rather than pay someone outrageous interest.

[optimistic1]

Do a buy here pay here place, but shop around for the place that takes the lowest down payment and best warranty.

Get a Carfax history on the car, and check the reviews for reliability on the web too.

One dealer is DriveTime, lots of bad reviews on the web about them, but if you need a car bad, this is the place.

[ccfriend]

Even if you get approved and have a high interest rate when you husband deploys under the Soldier Sailor Relief Act you creditors have to lower any interest rates to 6 %. You will need to send a letter to the creditor and copies of orders but it is really nice to have that protection. His name will have to be on the loan though.