AZ Vehicle Question Teen sons

[azlatin5]

We are going to file Ch13 soon. My oldest son is 15 and 6 months. We have a Honda Pilot that is $620 a month and a Sienna minivan that is 6 years old paid for worth about $5000.
Couple Questions...
1. Should we trade in the Sienna prior to filing 13. If so what will trustee say about that? Also, what would be an acceptable amount to spend on a newish car to replace the van?
2. Can we buy our son a car for say $3000 to get to and from school/work?
3. Will they allow us to include the insurance amount we WILL be paying when he turns 16 in August?

This site is great! Thanks in advance for any help.
thanks!~

[lrprn]

1. Should we trade in the Sienna prior to filing 13. If so what will trustee say about that? Also, what would be an acceptable amount to spend on a newish car to replace the van?

Your Sienna is six years old now. If you have a 5-year plan, then the car will be eleven years old by the time you are discharged. Most cars - especially American-made cars - will not last that long without needed major repairs of some kind.

If your credit is currently at a level where you can finance a good, reliable, new-to-you car, then you should seriously consider doing so. Ask your lawyer (if you've retained one) which lenders in your area are credit-friendly.

As for your trustee, turning in an older car for a newer one is frequently done before filing Ch 13. As long as you aren't going crazy buying a luxury car, you should be fine.

2. Can we buy our son a car for say $3000 to get to and from school/work?

This depends on how your local court sees extra cars for other licensed drivers in the family. This is a great question to ask your lawyer.

Btw, is your son working at an after-school or weekend job now or will he be by the time you file?

3. Will they allow us to include the insurance amount we WILL be paying when he turns 16 in August?

Assuming that your lawyer says the third car is ok, if you are asking if you can add the extra insurance costs that will start in August right now when you file, the answer is no. You can list the insurance premium you pay up to the day you file - that's it.

Can you wait to file until August so you can include the higher insurance costs for your son? How much do you anticipate your insurance going up when he starts to drive independently?

[LVGyrl]

I'm interested in how this turns out for you. We are going to file soon. I have a 17 year and a 14 year old. Yesterday we traded in our 1997 Ford F150 and bought a 2010 Dodge Avenger. That leaves us with a 2005 Camry and 1999 Suburban. We owe 100% value on the suburban.

I truly think think is the repsonsible thing to do so you don't end up with thousands of dollars in car repairs during your chapter 13. My lawyer agreed.

The newer the better. Just to get you through the next five years. And I would wait to file until you have added your son onto the insurance. Our insurance jumped by $2000 a year when we added our son on.

[bkstuff]

car and insurance

Yikes....$2000 a year extra for insurance?! We have not filed yet but are likely to in the next couple of months. We also have one teen that will be 15 soon (to take drivers Ed) and another one who is 2 years later. If we have a 5 year plan, that could be some major changes in insurance rates during those last 3 years! Guess I better talk about that when we meet with attorneys.

[azlatin5]

yeah, my boys are 15, 14 and 13... just to ADD him on our current vehicles is $1700 a year with a 4.2GPA discount!!! its crazy

[optimistic1]

They are the highest risk category for accidents, see below.

http://www.insureme.com/auto-insurance/teen-car-insurance

[NoMoreCards]

I have had 2 teenagers to insure to drive the family cars. This advice was from my insurance agent, and it saved me LOTS of money through the years.
My best friend is also a insurance agent and she agrees with this advice.

List the teenager as the primary driver of the oldest, least valued vehicle. Cover that car for the bare minimum of coverage. It does not matter what vehicle the teen actually drives, as they will be insured. At one point, I had my teen listed as primary driver of a car that would not even run, but it saved me from having the teen as a primary driver of a much newer vehicle.

Today, I am primary driver on my 20 year old daughters 08 civic, and she is primary driver of my 93 Gran Marquis.