buy here pay here car loan

[lookin4info]

We have a car loan through a buy here, pay here, company. We pay monthly, and of course have not missed a pmnt because I'm afraid they will just show up and take the car. Is this type of loan treated differently than a car loan that goes through a financial institution. Would telling them we are filing mean anything to them, or would they just sneak up in the middle of the night and take it? Would we have any protection?

Also, just wondering if this would work. We are looking to get another car with lower pmnts, but one that goes through and reports to a bank. We are then wanting to make those payments outside the plan and keep this car. We are guessing that would help some on our credit report to show that we
made the monthly pmnts on time. The car we have now would go back to the buy here pay here place. If we aren't able to get another car, we will just continue to pay for this one.

Thanks for any ideas!

[papa0881]

they normally dont do credit checks at all. least around here. i highly doubt.

around here they always advertise even if you filed bankruptcy or are in bankruptcy your approved.

[researchnerd]

Not 100% sure, but I think the buy here-pay here lenders are bound by the same rules as any other lenders when it comes to BK. Telling them you're filing may not help much if you have missed payments, but once you file you will be protected from repo as long as the debt is included in the plan. But it sounds like you want to give that car up anyway, so I'm a little confused by your question.

Whether or not your car is included in the plan varies by jurisdiction. I did not want to include my car in my Ch13 (I was current on payments and intended to stay that way) but it was required by the trustee.

I don't think you have anything to gain from surrendering your current car and getting a new car at a bank that reports to the CRAs. Giving your car back to the lender counts as a repo and will hurt your credit until it falls off your report (ask me how I know this), and once you enter BK the bank that was reporting may or may not continue to do so. Any benefit your credit score gets from the CRAs reporting would likely be cancelled out by the voluntary repo. IMO, if you file BK you just have to stop caring about your credit score until you're discharged.