Made the necessary leap!

[boomerkae]

My attorney did the same - hinted if we needed a car it would be time PRIOR. We waited, but my car ended up having to costly issues to fix, and we had to buy a new car (we went used) then filed about 2 motnsh later. Why buy a brand new car as you noted? Get something used - but newer model. It will help with the payments.

As for the cards, we stopped paying about August. I told them I was filing when they called, and they all stopped calling. We didn't fil until late Dec. They will want to know what chapter and a case number, but I just told them I didn't have it then.

Good luck - I've gotten a lot of answers and support here, and am glad to finally be able to answer someone else to start returning the favor!

[PhantomPain]

boomerkae - Thanks for the input. Yeah, I was thinking used as well but it needs to last at least 6 yrs which will cover me through the 60mths of the 13 and the credit repair afterward. That being the case, a certified used car may work and I could save a couple of 1000 but financing a new one will allow me to have lower payments for that 5 or 6 years along with a warranty.

Thanks for the best wishes.

[papie]

you probably wouldn't be able to keep 3 vehicles especially since your son will not require car for another year or so... ... the reality is that a car with 125K miles will not last you through the whole 60 months without requiring some type of major repair... your budget will simply not allow for a $500-$1000 repair..

I filed BK with four vehicles, two that had car loans, and I kept all of them. No questions asked.

I was told by my lawyer that trustees really don't care about multiple vehicles unless they have a very large worth (he implied "newer luxury cars.") The two vehicles we had that didn't have loans are worth very little.....perhaps a few thousand each. The two financed cars are what we drive to work (120 mile round trip for both of us each day, smaller cars, good gas mileage), an old truck we use for hauling and driving in the snow (we live in the middle of nowhere), and a small older car my niece will start using when she gets her license this year.

I don't think they're going to have an issue with you old car that's not worth much, if your lawyer has high recs, I would trust her judgement.

[momofthree]

You can probably keep the 3rd car since there is no payment on it. If you can't exempt it, then it will just be a non-exempt asset that you're keeping--you're allowed to do that in a ch.13. It simply creates a minimum that your unsecured creditors have to receive over your plan term. So, if the car is worth $3300 and you have no other non-exempt assets, you'd have to pay in at least $3300 over 60 months. Your plan probably has them receiving much more than that, so it should be a non-issue.

Keep in mind, however, that you most likely will not be able to claim additional operating expenses on it for your schedule J. You'll just have to find room in your budget to pay for the upkeep. Your car insurance probably won't be questioned though. We kept 3 vehicles and our auto insurance wasn't questioned though we were insuring all of them.

[PhantomPain]

Got the new car yesterday. Additionally got Gap Insurance and extended the bumper to bumper to 6yrs/84K miles to carry me through. Wonder if it's worth it to buy an additional 3yr bumper to bumper for our other 1.5 yr old CRV at a cost of $1600. Feel dirty and underhanded doing this but short of the CRV and a fridge, haven't bought anything new in this household in 6 yrs beside the occasional clothes & small items. I'm starting to feel like "Whatever!" because there have been worse things in life.....losing a baby...7hr brain tumor surgery for wife...losing leg in train accident...no chocolate in house.

Signed Agreement for Legal Services for attorney this morning. Blocked another phone number from Discover. (The worst!)