Grim news for buying a car post BK

[debtmonster]

Just an F.Y.I. for those of you looking to finance a new car after filing bankruptcy:

I just got off the phone with a Hyundai dealer about 1/2 hour ago and explained to them my situation. I told them that I am in the middle of going bankrupt and will be surrendering both of my vehicles in the bankruptcy. I asked about what it would take to buy a new SUV from them. The lady told me that they would need the discharge papers and that I would need to "re-establish" yourself first and that most banks would want 25-30% down. 25-30% down on a $23,000 SUV is a substantial amount of money. So what am I supposed to drive during the entire time it takes to save up a $7,000+ down payment?

I also said, "If I had $7,000 cash, I'd buy a used car with no payments." I really don't want to buy "somebody else's problems" with a used car. I want a new car with a warranty. It's not fun having a used car and then get stuck with an unexpected $2,000 transmission bill or anything of the like. Not saying it will always happen, but it can. I've bought used cars in the past that looked and drove great during the test drive and then not long after I ended up having to do thousands of dollars of work.

As much as I don't want to, it looks like I will have to hold on to one of our cars and keep making the payments. This is very depressing.

[jessegirl]

Yeah, it sucks......Did they say even if you had the cash to put down what kind of a interest rate you are looking at?

[jribe]

i guess just buying a cheap used car would work for now, right? Then just save up what money you can each month towards that new car. There's a lot of certified used vehicles that they will give you a warranty on. Have you checked those out?

[TEW]

Just an F.Y.I. for those of you looking to finance a new car after filing bankruptcy:

I just got off the phone with a Hyundai dealer about 1/2 hour ago and explained to them my situation. I told them that I am in the middle of going bankrupt and will be surrendering both of my vehicles in the bankruptcy. I asked about what it would take to buy a new SUV from them. The lady told me that they would need the discharge papers and that I would need to "re-establish" yourself first and that most banks would want 25-30% down. 25-30% down on a $23,000 SUV is a substantial amount of money. So what am I supposed to drive during the entire time it takes to save up a $7,000+ down payment?

I also said, "If I had $7,000 cash, I'd buy a used car with no payments." I really don't want to buy "somebody else's problems" with a used car. I want a new car with a warranty. It's not fun having a used car and then get stuck with an unexpected $2,000 transmission bill or anything of the like. Not saying it will always happen, but it can. I've bought used cars in the past that looked and drove great during the test drive and then not long after I ended up having to do thousands of dollars of work.

As much as I don't want to, it looks like I will have to hold on to one of our cars and keep making the payments. This is very depressing.

so you would rather take the thousands of $$$$ in depreciation hit as you drive it off the lots???? try reading HHMs sticky about buy NEW cars.

[debtmonster]

i guess just buying a cheap used car would work for now, right? Then just save up what money you can each month towards that new car. There's a lot of certified used vehicles that they will give you a warranty on. Have you checked those out?

I need to finance something that is like no more than $500 over trade-in on KBB. Certified used cars are like $2,000-5,000 over trade-in. That's just FREE money to the dealer. Dealers rarely put any kind of money into a car when they get it as a trade-in. They pay $10-12/hr. to a guy to detail it, they do a quick inspection and throw it on the lot. My father used to work at a car dealer and did the inspections on all of the used cars. They paid him $13/hr. He told me the dealer would not spend a PENNY on any car that came in. They were so cheap on everything unless the belts were squealing or the tires were really bald.

I checked with the 722redemption.com on keeping my existing car and wiping out most of the negative-equity and they told me my interest rate would be about 24%! I'm paying 5.9% now. But I have 48 more months left. They said they would get it down to about 30 months. So that's 18 payments of $309 wiped out. I would have to quickly pay off the car I have now after a 722 redemption loan in order to not pay all of that 24% interest.

I was hoping that I could get a Hyundai for maybe 16% interest or something. The sales lady told me that the SUV I want goes for about $25k. If they did that with $0 down, my payments would be almost $550/mo. which is way more than I can afford.

All of the options look bad right now. I just wish I could get by without having a car for 6-8 months so I could save $7,000 to $10,000 CASH MONEY for a nice, used car. For $10k I have found a lot of decent cars on Auto Trader.

[debtmonster]

so you would rather take the thousands of $$$$ in depreciation hit as you drive it off the lots???? try reading HHMs sticky about buy NEW cars.

I've had problems with every single used car I've ever bought in my entire life (and I've owned almost 25 cars in my lifetime.)

I will have no choice this time but to buy USED. The problem is the time-span that it will take to save up the cash. I would need to live in my foreclosed house for about 2 years rent-free to save up the money. As long as I can do that, everything should be okay.

[peppylady]

Used Car

I bought a $500 used car I am in bk for the last 6 months. It is old but it runs good and you know what??? I gets me to point A to point B.Who Cares it might be old but it runs. I haven't even tried to get a car from a dealer they would laugh be out of there, I am too proud. I will get by with this Lumina for about a year...it runs great! It owes me nothing and the ins is dirt cheap too!! Like $40 a month!!!!

[BrokeAzzez]

I am also looking into getting another car post Bk, however I will buy a decent used car. I have bought the last two cars at Carmax and will probably go back. I have about 2000 to put down and hoping that will work. I'm a little nervous about it, but we'll see. I've heard mixed things about financing out of a Bk...some work, some don't.

[SubPrimeME]

I need to finance something that is like no more than $500 over trade-in on KBB. Certified used cars are like $2,000-5,000 over trade-in. That's just FREE money to the dealer. Dealers rarely put any kind of money into a car when they get it as a trade-in. They pay $10-12/hr. to a guy to detail it, they do a quick inspection and throw it on the lot. My father used to work at a car dealer and did the inspections on all of the used cars. They paid him $13/hr. He told me the dealer would not spend a PENNY on any car that came in. They were so cheap on everything unless the belts were squealing or the tires were really bald.

I checked with the 722redemption.com on keeping my existing car and wiping out most of the negative-equity and they told me my interest rate would be about 24%! I'm paying 5.9% now. But I have 48 more months left. They said they would get it down to about 30 months. So that's 18 payments of $309 wiped out. I would have to quickly pay off the car I have now after a 722 redemption loan in order to not pay all of that 24% interest.

I was hoping that I could get a Hyundai for maybe 16% interest or something. The sales lady told me that the SUV I want goes for about $25k. If they did that with $0 down, my payments would be almost $550/mo. which is way more than I can afford.

All of the options look bad right now. I just wish I could get by without having a car for 6-8 months so I could save $7,000 to $10,000 CASH MONEY for a nice, used car. For $10k I have found a lot of decent cars on Auto Trader.

wait... so you can just say 500 over trade in? Have you had luck with this?

[ansky0007]

I think many are in the same boat... I have to give back my current vehicle and they keep calling for it. I am waiting for the morning when I go outside and its missing to buy a used clunker. I am saving to try and get a good used certified car $12k or so but so far no one will talk to us until after discharge.

[debtmonster]

I bought a $500 used car I am in bk for the last 6 months. It is old but it runs good and you know what??? I gets me to point A to point B.Who Cares it might be old but it runs. I haven't even tried to get a car from a dealer they would laugh be out of there, I am too proud. I will get by with this Lumina for about a year...it runs great! It owes me nothing and the ins is dirt cheap too!! Like $40 a month!!!!

$40/mo. is HIGH!!

That's almost what it costs for my BRAND NEW CAR with FULL COVERAGE!

In 1996 I had an old 1989 Pontiac that was I was paying $25/mo. insurance on.

If I could pay my car off now, that's about what I would expect to pay once I drop comprehensive and collission.

The engine in that Lumina should be good. Is that the 3.1L?

But where we live, that kind of car would not work out for us. We put MAJOR miles on our cars. In under 2 years I have 68,000+ miles on my car. All groceries stores, restaurants, etc. are all over 30 miles away.

[debtmonster]

I am also looking into getting another car post Bk, however I will buy a decent used car. I have bought the last two cars at Carmax and will probably go back. I have about 2000 to put down and hoping that will work. I'm a little nervous about it, but we'll see. I've heard mixed things about financing out of a Bk...some work, some don't.

Carmax charges THOUSANDS on top of what they paid for the trade. I remember looking at a Camaro and they had a whopping $5,000 markup. That's the LAST place I would ever want to buy a car when trying to save money.

Pick out a car and go to www.kbb.com and then look at the "trade-in" price to get an idea what they paid as a trade-in. They usually offer less than what you see on KBB.

You're better off going to Auto Trader, find the car you want, then find the car with the lowest price in the area you're willing to drive to in order to pick up the car.

For example, I just found a 2004 Toyota Camry LE with 68,000 miles on Carmax's web site. They want a whopping $13,988 for this car!

I found the same exact same car with only 25,000 miles for $8,995. (A $4,993 difference in price!!!)

It didn't even take me 2 minutes to find this car.


Carmax IS A RIP OFF! STAY AWAY FROM THEM!

[debtmonster]

wait... so you can just say 500 over trade in? Have you had luck with this?

I either tell the dealer this or I look on Autotrader (like I showed in my previous post) and then I go to KBB.com to make sure the car is sold cheap. I have found a few cars to be actually sold UNDER trade-in price.

I found a 2007 Saturn Vue for $8,000 which was about $400 over trade-in. This car new 2 years ago was about $22,000.

Those are the kind of deals people should be looking for. Anytime I have a friend getting ready to plop down and pay $4,000 for some 10 year old beater with 100,000 to 150,000 miles on it, I have to stop them from doing that. If you're willing to drive up to 500 miles, you can find a 7 to 10 year old car with under 60,000 miles. I will drive 500 miles in any direction to save several thousand on a car. It's worth it to me. It takes a lot longer to earn the several thousand than it is to drive a few hours to save it. People are just lazy and not willing to do this. I am BROKE and have more time than I do money. I will do what I can to get a like-new car for cheap.

[hereforinfo]

But where we live, that kind of car would not work out for us. We put MAJOR miles on our cars. In under 2 years I have 68,000+ miles on my car. All groceries stores, restaurants, etc. are all over 30 miles away.

Looks like you have no choice but to change your lifestyle then. Since you aren't working, you obviously have no daily commute. Once a week to the grocery store should keep the miles really low.

[debtmonster]

Looks like you have no choice but to change your lifestyle then. Since you aren't working, you obviously have no daily commute. Once a week to the grocery store should keep the miles really low.

That's going to change. If I do get another job, it will be a 4 hour daily commute until we can save the money to move.

In the meantime, it looks like I will have to hold onto the car we have now and stay current with the payments until we can do the 722 redemption on it.

I bought this car brand new off the lot with 2 miles on the odometer. The engine still runs like new. I also have a 5-year/100,000 mile drivetrain warranty if anything major was to happen.

As soon as I can pay the lawyer and get the ball rolling, then I'll know more. I already scheduled a payment to them.