Grim news for buying a car post BK

[freshstartfl]

2-3 hours from Tampa, Orlando, AND Jax... hmm.... I'm going to hone in on you, DM. And when I find you, you WILL invite me in for tea. I'm thinking you're near Ocala.

Don't worry. I'll spring for the tea. Just provide the hot water.

[MichaelInUT]

Michael, that was an excellent post.

My father sold his 1996 Oldsmobile for $3,000 and it has less than 70,000 miles on it. A month later the transmission went out. The people came back to my dad all upset that they spent every dime they had on that car and did not have another $1500-2000 to put another transmission in.

Thank you!

I've owned both ends of the spectrum; in New York I bought a few $500 cars. They ran, but were huge masses of problems waiting to happen. To fix everything would mean investing twice what they were worth. Those cars get handed around constantly, and for good reason. Then like in your example, if you try and pay more thinking you'll get more value for your money, you get bit in the butt when the inevitable happens. That's why I thought doing some research and playing the middle ground was the best bet. My mechanic says the 3.8L engine is pretty bulletproof; I just swapped out the tranny (cheaper than a rebuild); all the kids fit in it fine, and even brag about my "luxury car." It should last until our situation changes in the next five years. In my mind, it's a much better investment than tying us to another debt!

[debtmonster]

2-3 hours from Tampa, Orlando, AND Jax... hmm.... I'm going to hone in on you, DM. And when I find you, you WILL invite me in for tea. I'm thinking you're near Ocala.

Don't worry. I'll spring for the tea. Just provide the hot water.

I have the tea and my water is excellent (and is highly filtered I might add.)

If you want $8-9/hr. jobs, Ocala is the place to be. 95% of the jobs there require that you stand all day. I have a bad knee and need an office job. I work in computers doing programming. I thought there was something bound to be in Ocala for a decent paying job. I was dead wrong. Once again I was punished for thinking positive.

All the decent paying jobs are in Miami, Tampa/St. Pete, Orlando or Jacksonville.

I am looking to just move out of the state if I can save up enough money after the foreclosure.

[freshstartfl]

Well, there's hotels there. And horses. And hospitals. And horses. And gas stations. And horses. and grocery stores. And horses.

Ocala is really pretty. I don't know much about the job market there, though. It isn't a major city, that's for sure, but it's bustling enough. An $8-9 hour job is just as good as a $15 an hour job that requires you to drive 90 miles one way. Assuming you put a price on your own time and sanity above and beyond your hourly wage.

[IBroke]

My mother was looking for a job as well. Found one taking care of elderly people (part-time). Although she enjoyed helping them, the payment of $7.60 an hour before taxes was not accepatable in the long run.

Now she started her own cleaning-business. Gets a few appointments a week and between $15 and $20/hr. (and is her own boss).

[freshstartfl]

IBroke, my fiancee and I have been joking (although somewhat seriously) about hiring a housekeeper once or twice a month to do the things we despise -- vaccumming and dusting. I sware, we move every year to a new apartment just to knock the dust off our lampshades. I might PM you for more details and maybe give your Mom some business.

[shabam]

And at the time I bought my BMW, it was only 8% of my income and people here won't stop giving me grief about it! I'm sick of the personal attacks! At the time I bought the car, I was living within my means.

What is done is done. It is good that you are being proactive. There is nothing worse than people devoting all of their time and effort towards the bankruptcy with no game plan if or when they are discharged.

[debtmonster]

Well, there's hotels there. And horses. And hospitals. And horses. And gas stations. And horses. and grocery stores. And horses.

Ocala is really pretty. I don't know much about the job market there, though. It isn't a major city, that's for sure, but it's bustling enough. An $8-9 hour job is just as good as a $15 an hour job that requires you to drive 90 miles one way. Assuming you put a price on your own time and sanity above and beyond your hourly wage.

Those jobs are not for me. The hospitals want all kinds of prior experience that I don't have. I've been doing computers since before high school. That's all I do. And everything here is expensive. I thought it would be cheap and it's not. Everybody in this town is BROKE.

Our cost of mortgage, property taxes, vehicles, food, gas, insurance and everything far surpasses what any $9/hr. job would pay.

It's easier just to move to where the $50-80k jobs are. $9/hr. is a JOKE. That's the kind of money I made back in the 1980's. Not something you're supposed to live on in the 2000's when the cost of homes and cars have skyrocketed since those times.

Employers need to get releastic. Every job in today's age needs to pay $20/hr. just to live the same as making $8/hr. back in the 1980's.

[debtmonster]

What is done is done. It is good that you are being proactive. There is nothing worse than people devoting all of their time and effort towards the bankruptcy with no game plan if or when they are discharged.

At first I didn't even want to go bankrupt. I wanted to keep my BMW. Then everybody ragged on me telling me how I don't need a $40,000 dollar SUV. So I'm giving it back and keeping my cheap car.

The game plan is to complete the Ch. 7 and stay in this house long enough to save enough money to relocate. Then once that money is saved, part II in the plan is to save up enough cash to buy a used car for my wife.

[IBroke]

There is nothing worse than people devoting all of their time and effort towards the bankruptcy with no game plan if or when they are discharged.

BINGO! And most of the time, these are the exact same people who spam the forums and tell others they should NEVER EVER even consider BK since it's the end of the world etc. etc....

On day one after my discharg, I'll be sitting in the office at my local CU and get a secured credit-card and installment-loan.

Those people who are complaining about a 550 credit-score 5 years after discharge probably didn't even touch any kind of credit since then and/or didn't correct the errors on their reports (still have debt showing which they no longer have).

[IBroke]

At first I didn't even want to go bankrupt. I wanted to keep my BMW. Then everybody ragged on me telling me how I don't need a $40,000 dollar SUV. So I'm giving it back and keeping my cheap car.

The game plan is to complete the Ch. 7 and stay in this house long enough to save enough money to relocate. Then once that money is saved, part II in the plan is to save up enough cash to buy a used car for my wife.

I hear you. 2 years ago, I was sitting in a 2006 BMW M5. Now I'm driving a 10-year old beater. But you know what? I'd NEVER buy a new car in that price-category again - even if I had the cash on hand today.

I'm not saying that I wouldn't get another car like that before, but why should I waste that much money on a new car instead of getting a car that had a MSRP of $190K (let's say, an Mercedes S65) for $40K WITH a warranty once I'm back on my feet and back in business? Today, you can get such a deal on acar that's less than 4 years old!

I had my share of paying for depreciation - I'll let others do the job.

[jeb]

All the decent paying jobs are in Miami, Tampa/St. Pete, Orlando or Jacksonville. - debtmonster

Debt, there are NO decent paying jobs in FL (Except the space coast jobs) - never have been due to the large number of retirees that can't make much money or they lose their SS.

And you are right about cost of living - with no income tax FL hits you every way but Sunday to get money to operate on. - jb

[TEW]

And at the time I bought my BMW, it was only 8% of my income and people here won't stop giving me grief about it! I'm sick of the personal attacks! At the time I bought the car, I was living within my means.

Why BMW's do you like driving loners?

[debtmonster]

Debt, there are NO decent paying jobs in FL (Except the space coast jobs) - never have been due to the large number of retirees that can't make much money or they lose their SS.

I've had jobs in Jacksonville and Tampa paying $60k and $70k. I tried to get a job at the space coast in the 90's. They only wanted to pay mid-$30k's for the same stuff I made $70k.

I won't know where I am moving until the final month. I will need $6,000+ in my pocket so I can pay relocation on my own... moving truck, first, last, security, gas, lodging, food, etc. Moving is no fun. Things break and have to be replaced. The HDTV (if we get to keep it after BK) which works perfectly right now, may not work so well after it gets banged around on a moving truck. And the thing is, it would be cheaper to replace it than to fix it.

Yeah... I learned my lesson on the DEPRECIATION RIDE, too. No more expensive cars after watching this BMW go from $43,000 down to $25,000 in just over a year. Buying used is the way to go... except BMW's are no fun when you have to spend $8,000 on a new tranny. That's when it pays to have a cheap GM or Ford.

[debtmonster]

Why BMW's do you like driving loners?

I got sick of driving 90 minutes to 2 hours (one way) to the dealer every time the thing broke down. It was a GM hybrid. It left us stranded in the dark in the middle of nowhere. Also they wanted to start charging us towing fees even though it was under warranty because we were more than 30 miles away from the dealer.

After talking to many BMW owners telling me how stupid I was for buying a cheap GM car, I went ahead and bought the Bimmer. I love the vehicle. I never have to go back for any repairs in almost 30,000 miles. I am just tired of paying over $800/mo. for it to sit in my front yard whether I drive it or not. Guess I'll have to go back to used and constant repairs.