Seeking a higher intelligence

[runforcover]

I need the final word on some issues. Some I have discussed in other threads. But I still do not understand. There are a lot of smart people around here. Maybe this time I will get it.
I lost a ton of money trying to fix a new chevy I bought in 06. I drive for a living. Car's got 118k miles. Dealer could not fix the transmission or the front end the entire expanse of my 100k mile warranty. I got docs showing that gm designs for the front end is seriously flawed. They actually glued some pieces of the strut mounts together. If the glue contacts oil it will dissolve. Causing all sorts of expensive troubles.

Ok...Here is what has me wondering.
I am defaulting on the car. No choice. Can't sue gm but gmac can sue me. Hence the ch7. I bought a new sub compact car for my job. It is not luxury car. But it will do the job. I will be defaulting on my cc's but I am not sure when. Mainly to fund the bk. I do not want to reaffirm any of them because 8 years is a long time with no bk protection. I will be filing in Sept. 09.
By then I will have a bit more cash than I have had in a long time. Something I do not wish to inform anyone about with the exception of you folks. I fall below the state median. I have used and abused stuff. No land or payed for cars.
I wish to pay on the cc''s after my discharge, should I get it. But just the principal, not late fee and interest. So if I inform cc's of this I will only say that this is my INTENT.

I have learned much here. But a Jedi, still I am not.
Am I missing something here?
I am way over my head with 2 car notes.
I misjudged my finances from the massive car repairs.
But technically, by the time I reach the 341 meeting. I will be better off than I have been in well over a year now.
I guess that is how it is suppose to be.
But I am not sure.
Any thoughts?

[lookingforward]

Why do you want to pay on the credit card balances? They will not keep the cards open. As soon as you file they will close the accounts. Why not start fresh? There is really no advantage to paying the cc balances once you file.

[LuciluS]

IF you know you will be filing Chapter 7 in 9/09 Stop using your credit cards if you haven't already. Like 'lookingforward' said, they will cancel you either the day you file or the next day.

When is the last time you used them? Have an Attorney? If so, did he explain to you about any balance transfers or large purchases you might have made on any Credit Card in the last 3 - 6 months. That sentence and paying a relative is very important. If you don't have issues with BTS or large purchases over $600 (I think, read my last paragraph) then stop paying on the CCs.

I quit paying all but 1 credit card late last Sept. and we are not filing until 9/09. We thought we would be filing Dec. or Jan. & that 1 credit card had a balance transfer of $3,500 in Aug. Our Attorney told us to make the minimum pymts., add a little bit to it & pay it for 3 mths and Stop.

Read lots of the posts on this forum,the stickies (some are a bit outdated, but good information) & use the Search button.

I know you feel obligated to pay those Credit Cards as I did last Sept. until I started reading posts, you will realize it's in your best interest to 'let them go' if you are filing bankruptcy. I'm sure most of us have charged 'stuff' that we could have gone without.

Luci

[runforcover]

I charged to fix the car...again. That was $2300 1 month ago. It was then I realized that the situation was never going to get resolved. I do not have attorney yet. I wanted to repay cc's, not for them, but for me. You say they will close my accounts after I file. Then I guess that is not going to be possible.
In September, 3 months will have passed from the car repair charges. 5 months will have passed since I cashed convenience checks to help out with expenses. 1 year will have passed since I made a 6k purchase with a cc.
I will have made 2 payments on my cc's after the last charge. I will have closed my bank account and opened a new one. I will have set up my cell phone call list to ring only for the people I have on the list and the others will be forwarded to voice mail. I will have the voice mail message clearly stating who I am and that I am preparing for ch7.
But the question I have not yet got a solid answer on is this...Even after paying attorney, I will have more disposable income than I have had in a long time. So, when the 341 meeting comes. What should I do? Stash the cash? Which may be 1k or 2k. Or do I say I have it. I am so used to not buying food I prefer. I am so used to not buying clothes or going out.
From what I have read on the forum, most have this issue. Yet, it seems to not be an issue. Will someone pleeeze advise.

[LuciluS]

I charged to fix the car...again. That was $2300 1 month ago. It was then I realized that the situation was never going to get resolved. I do not have attorney yet. I wanted to repay cc's, not for them, but for me. You say they will close my accounts after I file. Then I guess that is not going to be possible.
In September, 3 months will have passed from the car repair charges. 5 months will have passed since I cashed convenience checks to help out with expenses. 1 year will have passed since I made a 6k purchase with a cc.
I will have made 2 payments on my cc's after the last charge. I will have closed my bank account and opened a new one. I will have set up my cell phone call list to ring only for the people I have on the list and the others will be forwarded to voice mail. I will have the voice mail message clearly stating who I am and that I am preparing for ch7.
But the question I have not yet got a solid answer on is this...Even after paying attorney, I will have more disposable income than I have had in a long time. So, when the 341 meeting comes. What should I do? Stash the cash? Which may be 1k or 2k. Or do I say I have it. I am so used to not buying food I prefer. I am so used to not buying clothes or going out.
From what I have read on the forum, most have this issue. Yet, it seems to not be an issue. Will someone pleeeze advise.

Hmm, well guess ya got the car up to speed and don't need anything there.

Did your Attorney mention about having extra exemption dollars left? I've heard a lot say they exempted their cash. You've heard the ole saying 'Mama needs some shoes'. Hubby bought some New Balance shoes the other day for $79.99. Good price for him as he wears a size 16.

Think hard about that voice mail message. Filing Bankruptcy is a Business Decision and honestly If my Dear Husband's Granny called and heard that message she would have a Heart Attic. Praise the Lord she leaves in Indiana. I really don't think you have anything to worry about as to filing 9/09. If you have Caller ID, just don't answer it if you don't know who is calling.

I quickly glanced at our AARP magazine and there is an article about the % of bankruptcies being so high. Ugh Duh! If credit card co. hadn't raised the rates && the minimums, some of us would have kept on trekking down the road. It sure has been an eye opener for me.

Our older family members we haven't told. They lived through the Depression and I just don't want to open up a can of worms Because I Don't Like Em

We bought a new sheet set as we have 2 craftmatic beds & they are washed every week and put right back on the beds. I noticed one had a tear in it. So I have a file for every room and found iwhere we ordered them almost 2 years ago. We bought them off of QVC. 800 count thread sheets for $79.99.

Our privacy fence is swaying. So son & another guy own their own construction business. Gonna get that fixed and hopefully my kitchen sick just needs a new washer & not the whole hot/cold set. And the back door stuff is falling out the bottom.

That's all I can think about now. My bed is calling me.

Luci

[runforcover]

Thanx Luci...I do not mind the voice mail message being that way. It would clearly i.d. me and bring creditors up to speed. Most my family is gone. The ones that are left know about it. What is surprising to me is that everyone else I have told, there has always been someone around them that are bankrupt or they themselves tell me that they too have filed ch7. Just a few minutes ago, in fact, I had to tell my apt. manager because I am letting my messed up car go into default. So I am taking off the tag getting ready for the repo man. She told me that she just finished her bankruptcy. I am beginning to wonder if more people than we know are bankrupt.

[tinfoilhat]

From what I understand you paid for the car repairs using credit cards?
File chapter 7 and that expense disappears and leaves you in a position as if the warranty paid for it (meaning you didn't have to either way)

And I'd suggest educating yourself in vehicle basics. Everything from chosing a dealer, service dept/mechanic, knowing when you're getting bs'd, etc.

No car manufacturer glues critical suspension parts together.
Your warranty was probably voided by letting someone know you use it for work. Read the warranty manual, vehicles used for for work fall close to commercial vehicles meaning they see way more wear and tear than usual, require more maintenance, and are not covered.

But most of all if you're using a vehicle for work, get one thats a little more suitable for the application. A motorcycle wouldn't be a good choice right? Either would an HHR.

[runforcover]

Tinfoilhat. As a matter of fact gm did and still does glue a part of the strut mount. When oil comes into contact with this glue, it will dissolve. I learned that from an official gm bulletin. I have that bulletin. I have the whole 12 page bulletin to prove it with pictures and a "how to" guide to make the repair. Thanx for answering but you assume too much. As for car knowledge. I am not a mech. I am a courier...a driver. I have twice nursed a car to nearly 300k miles. Have you? The glued part is only 1 of 7 unusual design flaws in some of gm's cars.
Would you care to wager? I can go to Kinkos and get the bulletin scanned into the pc. What do you say...$100. Nice and friendly.
gm is partially in trouble because of all the lawsuits that were against them from owners with messed up cars. I was about to sue them. I enjoy this forum very much. Your answer is interesting...uninformed...but interesting. Please, feel free to take the bet. I just noticed today that a lot of my sox have holes in them. You could buy me new ones. Sox, not holes.

[tinfoilhat]

Tinfoilhat. As a matter of fact gm did and still does glue a part of the strut mount. When oil comes into contact with this glue, it will dissolve. I learned that from an official gm bulletin. I have that bulletin. I have the whole 12 page bulletin to prove it with pictures and a "how to" guide to make the repair. Thanx for answering but you assume too much. As for car knowledge. I am not a mech. I am a courier...a driver. I have twice nursed a car to nearly 300k miles. Have you? The glued part is only 1 of 7 unusual design flaws in some of gm's cars.
Would you care to wager? I can go to Kinkos and get the bulletin scanned into the pc. What do you say...$100. Nice and friendly.
gm is partially in trouble because of all the lawsuits that were against them from owners with messed up cars. I was about to sue them. I enjoy this forum very much. Your answer is interesting...uninformed...but interesting. Please, feel free to take the bet. I just noticed today that a lot of my sox have holes in them. You could buy me new ones. Sox, not holes.

You have a deal. Tell me what comes unglued and makes the vehicle unsafe.
A technical service bulletin addresses problems, RECALLS address safety issues, and as I said GM does not glue critical suspension parts together.

Yes they may use glue on something, and when the glue fails it may cause a noise or whatever. It's not going to make it unsafe.
AND BTW, YOU NEVER EVER PAY FOR SAFETY RECALLS.

What are we betting on anyway. Well whatever make it $500.

And no I never "nursed" a vehicle to 300,000 miles. I currently have a one ton truck thats never broken down due to me properly maintaining it, it has 230,4xx on it and it runs great. I guarantee if you used my truck and had me maintain it you would not be in the position you're in with your vehicle.

Place the bet (whatever the hell it is). But I'll do $500.

[tinfoilhat]

Make that 230,831. On a 17 year old Chevy.
http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/329/img0027tbl.jpg

[tinfoilhat]

If you want to make it interesting I'll go buy a trailer and tow your honda around, loaded with your stuff and we'll travel your route doing your job, not putting one mile on your vehicle. And I guarantee again that my truck will see 350,000 miles with me doing maintenance on it and it'll not suffer one breakdown.

Don't bother going to kinko's, I can get a full GM VIS and every recall and TSB on your model car tomorrow.

In fact, if you feel ok giving me your VIN I can go to GM and get all the service records for your vehicle tomorrow, that way we can see exactly what was done properly at GM and what was done at Bobs backyard garage. You can send it in a PM if you want.

[runforcover]

All right! But first, I did not say you could not do 300k miles. I asked if you ever did? It is good to know that others can. I will explain in a moment. Secondly, you are making no sense by you saying that gm glues stuff and then say it is not a safety issue. It may or may not be a safety issue. But is sure as hell an expensive one to maintain. As far as safety goes. I spent $2400 replacing a whole lot of front end. It still sounds like it is held together by one screw. Noone will drive it. So, people believe it is, just from the disturbing sound of it. Congradulations on your mech abilities. Some of us have pursued other subjects of higher learning. But I know how to keep a car in great working order.
Here is the document id 2239750 correction#2.
If you can not find it I am currently in negotiations with the leasion executive of gm in Detroit. He finds it unsettling that I have this document in my possession. He also says that in the course of making gm cars, several hundred could be seriously flawed. That is the nature of the game. That is why gm set up executive building. To sort out bad car issues. He told me there was a website to retrieve all gm bulletins. I did not write it down. But I will be speaking with him again on friday. He also said that cars are worn out after 100k miles. What??
As for now I will quote the passage that I have been referring to.
QUOTE...SOME CUSTOMERS MAY COMMENT ON A CLUNK OR THUMP NOISE COMING FROM THE FRONT SUSPENSION WHILE DRIVING OVER ROUGH ROAD SURFACES. THIS NOISE WILL TYPICALLY OCCUR WHEN THE FRONT SUSPENSION IS RETURNING TO THE UPWARD POSITION AFTER A HARD DOWNWARD STROKE.
CAUSE...THIS CONDITION MAY BE CAUSED BY THE JOUNCE BUMPER SLAMMING INTO THE UPPER SPRING SEAT BECAUSE IT IS NOT RETAINED IN THE UPRIGHT POSITION. THE JOUNCE BUMPER LOSES POSITION DUE TO OIL BEING DEPOSITED ONTO ITS RETENTION FINGERS.
CORRECTION...INSPECT THE FRONT STRUTS FOR EVIDENCE OF OIL. IF OIL IS PRESENT, REPLACE THE AFFECTED STRUT, JOUNCE BUMPER AND DUST BOOT.
BEFORE REASSEMBLING THE STRUT ASSEMBLY, GLUE THE NEW JOUNCE BUMPER AND NEW SHIELD TO THE UPPER SPRING SEAT. TO FURTHER CONFIRM THIS CONCERN, THE BUMPER WILL EASILY SLIDE UP AND DOWN THE STRUT SHAFT.
End quote.
There are 6 other front end issues with several gm cars in this bulletin.
Now you may have your own opinion. So what! I have had 5 seperate mechs try to figure this out. 2 were gm mechs. Cost me a fortune and I still have serious issues with the front end. Now gm says that since they have this bulletin they may be able to find any and all problems. No guarantees.
One more thing...When this piece of crap design looses integrity, it starts a series of issues to start happening. I have only been partially repairing them because no mech has correctly identified the problem.
So you may be some super mech. Sounds great. What the hell does that mean to me???
Look...you seem to be having issues of your own. I was on the nice and friendly side of this. You sound like a union guy. Keep your money.
I will buy my own socks.

[danaf]

Okay - I'm not so concerned about disposable income you have saved up. That can easily be dealt with by either exemptions, spending it, or just stashing it under your mattress. My question for you is exactly how much disposable income do you have every month left over without paying for cc's or for the Chevy??? The cc's and the Chevy you will smartly discharge in bk. But having too much disposable income left every month can push you into a bk13, even if you are below median. The system sucks. That's why planning is so important.

[tinfoilhat]

There are 6 other front end issues with several gm cars in this bulletin.
Now you may have your own opinion. So what!

When GM can't do it, the aftermarket can. Technically you can ride forever with no jounce bumper, dust boot, shield. Those just prevent noise.
Go with a product like this one , have a performance shop install it. Thats how I fix things, not that it matters. I'm not sue happy like some people, if a problem area can be corrected with an aftermarket part, I go with the aftermarket part and get over it. Especially on vehicles that are driven beyond their design, like the HHR. A gallon of milk, eggs, and bread, maybe a kid or two as payload once a week.

And if you'd like to become a lawyer you can seek out problems with every vehicle manufacturer, you think honda has never had a recall?

[runforcover]

Wow, thanx danaf for such a probing question...It varies mo. to mo., season to season. Also, I have been scrimping for a long time. Turning off the water heater till needed. My clothing is beginning to resemble Jethro Tull. I buy a tank of gas every day for my job. We know how volatile that has become in monthly calculations. I pay taxes through gasoline. 37 cents per mile deduction. I always bottom out. So, the answer to your most appreciated question is not an easy one to determine. But here is last months money...
$500 rent
$347 car
$70 electric
$400 gasoline (last mo. prices)
$500 food
$70 phone
$50 internet
$30 water
$30 washer and dryer rental
$65 car insurance
$25 oil change
$15 netflix
$65 medication
$30 all cleaning supplies
$350 cc #1
$50 cc #2
$70 cc#3
$341 car I am defaulting on for my survival. I default this month. Then the game will be afoot.
Other things like clothing or replacing something that broke like a coffee pot are not in the list. Also meds. often goes off the list. No entertainment other than netflix. Water heater mostly stays off and $500 for food is more of a wish list at times.
I have two paychecks per month. Each has $100 deducted for cargo insurance, nextel radio, and accident insurance in case I get laid up and can't work.
As I said, the monthly checks vary. Holidays and the amount of deliverys play a large role.
Last month, after deductions were...
$1,420 and $1,399
This month starts out with $1,190.
I need to save for an attorney. All my stuff will fit in a van. Most of it is used and abused. I do not own land or cars yet. I have an apt lease.
Mostly, I would say that if I stop paying cc's, I will be able to save for attorney, eat a little better and maybe get a few items of clothing.
I have been knocked off my game by that very defective car too many times. But I also miscalculated cc's a time or two as well. My fault on that.
The ch7 is protection against gmac. I have been told here that they may not sue. But if they do...
I will have to put my cc's on the chopping block as well. 8 years is a long time without bk protection.
I have not, as of yet, stopped paying on cc's. But I have run out of money saving ideas. Also, savings are gone.