Hi, just filed bankruptcy. Want to finance a cheap motorcycle. Is this possible?

[Tommytunacan]

I filed bankruptcy 7 in October 2013. Let both of my cars go in the bankruptcy as i was upside down in them. Had my meeting of creditors dec, 10. Should be getting my discharge papers any day now. I payed cash for a 1990 f150 and a 97 Nissan Altima to drive to work. Very cheap. Hit a deer and destroyed my truck in late November. Down to just the Nissan now. My work did some rearranging and transferred me. Now I'm driving 55 miles(an hour) each way. The Nissan has runs good but it has a ton of miles and only gets about 22 mpg. I'm needing to save up cash and buy another dirt cheap pickup truck for hauling stuff. Thinking I want to finance a descent motorcycle to drive back and forth to work.

I feel like a rat in a cage. 3 years ago I had great credit. All I had to do was sign the papers at the credit union and pick up whatever I wanted. Was in a relationship at the time time. Bought a new truck for me and a new mustang for her to drive. Signed up for credit cards for her to have control of. Was very foolish and put myself in a terrible spot. We separated and I was living paycheck to paycheck. Broke my ankle last April and lost all my overtime and was only payed 66% of my wages while I healed. Now behind on all of my bills with medical bills on top of that I couldn't keep afloat. I could have kept the vehicles and afforded them but with the advice of my attorney I let them both go. I'm 25 years old, make 45k a year. I've gotten used to driving beaters and don't mind at all. I want to start using credit wisely and rebuild from here. Everyone I talk to says I'm screwed and can't finance anything right now. Though I keep getting offers in the mail from car dealers "who specialize in bankruptcy financing". I'm not interested in a new car. I've considered it to rebuild my credit but buying a car I don't want or need isn't the right way. For the last few years I've specifically wanted a Honda xr650l dual sport bike that I can use for commuting when it's nice out and weekend trips. I can buy one brand new for right at 7k . I'd prefer to buy new because I wouldn't beat it up. Should last me 10 years at least. I know my interest would be high but is it possible to get a motorcycle loan after BK? Any companies you recommend? I would want to run the loan full term to help rebuild my credit. I won't use another credit card ever. Done playing with those snakes. They bite. Any input would be appreciated.

[keepmine]

Once discharged, you'll get all manner of offers for credit.

[TXskyblue]

Make sure the math supports owning two vehicles. Yes, a motorcycle will get better MPG but you'll be buying tires for two vehicles. You'll be paying insurance on two vehicles. You'll have to pay for inspections and registration on two vehicles. Twice the oil changes. Maintenance on a motorcycle, no matter how inexpensive the bike, is expensive. Stuff has to be replaced more often and it costs more. Are the sure the gas savings will pay for all of this plus the purchase price of the bike?

[bcohen]

You live in Illinois, and you want a motorcycle? Seriously? With the weather there, you would be lucky to ride it 7 months out of the year--yet you would have to pay to register, insure, and maintain it 12 months out of the year. And that's not even getting into the fact that motorcycles are one of the most dangerous modes of transportation out there.

If this decision is motivated by a love of riding, and an enthusiasm for motorcycles, then by all means go ahead. But if this is motivated mainly by a desire to keep costs down, forget about it. There are plenty of economical cars which get great gas mileage and have excellent reliability. Heck, the first car I owned--a 1988 Toyota Corolla--got over 40 MPG, and never needed more than routine maintenance. Although I realize that today's compact cars have gotten bigger and heavier, and come with more powerful engines, there must still be something out there which gets similar fuel economy.

[foxy894]

It's better to consult some experts about this serious matters.

[Tommytunacan]

Hi guys, been off for a while. Thanks for your replies. Ended up paying cash for an old Honda XL600 dual sport. I put new tires, chain and sprockets, tune up, adjusted the valves. She's good to go when the cold weather breaks. I've got just under $1300 in it. Still need to get plates and insurance. Insurance will be about $210 a year. Plus plates which will be less than $136 for the first year plus $41 a year after that.

I have always liked motorcycles but I never liked how single purpose they were that's why I went with a dual sport. Part street bike part dirt bike. Not the best for either but works for both. I'm an off roader at heart so this will save me gas and I can enjoy it to. Maintenence costs won't be much. I do all work myself so that saves a lot of money.

I'll be starting this year at about $1650 in it. At 44mpg expectation and a current gas price it $3.25 it should ave me roughly $40 a week when I ride it. Say 7 months of use is 28 weeks. That's $1120 saved the first year so still $530 in the hole. Second year estimate $250 to plate and insure. So $780. If it saves me $1120 the second year I'll be $340 ahead. This is a solid bike. Good compression, doesn't smoke. I'll get a lot of years out of it.

It's unfair to say double maintenence. Any time I'm using one it'll save maintenence on the other so that's about a wash. The bike will certainly be less to maintain.

So where I'm at now is I have the 2 work vehicles paid for.

The Nissan for rainy or cold days.
Costs $403/yr to insure
Plates $99/yr
Plus maintenence as needed from use.

The XL600
$210 a year to insure
$41 a year to renew plates
Plus maintenence as needed from use.

Pretty happy with where I am as far as work vehicles. Got the last of my medical bills paid off as of last Friday. Ankle is good enough that I won't be going back for it. I got my discharge letter. Checked myself out on Credit Karma. It's showing zero debt on my credit report. Everything is closed plus the public record of bankruptcy. The credit score on there is down to a 609.

Still need to get a pickup truck and do something to rebuild my credit. I've considered financing a 6-7k truck like I intended to spend on a bike but not sure I want to do that. Full coverage insurance is expensive and all the solicitations I'm getting are saying mid teens for interest rates. That's nuts. I'm going to get a couple secured credit cards while I decide if I should bite the bullet and pay for the help on the credit score or just save up the cash and buy a truck. I would like to buy a house in 3-4yrs.

What would you folks do?
I'm not interested in a debate on if a truck is economical. I plan to replace the truck that was in my garage before but I want to be wise about it.

[Pjmax]

First of all, congratulations on your discharge, and good work finding a bike that's affordable!

If you don't know, Credit Karma does not give you a Fico score. It is based on your Transunion report, but is for educational or entertainment purposes. Your actual TU score could be +-100 points. Credit monitoring sites are fine for monitoring, but things tend to get lost in translation between your actual full credit reports and those provided by such sites.

I would start saving for the truck. At the very least, saving will give you a nice downpayment if you do end up financing later. You might consider a local credit union for a secured card to start. After you have a relationship with a CU, they may give you a decent rate.

In the meantime, get all 3 reports from annualcreditreport.com, and see what's really on them. It's not unusual that they would need some cleaning up post-BK. You aren't going to see any decent auto rates, until you get your scores up. If you want to know what your real Fico scores are, go to MyFico.com. They are pricey, but there is usually a discount code floating around.

You don't need to pay someone to help get your scores up, you can do it yourself. Start googling credit repair, and credit repair after bankruptcy. Do some research.